Hi, all,
I think there are two separate groups of pianos being discussed. A good concert piano in a school or venue, which is really well-maintained and shares the load with another piano or two, can last much longer than ten years, as we all know. At this point, I have 3 Hamburg and 7 NY D’s in service in concert halls that are anywhere from 9 to 18 years old. (There are also two CFX and two CFIII that aren’t that old, so I can’t comment on their wear patterns yet.) I have also worked a lot in the past with C&A concert grands that live “on the road”, being rented for various venues. And I had 6 NY D’s in use at CSULB while I worked there for 30 years.
The C&A pianos, at least locally, are “eligible” for retail sale after 3 years. They are NOT worn out at that age. I have had one or two that I hated to see go, because at 3 years old they were going great, well-loved by the venues, and had at least 3-4 years of heavy service left. That seems purely marketing, yes, because people lined up to get their hands on the piano “touched by the great pianists” etc etc.
The pianos that get moved a lot have more trouble from the trucking. I was working with several C&A pianos out of LA, years back, and the dealer only let 3 or 4 of us ever tune them. We all swore three ways to Sunday that none of us ever inserted a mute strip without raising the dampers first, yet the tips of the dampers were always tearing. I finally realized that it was happening during shipping, when the piano was on its side and the dampers worked free of the strings, leaving them to jounce up and down while the strings pulled at the tender tips. Potholes, what are you gonna do?
Pianos that stay in one place have different situations. My D’s share the load, like 4 in one venue, 2 in another, etc. taking the heavy concerts. That extends their life by at least double, of course.
When they start to break strings, from wear - always assuming good regulation, voicing, and so on, but Prokofiev and Rachmaninov will take their toll after a while - it’s time to look at new treble wire. Also, I have heard a tinny, thinner sound develop as the strings get tired, which I can’t work around with hammer voicing. I have now had Bruce Stevens here in LA put all new strings and wire on 5 of my NY D’s, and even with the original hammers, the sound is fresh and clear again. In my case, that happened at 10-18 years of use. Three of those pianos also got new hammers, and we’re looking at another 5-10 years, easy. The pianos are met with satisfaction from visiting artists. The NY D’s that I worked with at CSULB are still going strong, one with a re-stringing, after over 25 years. I am no longer there, but they have followed a pattern of regular tuning, voicing and regulation. And the one that got re-strung also got new hammers recently.
The look of the piano will diminish over time, even with good covers and even leg wraps (super helpful, try them - makes the piano look like a Thoroughbred in warm-up pants). I have had a good local refinisher guy, who is admittedly a master at the specialty of touchup, come in every year or two. The satin pianos from the past are harder to maintain, and the newer ones in polyester are pretty easy. But when they chip, I think they’re harder to repair?
Concert pianos absolutely should be limited to dress rehearsals and performance only, or they become (if they get regular practice allowed) practice room pianos! A good Hands-Off lock and key control were my best friends at CSU. As we have said, it’s all about the hours and the wear.
Many excellent pianos have been mentioned here. My experience is limited to what the local venues, where I work, have purchased.
Always a fun project, choosing a nice new piano, have fun!
Original Message------
As I think Kevin was pointing out, in addition to some cosmetic wear and tear what generally is showing signs of decline within 10 years of heavy use on these C&A pianos- are the actions. Considering also that it's relatively easy to sell these tried and true instruments as is, often with signatures of prominent pianists on the plate, it makes good business and marketing sense to sell and replace with new ones. Don't mean to sound cynical, but focusing on the soundboard rather a worn-out action is totally consistent with that larger plan, especially since standards for parts replacement vary considerably with different venues and budgets.
Dennis.
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Dennis Johnson, R.P.T.
Piano Technician
Music Dept.
St. Olaf College