Koa is an exotic hardwood from Hawaii.

When I bought my old RB's, they came from the factory with K. Zildjians, and some people call that "K's on arrival".

sorry

Yes, like O-lugs said, it's from my home state. They make ukuleles out of it. It's a beautiful wood but I've never been really fond of it's rather dead sound. I know a guy who made a Les Paul out of koa and it was beautiful but sounded like crap - it had no resonance, was like a heavy wet log.

But they make nice ukes because the wood there is very thin, the best known company is Kamaka.

[IMG]http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp231/kaaawa2000/pic_shop_uke.jpg[/IMG]

It's a heavy, dense wood, kind of a deluxe mahogany. Check out this coffee table - the stuff ain't cheap!

[IMG]http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp231/kaaawa2000/other_surf_table.jpg[/IMG]

thanks!!! Any idea if they actually made the shells out of KOA or was it like a veneer??

For Rogers, it was a wrap.....like this.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/*Rogers-Koa-Drum-Set-20,12,14-Powertone-Vintage-70s*_W0QQitemZ160351754929QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090728?IMSfp=TL090728176005r1837

http://koasnare.com/

There's a lot of variations in koa too. Sometimes it's got yellow streaks, sometimes almost black, sometimes like a tiger, sometimes it's swirled like marble and sometimes it's just all red.

That Lunar snare sure was a beaut.

I own a Lunar SD. It really is a great concept for a very articulate and sensitive drum. Mine is the 2nd drum down the page.

Gabriel has a very interesting concept of drum building. She is part wood sculptor and part shell maker. The mechanicals of her drums rely on the Pearl free Floating apparatus. She has access to some very nice koa wood and I think she also makes ukes, too. I seem to remember her mentioning something about Jake Shimabura....something like that...who plays the uke. It's all a fuzzy memory at this point.

I think Lunar snare drums could win the door prize for most beautiful shells. That koa has a 3-D kind of tiger's eye thing goin' on!

The Lunar SD I have is mango wood. It is a bit warmer sounding than koa. Probably the best looking SD I own. I dont think there is a drum shell builder that has a more sophisticated design than Gabrielle. She is a great gal too! If you want a very unusual SD with a very articulate sound, this is it.