Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Yamaha vs. Hailun vs Kawai

Hi All,

First time poster, though multiple thread reader. I am hoping I can leverage off of the members collective opinions. I am in the market looking for a piano for my wife. It is a christmas gift. She is unaware of my hunt for her gift.

She played the piano for years, I believe around a grade 4. Her first piano was a Mason & Risch piano.

When I first decided to take on the search for a piano for her, I hummed and hawed on whether I should buy new or used. The market in Edmonton, Canada for a used piano is not great. There are a number of Yamaha U1 but they are about 20-40yrs old, with a price of around $4000. There is also the Kawai BS-3A, also around 17 years old.

When going to reputable piano stores, one other piano caught my eye. The Hailun HU1P - 48". Retail around $6000.

Does anyone have any insights of which way I should lean. The Hailun is a brand new piano and research is showing it's brand is increasing.

Thoughts?

The Hailun HU1P is a very nice piano and Don's a good dealer.
You may check it against a Ritmüller UH 121 which I personally deem a superior piano.
Don's got the Ritmüller line as well so you should be able to compare.
Can't go wrong with either...
Norbert

You are considering good models and we have sold many of each. The BS-3A has the benefit of being 4" taller than the others. If the condition was equivalent, I would choose the Kawai over the smaller Yamaha U1. The Hailun has the clear advantage of being new, manufacturer's warranty, etc. It also has a different sound design (IMO, Yamaha & Kawai are similar in their sound) that may be more appealing to you. Inside, I could point to feature/benefits of Hailun's design, but I'll leave that to your dealer.

Is this a surprise gift? Consider having her involved in the final selection.

Used pianos are a good hedge against short-term depreciation (its common enough for beginners to quit) but it sounds like this is clearly a non-issue with her returning to the piano as an adult. On the less analytical side of things, she'll probably love either gift, but making memories on a new piano may make it more special. On the extremely pragmatic side of things, Hailun has their "Dream Assurance" program that now applies to uprights. It's a great help to the gift giver if it remains a surprise.

Take her shopping for it. Really. Pianos are so different, it's something she needs to pick out herself.

Sophia

I agree.

For Christmas give her some sort of piano trinket, like a music box and say it only represents a real piano. Then you can have the fun of shopping together.

Yes, I agree with the above posters. While it is a great surprise to come home and find a brand new piano in the house, it also doesn't let her have a say in it. For such a big investment, she needs to be involved in the decision.

Hi all. Thank you so much your input. The more the merrier. I have thought about asking for her help in choosing the piano- however, she her decision making may take years as she suffers more from analysis paralysis. Ha. So the surprise may work the best.

I have researched quite a bit, and engaged Don in St Albert regarding the piano. He really likes the hailun. Though I guess I was just nervous because of so many reviews from people also nervous of the Chinese build.

Though I am leaning towards the Hailun. It does sound great and the warranty of course is nice. Finally, the research I have done does indicate it has a strong design.

Or is 20 yr old Yamaha better? Decisions, decisions. Lol

If you're determined to choose it yourself, make sure it's returnable.

I agree with both of sophial's posts.

When it comes to picking out gifts for my wife, I'm a devious critter.

I like the piano trinket idea, followed by some real shopping, but if you are truly worried about the paralysis of analysis and really, really want to surprise her....Hmmm, how about doing a stealth shopping trip?

Get her into town on whatever shopping pretext and suggest to her that you've been thinking about maybe, just maybe getting a piano in the next few months. Why not just pop in to X's piano store for just a few moments? Steer her towards a pre-selected store and some pre-selected pianos.

Make sure you note if she really likes one, or not. If she does like one, she gets what she likes, you get what you like, and Christmas will be made merry.

OTOH, this may work as well as a three-wheeled train, but hey, I'm tryin' here...

What are everyone's thoughts on an 18 yr old Yamaha U1. The piano appears in great shape and was recently tuned. Cost $6,000

Or does a brand new hailun still make better sense?

Skovacic,

"Don" may be great but he's not your wife. Just to put this in context (and speaking as the player in the family- my spouse does not play and I can assure you, it would not be a good idea for him to pick a piano for me), think about whatever interest or hobby you are most passionate about that involves expensive equipment and where there are substantial differences between different types or models or even within models. Would you want someone else picking out the particular one that you would be using every day without involving you? Maybe your relationship is different but for me it would be like my spouse trying to order for me in a restaurant without consulting me ("the lady will have the __"). Sorry, that just doesn't work for me. I would appreciate his wanting to buy me a piano, but would be irked that I was not able to choose the one I would be playing for (hopefully) many years. If she is prone to analysis paralysis, it may be because she is very picky. As problems show up (as they will for just about every new instrument), it will all be on you.
Just sayin.... for your consideration.

Sophia

There's a difference about "being nervous about Chinese pianos" and having actual grounds for it. At least today.

I can respect someone not buying Chinese for political/personal reasons but having valid reasons against their best products they're making today is quite another.

In this case guessing there wouldn't be too many I-phones or Macs around...

Norbert

In the US, that wouldn't be a good deal for the U1, but I am not knowledgeable regarding pricing in Canada.

Although you're doing a very nice thing here, I still think you're going about it the wrong way.