trickg:
There is little doubt about the design base of the ZG horn. Mr. Zachary said very clearly it was based on the Mt. Vernon Bach trumpet (see the
Zachary Website).
The Olympus on the other hand, is something different altogether. Your comparisons between the quality of the manufacturing of the Wild Thing and the ZG were interesting, especially if you know anything about the manufacturing of the two horns.
My guess is, that if you picked up a different Wild Thing and a different Guarnerius, you might come to opposite conclusions.
Again, I am not slamming the Wild Thing. I was just struck by a few of the details such as the restock fee. Actually, I was more struck by how many of the online etailers all have these "in house" charge cards at 21% or so that you can "buy it now."
They are easy for a store to get. There is lots of money being made gouging the buyer. ZeuS dealers do not have to resort to that and have a horn that takes a back seat to none (it may not be what everyone buys, but it should not be overlooked by any buyer -- hey that is almost a good slogan!).
M&C