No.

The new shells are completely different than the vintage shells.

The vintage shells (like on the Bonham green sparkle set) were made from Ludwig's famous 3-ply shells. They stopped making those decades ago. The new shells do not sound the same, in my opinion. I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but I highly advise against buying any of those so-called "re-issue" kits. It's a marketing scheme.

Alas, nothing can buy the Bonham sound, anyway! :)

I have to agree.

I've been playing since 1964. When I finally got some (1938-ish) Radio King drums in about 1985, I suddenly knew those were "the" drums I'd been looking for. I quit looking at drum catalogs.

Today, the construction is certainly different. But even if it was the same, the wood changes over time, in a way that I'd call "improving". (I like "old wood" better.) So no new drums will sound like older drums. Whether you consider one to be better than the other just depends on the sound you want to hear.

I agree for the most part what is said here but lets not forget you [we] did not have the head selection available today.It is possible to get closer to the original sound with vintage heads etc,but,as stated,old wood is so sweet!!

Well, I finally got to hear/play one. And I must say, they sound SWEET! They dont sound the same as older ones sure, but they sound as close as I'd need! The 26" bass is intense,its deep/warm/boomy but still under control, and all the toms sound great,and heavy! No muffling at all and they dont have any ringy overtones. Im buying the set as just the bass and toms for 1700, so Its not a bad price, plus I can custom order them, with internal dampners, and even a bass drum ride mount, so they are as close to the originals as possible! At some point ill get a vintage version, but for now, the new one is incredibly badass,I think I actually like the sound better. Cant wait till these drums age!band2

GOOD ATTITUDE!!Cool

Hmmm...Well, this IS a "vintage" drum forum, after all. :)

I guess there is something to be said for the way that new drums are made. There is a certain h o m ogeneous sound to new drums that some people prefer. I think this sound is applicable to the sound of modern, popular music. I think a modern drum kit sounds just great behind Britney Spears or on the Rock Star Supernova or American Idol "modern" sound.

I feel that the gear of today is comparable to the music of today. They are both manufactured in similar ways.

Well, I think ludwig drums are by far better than others. I think that then "modern" sound is created by the people, not the drums themselves. Look at neil pert for instance, his drums are nice and could sound good, but, he makes them sound stupid. Now John Q goodsound can walk by and make those same drums sound badass. I think tuning methods and desired sounds influence it more than anything, if you want to be in a new age lame wannabe rock band, you tune your drums to sound like those that your "idols" use. And, some new bands drummers even use vintage stuff, but they still have that new sound. Look at jack whites montgomery ward guitar! He has a new, really lame sound, but with an old guitar!

Okay. You asked if the new maples were the same as the ones Bonham used. The answer is "No, they are not the same." If you want to get a re-issue kit, then that's great. Enjoy them and play them in good health.

*edit! wrong thread!