George Steck piano

* Japanese brands are those made by companies headquartered in Japan.  Today many Japanese pianos are made in China, Taiwan, Malaysia, United States, and in extremely large numbers in Indonesia.

The renowned George Steck piano was recognized as one of the strictly high-grade makes in the United States. With factories in East Rochester, New York, George Steck began manufacturing his own pianos in 1857, winning many honors during his long career. In the great Vienna Exposition in 1873, the George Steck won First Prize for merit for tone, design, and careful detail of construction. This was the only such honor granted at the Exposition and marked the superiority of the George Steck over all the other pianos exhibited. Steck, a master craftsman and scientific acoustician, won many other awards, including the coveted Gold Medal at Vienna and other international expositions. Richard Wagner composed "Parsifal" on the George Steck. The instrument had been presented to Wagner by his fellow townsmen and is preserved at the Wagner Villa in Bayreuth. In 2001 the George Steck piano company was sold to ASC, a division of the 1/3 of a billion dollar Korean conglomerate Sejung. With their vast resources, Sejung began to create a piano line of great depth and character with the intention of offering a high quality yet lower cost alternative to Yamaha and Kawai.  It was decided early on that rather than save money by using the laminated/ veneered soundboard that was used by many of its competitors, instead, all George Steck pianos are made with sounding boards of solid Alaskan Sitka spruce like both Yamaha and Kawai use on their pianos.  The sounding boards on the George Steck pianos are specially tapered to produce its clear ringing tone. George Steck piano hammers are Japanese as both Yamaha and Kawai use.   All George Steck pianos have a Vacuum Cast plate like Yamaha and Kawai.  All George Steck pianos that are larger than 54 have a duplex scale as both Yamaha and Kawai do.  George Steck offers a piano that is very similar in materials to the large Japanese makers at a lower price thereby offering a much greater value. Add to that materials that George Steck pianos contain that neither Japanese pianos contain such as German strings made by Roslau, and grand piano rims made of maple, which is the same material Steinway uses for its grand piano rims, neither Yamaha or Kawai use maple in their grand piano rims, providing a value second to none. The very noticeable wide tail design of George Steck grand pianos allows the bridges to be placed closer to the more lively area of the soundboard. This allows for a much smoother transition in the break area from bass to treble which is much smoother than most other brands of pianos manufactured in Asia. The added soundboard area greatly increases the clarity of the bass. All of this adds up to a piano with a remarkable feel and sound. All George Steck vertical pianos use the same fine materials as the grand pianos.  A new George Steck is a great alternative to a pre-owned or new Japanese branded piano.  You must play and or hear them to believe them.