b adding guitarist, for example, get different tones for a variety of reasons: the body shape of the guitar, the wood the guitar is made of, the pickups, even the guitarist's playing style all contribute to tone.. Heck, even guitar picks can affect tone - different materials and thicknesses of picks can TOTALLY affect your tone... Tone can be specific mixtures of EQ (equalizing, such as treble, mids, and bass and all the frequencies in-between) that people prefer.. there are big, fat books on technique to get different tones on guitar.. there are an infinite number of ways to get different tones on guitar..
Same for drums - and Jimmy please jump in and slap me if I get out of line.. a drummer may prefer larger drums, which would give a larger, fatter tone, what the drums are made of, different types of drum heads, even drumsticks can affect tone..
Friendship is like peeing your pants.. Everybody can see it, but only you can feel the warmth..