[CAUT] Hailun & Suzuki vs. Yamaha

[Paul T Williams]

Aaron,

I don't know much about Hailun or Suzuki other than the opinions of other 
techs saying that they're not on a Yamaha or Kawai level. We have many Yam 
U-1's and U-1 Disklaviers in service at UNL. They're real sturdy 
work-horses. Some are from 1965 and still work just fine.

Hope this helps a little.

Good luck,
Paul




From:
Aaron Bousel <abousel at comcast.net>
To:
caut at ptg.org
Date:
08/27/2010 08:43 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)

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