> For purposes of this discussion, most of us on this list would agree that a tenor bridge or extended bass bridge would give a better transition. What we wonder is: why do manufacturers continue to produce pianos with "hockey stick" bridges? > On the low end, you have manufacturers who only know how to copy proven designs. They are not willing to spend the money to bring in the people who can advance the technical value of their product. As long as they can sell what they build, they have no incentive to do anything different. With 180 piano builders in China alone, building more pianos than the worldwide market can support, many of these companies eventually have to go. Those that fall into this group will certainly be the ones to fall out. On the high end, you have companies that can sell, day in and day out, purely on their name recognition. They, too, have no incentive to change anything. When their recent feeble attempts at innovation turn sour, they have even less enthusiasm for change. So, they keep on doing what has worked for them in the past. This opens the door for the next group. In the middle, there are a handful of companies, if that, who are willing to spend the money to advance their product. They are determined not to be in the first group, and aspire to be in the high end group. These are the companies who will produce what you are looking for in new piano production. Don't ask me who they are. I don't know. All I can tell you is that Hailun is one of them. Frank Emerson
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