Definetly quieter. And More mellow. Not loud, or aggressive at all.

Mostly because of the bearing edges, and thinner shell construction.

IMO

-Nick

In general aged wood will always have a warmer mellower tone, and like nemo said, the rounded 30degree edges have a much different sound than the modern sharp 45 degree edges. Though nowadays we are seeing more and more modern companies searching for that vintage sound, Keller for instance has released the new vintage style shells using the old maple/poplar or mahogany/poplar blends, and I am seeing more and more custom companies offering several different edge styles now.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]It's too general a question.

I mean, a vintage kit could be:

a thin-ply shell with re-rings and rounded edges....or with beveled in/rounded out edges....or with double-beveled edges in & out....

Or....it could be a 6-ply 70's Luddy maple shell...or a 5-ply 70's Slingy shell...or a Rogers XP8 shell......all of which had relatively sharp edges....

In which case, those kits would be just as loud as a contemporary drum kit.....[/COLOR]

I think the modern [newer] drums are going for projection.IMO,there is a big difference between tone and volume.Sure,you can hit hard for volume but i feel the older vintage drums have more tone and they project just as well,lets say w/o mics.Those sharper edges imo are not acheiving the sound the bigs think they are.I believe its all about marketing and re wording....Im sticking with older drums except maybe snare drums,because i just finished working with a "new"high end Pearl kit for a show,and even after tweaking the daylights out of them,it just did,nt have the tone my band is used to,and it even came through on the recording...Having said that,some day those new Pearls will be a vintage kit.Lord knows how they will sound in 35 yearsHmmmm