No, a stain is just coloring, usually basically a watercolor or the same thing in an alcohol base. Oils seal and protect -- like tung oil, danish oil, linseed oil, teak oil, etc., and they will all have this kind of effect on wood, to a greater or lesser extent. Nothing terribly exotic, and used as finishes by themselves or with standard oil-based varnishes. Pretty much any time you look at fine furniture or cabinetry, that's what you're looking at. There are water-based finishes, most of which give a hazy blue cast to the wood. Sorry if I threw you off here, but this appearance change is perfectly normal and doesn't constitute re-coloring the wood. I'd venture to say that it has happened with almost every "natural" wood drum you've ever seen. If you saw a picture of any of the shells in this thread before they had a finish on them you'd see something radically different from the photos here. Raw wood isn't too exciting to look at -- just like in a lumber store. It's the finishing that makes it sing.
But if it helps, here's a basic steambent maple snare, with exactly the same finishing technique and materials. My guess is you'd accept this as a "natural" look.
EDIT: Oh, and I'm not sure what sort of mistakes could be hidden with stain, but I don't sell drums with hidden mistakes. Just want to be clear about that.
Even when I use stains, they're not there to hide anything.
And sorry -- didn't meant to hijack your thread with a discussion about finishing techniques -- only trying to respond to your doubts.