ZeuS Saxophones

[Zachary Music]

I invite you to check out my ZeuS Saxes before you buy any other new saxophone.
The best companies in the industry make ZeuS instruments. ZueS instruments usually sell for about half the cost of other comparable instruments in the same category.

ZeuS saxophones are available in Intermediate and professional models.
Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bari, in a variety of sticking finishes. To date not one ZeuS sax has ever been returned and I have been selling them for 5 years.

I encourage anyone to compare the quality of these instruments to any other sax on the market.
I also offer a very unique NO interest payment plan on all new instruments.
Alex

Take a look at the website:
www.zacharymusic.com

[Saxaholic]

Alex,

Would you be willing to openly defend your saxophones on this forum? Say...have one of our extremely experienced posters take some of your horns for a test drive? I'm sure Tim Price, Paul, or even Steve Goodson would be excellent canidates. They are all men of honesty, and would be perfect for the job. They could compare some of your saxophones, side by side with their major contenders. This would give the entire forum some chance to see what your saxophones are really made of, and show how they can put up with abuse from saxophone professionals. Of course, that is if they WANT to.... :lol:

[Andrew]

Heck,

If you're willing to send me some, I'll test them fully for you. I wouldn't mind. I'm pretty active on the forum. I'd even make handy dandy recordings for everyone to hear...I'd compare them to tons of horns...

[Jerry K.]

Alex, I mean no disrespect but it doesn't look to me like your horns "... sell for about half the cost of other comparable instruments in the same category." What brands are you comparing to? Below are a few examples from your site:

SOPRANO SAXOPHONE:
ZSS 750 L - Lacquered body and keys - $1300

ALTO SAXOPHONE:
ZeuS ZAS 650 (Intermediate) - $775

ZeuS ZAS 750 (Professional)
ZAS 750 L - Lacquered body and keys - $1500

TENOR SAXOPHONE:

ZeuS ZTS 650 (Intermediate) - $925

ZeuS ZTS 750 (Professional)
ZTS 750 L - Lacquered body and keys - $1700

BARITONE SAXOPHONE

ZeuS ZBS 750 (Professional)
ZBS 750 L - Lacquered body and keys - $2500

Alex, If I just look at your Bari, I can buy a number of baris for less to include the new Buescher BU6, the Jupiter 593GL, as well as others. Again, please share what horns you are comparing yours to and explain why they are worth more than other better known Taiwanese made horns. Now if these instruments are made in Europe or the U.S. as you have stated on your site, I would be curious as to who is making them for you. I am not personally aware of any U.S. manufacturers that are producing top quality instruments or are stenciling horns for anyone. As far as Europe is concerned, I think that VMI (German Company and B&S is their own label) is the only company with any recent stenciling history. They have recently made Guardala, and Codera saxophones, and I understand that they are currently producing the Allora brand for Woodwind and Brasswind.

I am a little confused. Please fill in the blanks for all of us.

[gary]

I'm a bit confused, guys. Where is your hostility coming from?

[Lowell]

Not hostility, just very informed consumers. If you claim to sell for half price, you must back up your claim. Scrupulous honesty is the only acceptable advertising hype here. People all over the world dispute the claims of TV advertisers in the privacy of their homes but the advertisers never hear it. In this forum, free speech rules and the buyers are wary.

[Jerry K.]

Gary, I don't know what "hostility" you are referring to. I was in no way hostile towards anyone. Alex made some rather broad statements regarding his Zeus brand of instruments. When I took a look at his website I saw additional statements that needed further clarification, as well as pricing that didn't seem to be all that competitive. That is what prompted my post. I assume that it was Alex's intention for people to read his post and go to his site for additional information since he provided a link to it.

[gary]

Don't want to make an issue of this. I was just a bit surprised that this is the only vendor I've seen so directly challenged to put his money where his mouth is when others have not been so challenged. And regarding the prices, if one considers the top pro horns as Keilwerth, Selmer, etc those suckers are easily $5000 + so I would say the ZeuS prices are about half price. Just seemed to me that ZeuS was being singled out where others are not, that's all.

[Jerry K.]

Regarding singling anyone out, I have not seen other vendors make the same claims about their products that this individual has. Here is one of the statements made on the Zachary Music website regarding Zeus Instruments which propted my initial response:

"These instruments are truly the best value in wind instruments today. I only choose to deal with the best and most established manufacturers and therefore ZeuS instruments are manufactured by the best instrument factories in either the USA or Europe."

Gary, I have yet to see a response from the original poster regarding any of our questions. I am truly unaware of any stenciling being done by anyone but B&S in Germany and a number of Taiwanese companies. If Zeus is made by B&S in Germany, I would like to know more about them. It is far more likely that these horns are made in Taiwan like many others, some of which are excellent like Unison, Cannonball and others.

Bottom line - if you are going to make bold statements on a saxophone specific site like SOTW you had better be prepared to back those statements up.

[gary]

Well, I certainly don't want to become an apologist for ZeuS by default and this is my last post on the subject; hoepfulla a helpful one. I have not played the sax and can't say anything about it. I would think the same might be true for others expressing opinions on them. Here are a few things that might be helpful, however.

I can report on the trumpets and the general consensus is that they are good to outstanding instruments, depending on who's doing the evaluation. The general consensus is also that they are made by Kanstul who makes their own line of outstanding trumpets.

As with many stencils, the originating company may prohibit the stencil-named company from divulging the manufacturing company's name to discourage competition with their own product. Seems like good business practice to me. If that's the case, then there is no collusion or anything underhanded from the stencil company, just compliance with the manufacturer's wishes.

The question, of course, is if one would like to get an excellent instrument (the ZeuS trumpet) at an excellent price, or an outstanding instrument for several hundred dollars more, and that's a personal judgement call. It does not, however, negate the "good for the price" rating.

Considering that Kanstul makes excellent trumpets, I would think that the ZeuS saxes would be worth anyone looking for an instrument in that price range to give it a try. And as we all know...the proof's in the playing.

[gary]

ps.s Kanstul is an American company (Anaheim, CA I believe)

[Gordon (NZ)]

I have worked on Zeus flutes.
Would they come from the same manufacturer.

They most certainly were not typical of American manufacture.

[Jerry K.]

Gary, I understand your desire to respectfully withdraw from this topic. I'm right with you on that. I didn't mean to cause discourse with my post. Hopefully Alex will post again with a little more detail as to the Country where his saxes are sourced from. I understand that he may not wish to give a specific manufacturer, but I can tell you that when I asked Woodwind and Brasswind who made the Allora model horns they told me VMI in Germany who is the maker of B&S horns.

If Kanstul has indeed tooled a sax line and they are of good to outstanding quality like you have mentioned the trumpets are, that would be really great for the sax community. I would love nothing more than to see an American company producing outstanding horns here from scratch. There was a time when we made the best horns you could buy and that hasn't been the case for a very long time.

Based on Alex's comment that his instruments come from the USA and Europe, I would imagine a number of sources for the various instruments. The only excellent saxes made in Europe, not by the Big 4, are made by B&S. I understand that they are also making the Chicago Jazz Series saxes for the company that bought LA Sax so they are a possibility. http://www.lasax.com/chicagojazz.html If that is the case the Zeus prices posted would probably represent an excellent value.

[gary]

OOOooohhh noooohhh Mister Bill! .... OK, this is my last, last post LOL!

I may have given a wrong impression. The point I was trying to make is that the ZeuS trumpet is (reportedly) made by a reputable American company, which is consistant with the advertising, but not that the sax is made by them. Just inferring a parallel in quality and credibility.

Regarding the saxes, he says his they're made in Europe and if it is made by Volkländische Musikinstrumentenfabrik Marktneukirchen (VMI), who make B&S, then it would be worth checking out. However, Amati is also a well know and respected European (Czek Republic) but I would not be bragging about the ZeuS's being comparable to Keilwerths if they're Amatis.

Gotta admit some of the promotion is a bit over the top, but, like finding weapons of mass destruction, if the claims are true, I guess in hindsight the selling points are on the money. The only way to really know is to play one.

Over and out :)

[Zachary Music]

Sorry for not responding. I have been too busy to take part in forums and someone just notified me that you all had questions.
Gary has mentioned the ZeuS Guarnerius trumpet and this is the perfect example of what I have been doing for the last few years and what ZeuS instruments are all about. I must mention that Kanstul has nothing to do with ZeuS saxophones; they do not make woodwinds, never have and probably never will.

Being the highly creative guy that I am, I take an idea and set out to find the very best manufacturer who specializes in a certain type of instrument and ask them to turn my idea into reality according to my details and specifications. If we can come to an agreement and the price is right, a new ZeuS instrument is born. I try to concentrate on 3 categories, Student, Intermediate and Professional instruments. Every ZeuS instrument falls into one of these categories and it must be either the best or one of the best in the world in its respective category.

I am not interested in selling budget, inferior instruments. Since I have a lot of pride in what I do and since I come from the repair side of the business, I know my stuff and have something to prove. This is why I take personal pleasure in tearing down misconceptions and have a lot of fun being an iconoclast. I am quite competitive by nature and like to take on the big guys any chance I get. ZeuS is also an outlet for my psychological issues and a mode of confirming my identity.

I do not give out the manufacturers of ZeuS instruments. All I will say is that ZeuS instruments are either made in the USA or Europe. Remember I search out the best makers. Its always cash upfront with these companies and my investment is huge. This is the way I get what I want.

When I say that they are about half the price of other saxophones. I am referring to the top of the line Saxes such as Selmer Paris, Keilwerth, Yamaha Custom, Yanagisawa, etc. The ZeuS 750 is a top of the line professional sax and I encourage people to compare it to the best.

I am not able to just send instrument out to people who I don’t even know. So I cannot just send you an instrument to try. This is precisely why I would like to have at least one representative in each state.
ZueS would then be more conveniently accessible to more people.
If you are sincerely in the market for a new instrument, I will be happy to sell you one.

Also, some of the people who may evaluate my instruments are in the business themselves and are also human. I understand this and would expect that it would not be in their best interest to confirm the high quality and great value of ZeuS saxophones. From my experience it is evident that the world is divided into two groups, ZeuSers and Antagonists. The ZeuS name, for whatever reason, does invoke considerable hostility and envy from some individuals. Unfortunately, ZeuS brings out the worst in some people.

The ZeuS 750 model has not reached its final design stage yet. In my next order I will be receiving the 750 with redesigned double key arms, finger buttons, strategic heavy-duty bracing, premium professional mouthpieces and compact contoured soft-sided cases among other things.

I hope this helps.

Alex
www.zacharymusic.com

[Saxaholic]

Has anyone ever tried these saxes before?? With the nice return policy....it looks like you could just simply return it without a hassle.....anyone have some extra cash laying around that they're willing to lose for a few days to test out an instrument? They could just return it for the refund after they're done testing it........

[retroyoshi]

The website doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the company...

Then again, a lot of saxophone web pages are poorly done (Even the better brands. I won't mention any specifics- but I'm sure you all know).

Heh, I've made this offer before, and I'd extend it to you also. I am always willing to trade professional web design for saxophones :). (Hey, I love Sax and I love design. What can I say?)

[emanresu00]

I am a proud owner of the intermediate $800 USD "Made in Europe by one of the famous instrument manufacturers" ZAS 650 Alto saxophone.

Or was... until today that I decided I am more of a trumpet player and tried to sell my hardly used, shiny sax in order to buy a Zeus trumpet.

I dropped the sax at a reputable store for evaluation yesterday and was asked to drop in today when the sax guy would have had a chance to inspect the instrument.

And I quote:

Guy: "What brand is it?"

Me: "Zeus".

Guy: "Interesting. What model?"

Me: "ZAS 650 model".

Guy: "Where does it say so on the sax?"

Me: "Well... Actually it only has a serial number I think. I got this as a new intermediate model for $800 USD as a bargain. Would you agree with that?"

Guy: "Do you want the truth? This instrument is MADE IN CHINA. It is not even good for student quality. I cannot believe you paid that much for it. It probably cost the guy just $200. I'm sorry but we are not interested in buying it".

Me: "Oh ok. Thanks for your help".

Please note the same conversation times three for the next two hours while I was travelling downtown at three music shops to evaluate the instrument. NO ONE WOULD BUY IT FROM ME FOR MORE THAN $150 CAD!!!!!! And as they rightly guessed, I could not return the instrument. No refund policy from Alex.

How do you explain this? I do not know about the other Zeus instruments but please give me an explanation. Why this lie? Is Zeus reliable? I am really sorry Alex but please try to imagine how It feels being ripped off and therefore poorer by $800 USD.

I could have gotten an awesome sax or trumpet from a reputable brand for that.

Please, please anyone can you post your HONEST comments? The sax guy in my case is REAL, all of them are.


Thank you and God bless.

[Jerry K.]

Made in China? Not too surprised if that turns out to be true. My guess was China or Taiwan based on the sellers elusiveness in this and other Zeus threads. My experience suggests that credibile sellers do not hide the country of origin of the instruments they sell. A dealer has every right to not disclose what particular factory in Taiwan or China makes their horns, but saying a horn is made in Europe, or France, or wherever when it's not, is just plain dishonest.

[Grey]

I actually quite like my ZeuS horn. Since it seems nobody has done a review or anything, I'll try to review my 650 Intermediate Zeus Alto.

Pros:
- Great, centered sound (I really love this). It's got an amazing tone for an intermediate sax.
- Reasonably good action. None of the keys stick that much)
- Cheap - $1200 CAN.
- Comes in cool case
- Shiny... mmm...

Cons:
- bad build (soft metal = lots of repair bills)
- Action not the best - I can't play Parker's fast solos on this thing! Augghh!!. I have no trouble with most of the solos, except when parker goes crazy + does his crazy fast thing. On an interesting note (no pun intended), I can play Parkers solos pretty easily on my Selmer tenor.
- Gurgly B + Bb key, although it is 4 or 5 years after I bought it. I guess I should get this repaired sometime, but it's not really a priority.

I actually really like my ZeuS. It doesn't really compare with my Selmer SerieIII tenor, of course, but it's a lot cheaper and I've had it practically since I started playing sax, so I've grown attached to it. Again, it's got a phenomenal tone, and I really love it. If it weren't for the all-right-but-not-great action and the damn soft metal they build the alto out of, it would be excellent. I think if I get a professional alto I'll stick with one of the big brands though.

-Grey