I have a couple of the Chinese made P-22s in a local community college. Other than some shinier hardware, they seem identical to the American product. Rumor has it that one third the Chinese operation's workforce is made up of Japanese managers. I don't think Yamaha is going to let quality be an issue. I am also a Hailun dealer. I have one of the 116's here in my shop, and a steady stream of teachers and professional piano players keep drifting back to it from bigger and more expensive pianos. I do think they will continue to mature and adapt to the American market, but in every area where I think of what a manufacturer must focus to do things right Hailun is making a solid effort. I would love to hear of the results of a shoot-out between these pianos, especially if it could be done blind! David Stocker, RPT Tumwater, WA From: Ed Sutton Sent: Friday, August 27, 2010 12:23 To: caut at ptg.org Subject: Re: [CAUT] Hailun & Suzuki vs. Yamaha Specifically, you plan to buy Yamaha P-22's. P-22 production, which was always in the USA, has recently been moved to China, so we have no long term reports on Chinese built P-22s. The design seems to be the same. Hailun has consistently demonstrated the intentions and investments to build very good pianos. Frank Emerson, a well-respected American piano designer, has been deeply involved in Hailun design and production. I think it would be great if you could buy some of each, and run a 10 year comparison study! You might also contact HailunUSA and see if they would consider your school for a demonstration project on the suitability of their pianos for a US school and climate. Ed Sutton ----- Original Message ----- From: Aaron Bousel To: caut at ptg.org Sent: Friday, August 27, 2010 9:37 AM Subject: [CAUT] Hailun & Suzuki vs. Yamaha 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) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut.php/attachments/20100827/a458f64a/attachment.htm>
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