I own both. New one resonates a bit more, otherwise no big difference except the new one looks much better. No peeling chrome like my 70's model.

I was kind of thinking not much sound difference between the two...good feedback though. Thanks!

Some people think that the new one resonates better...Id love to know if Ludwig has the same provider of shells since the 60's and if the alloy and production standards remain the same ever since...I have the early 70's and the early 80's...I used to have 5 Keystones and sold them like a stupid...I just aquired a 90's Hammered shell BB and boy! That thing barks like a Rottweiler!...I had to take off the 80's Die cast hoops I instaled on it because I was receiving too many complains at church...

These are not 402's, but for the record... I own 3 400's: a KB from '68, a B/O from '74-'75, and a Monroe badge from 2004.

They are all different weights. I don't have the exact weights handy (yes, I did weigh them all), but the '68 is the lightest and the '04 is the heaviest. The B/O is somewhere in the middle. If you pick up the '68 and then pick up the '04, the difference is striking.

I have no idea who Ludwig's supplier(s) have been over the years. But I can tell you with certainty that the Supra shell has gotten heavier over the years.

Aha...the plot thickens...

The 402 I was looking at in 2011 seemed lighter than my late 1970's I had just sold.

My BO 402 weighs 8.5lbs on the bathroom scale

But new or old...great either way.