[CAUT] Hailun & Suzuki vs. Yamaha

[Kent Swafford]

I think the spell-checker got Andrew, but do not equate Hailun with Suzuki.
Hailun makes some good pianos.


Kent


On Fri, Aug 27, 2010 at 10:56 AM, Andrew Anderson
<andrew at andersonmusic.com>wrote:

> Definately Hauling over Suzuki.  Suzuki is not a contendor for
> institutional use (flimsily built to very loose quality standards).  Hauling
> has some advantages over Yamaha and if you are prepared to voice hard
> hammers can sound better.  I had a school choose a Wendl (upgraded Hauling)
> over a U1 of the same size.  I had extensively voiced it and it did sound
> much better, the winner though is that U1 keybeds move a lot with the
> weather and the piano is rarely in good regulation whereas the Hauling have
> a very solid aluminum frame keybed mounted to the plate.  They don't go out
> of regulation for the weather.  They have had this piano for some time now
> and I still get compliments and grateful thanks when I meet faculty
> regarding it.
>
> If they want the best bang for the buck over the long term they should get
> Sauter or a similar solid tier-one piano.  With the Euro weak this is the
> best time to drive a hard bargain.
>
> YMMV,
> Andrew Anderson, Artisan Piano
>
>
> On Aug 27, 2010, at 8:37 AM, Aaron Bousel wrote:
>
> Our department (UMass Amherst) is in the process of taking bids on some new
> verticals. They've received bids for Yamaha, Hailun, Suzuki and Sauter. I
> just received the following in an email from the department chair:
>
> ================
> "What I need is any specific reasons why Hailin or Suzuki are not at the
> Yamaha level.  Everyone so far agrees we need to go w/ the Yamahas, but I
> need specific reasons why the Suzuki or Hailin's don't work---poor tone,
> action is known for too request repairs, or??? "
> ================
>
> This is a state school and they may be required to go with the lowest bid
> unless they can show good cause not to. The models in question are:
> Hailun HU 116 vs. Yamaha P22
> Suzuki AU8 vs. Hailun HU5, vs. Yamaha U1
>
> This is the first time since I've been here that we're buying pianos and
> also the first time the department chair has actually consulted me on a
> piano issue.
>
> Have any of you had any direct experience with these pianos and can answer
> his questions? Beyond siting Yamaha's reputation and track record (and the
> fact that we have some 40 year old verticals that are still in service) I'm
> not sure how to respond to his request. As you can see from his email, this
> is not a matter of deciding which piano they want, but of justifying the
> extra expense to the higher ups.
>
> thanks for you help,
> Aaron
>
>
>  ------------------------------------------
> Aaron Bousel
> Registered Piano Technician, Piano Technicians Guild
>  abousel at comcast.net
> (413) 253-3846 (voice & fax)
>
>
>
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