Ringo played mahogany drums on early Beatles songs. There seems to be confusion, however, about mahogany, especially regarding price. Browsing our and other manufacturer's catalogs, reveals that almost all beginner and mid-range sets are made with mahogany. MHX's, on the other hand, are priced like professional maple sets. Beginner and mid-range sets are made with Philippine mahogany.
Philippine mahogany is an abundant and therefore relatively inexpensive wood.
On the other hand, the Masters Mahogany Classics are made with African Mahogany. This is the real deal, the big Kahuna, the cat's meow. There are only three true mahoganies in the world and African mahogany is one of them. African mahogany doesn't come cheap thus explaining the price differences. In the beginning of this section I mentioned older mahogany drums.