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Question for experienced piano techs...

Anecdotally, how do high end pianos (Steinway, Fazioli, Bosendorfer, Bechstein, Shigeru Kawai, Yamaha CF/CX series) hold up to intense, heavy use (e.g. conservatory/institutional settings). Something like, 2-3 hours a day repetitive technical drills and high volume playing. I know that all pianos need to have to be tuned, but how often would the action need to be regulated. How long before a full or partial rebuild of the action and replacing strings and hammers? Are there certain manufacturers who have more "durable" pianos?

To use a car analogy, it'd be great to own a Ferrari, but probably not good for a stop and go commute so it'll either be a trophy that sits in your garage or it will spend a lot of time at your mechanic's. A Porsche 911 or Mercedes S-class, on the other hand, is a plenty nice car and reasonable for daily usage.
(Disclaimer: I do not know much about cars, much less high end cars so the analogy may be clumsy)

Could one use a Fazioli or a Bosendorfer as a "daily driver" or would it be ground into dust sooner than a trusty Yamaha/Kawai/Steinway?

I think these new carbon actions don't have enough years on them to prove improvements in durability, but when a piano is played hard and often, I believe these are the primary components that are stressed: the hammers and key felts primarily. I think secondarily will be action part friction wearing on maybe backchecks. I think outside of a string breaking, regular play might benefit them as they would not be collecting dust so much on the bass strings. I can't see how any of the current manufacturers would have more durable parts in these areas, particularly considering most of them use the same companies to source their parts.

The primary factor to action durability is the mass of the hammer. Heavier hammers wear faster and require lower friction in the bearings to allow reasonable playability. Old Steinways, Bosendorfers, Bluthners, Bechsteins, Chickerings had lighter hammers than what is used today.

The shape and hardness of the string termination at the V-bar and in the agraffe string holes also plays a significant role in string durability. If the strings can't pivot across the termination point, they are forced to bend more and this fatigues the wire faster.

I make action with very light hammers and have been doing so since the early 1980's, they hold up really, really well. In fact they sound better after ten years of hard use.

Most of the contemporary pianos will have their actions reduced to wobbling craziness after three hours of daily playing for ten years.

I'm curious as why they use heavier hammers these days?

Any quality piano has felt and leather (or artificial leather, which does last longer) materials which wear in use. 2-3 hours a day is nothing - music conservatories have pianos being practiced on pretty much constantly for 10 or 12 hours a day! These pianos need extensive service every year at the minimum, and new hammers, key bushings, and treble strings every 5 to 7 years.

Few music schools budget sufficiently for this level of service. So the question becomes, what can they put up with?

Now, any quality piano that is being used an hour or two per day can also benefit from having the action regulation touched up annually, along with the hammer shape and voicing. But most people do not experience such well maintained pianos, so don't realize how nice it is to have them maintained at this level. Also, many piano technicians don't offer this kind of full-service work.

Keep in mind that a concert piano is like a race car - the action should be touched up pretty much constantly to keep it as close as possible to optimum performance for the pianist who has to come in and make music for an audience. When I have worked at piano competitions, the pianos are touched up daily, and not just tuning! Very small adjustments are made, but this way every competitor has the piano in excellent shape for every performance.

What I am getting at is that there is no one level of service that pianos need. It depends on use, and how important it is to the one paying for the service to keep the piano close to perfection.

It's all about the maintenance, 2-3 hours a day is nothing for a quality new piano.

Just have a tech take care of it and this is a non issue,

Is this a problem you see/have solved in uprights, or is it more relevant to grands?

Thank you for the great replies so far!

DreamPiano80, Thank you for your question.

The simplest answer is in the attempt to make a set of piano hammers that requires the least time during the tone regulation process to get the piano to a point that the tone is lively, hammer felt density has been increased. Unfortunately, denser felt weighs more, and is more difficult to glue to the wood moldings. This forces the hammer maker to choose stronger wood and that almost always means the wood is heavier as well.

The first tone regulation class I took was from Fred Drasche who was the head tone regulator at NY Steinway. The first two phrases out of his mouth were: "The hammer has got to get away from the string, and the voicer puts the tone in the hammer by the shape".

Maestro Lennie,
Thank you for your question. Yes, heavier hammers are also being used on contemporary vertical pianos.

They cause the additional problem of altering the center of gravity balance of the hammer assembly. In addition to the more rapid wear, this manifests itself in many newer vertical pianos with "bobbling hammers" in the middle section above the overstrung section when playing softly.

The heavier hammers tip the center of gravity of the hammer assembly so it wants to stay against the string.

This is not true. Not even close. The Primary factor is how the pianist plays the piano. Hard, soft, once in a while, or all day long.

Talkoftheweather, my suggestion is practice good maintenance. Pick a Piano Technician you like, and i'm sure they will suggest a routine maintenance schedule to fit you and your pianos needs.

-chris

If the hammers weigh a pound apiece, and the piano is never played, the action will not wear out!

If the hammer does not get away from the string, that is a problem with the action regulation. It is called "blocking."

Voicers have more tools in their repertoire than shaping the hammers.

When did the change occur? I.e., if you had an antique or vintage piano with original hammers, at what point would you say they were unlikely to be as light as you like them?

I’m speaking now of top-drawer brands that are still in production.

BDB, Surely you can comprehend the inertial properties of the hammer assembly in relation to the period of the string.

It could be said that because a heavier hammer stays against the string longer, it is "blocking" longer. No turning of regulation screws will change that fact.

There are lots of things that could be said, but just saying them does not mean much. If you have a 10 gram hammer covered with felt, as usual, would it stay on the string longer than a 12 gram hammer made of solid wood?