Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Help Dating a George Steck Duo-Art Grand(re uploaded w/pics)

Before you ask me why I bought it and why in the world I would want to put money into an almost century-old piano that isn't a Steinway or any other "prominent" maker of the day, just hear me out.

A couple of months ago I bought a George Steck Duo-Art grand piano. I got it for an excellent price, its old owner just wanted it gone. It apparently sat for years, as I could tell by some sluggishness in the keys (which went away after a few days of playing), keys are ivory and are in excellent shape. The Duo-Art needs a complete rebuilding otherwise, as a piano it is solid. I tuned it not too long ago, all the pins were tight and it held the tune well. Bridges have not visible cracks and the soundboard is not cracked or split. A couple of the bass strings could use a cleaning and a twist. Overall its tone is good in my opinion for a grand of its size.

Anyway, I ran into some confusing details that hindered me from putting an accurate date on it. The fallboard and the soundboard have George Steck decal on them however, the frame has Aeolian cast into it. I know that George Steck was an Aeolian name but it struck me as odd that the plate would have Aeolian on it without mention of the George Steck name. After some internet research, I found that the George Steck frame design was different in my piano. My piano breaks the scale into three sections, one for the wound bass strings, one for the tenor and low treble, and one for the treble (like what you would see in most uprights. There are no agraffes, not even in the bass. Other George Steck Duo-Art and non-player grands had the scale broken into four sections and had Geo. Steck on the plate. If you are wondering why I have not mentioned the serial number yet, I will. These details confused me on whether or not to reference the number with George Steck, or Aeolian, I did both, and the years were both very different. (Checked using Piano Blue Book) By my own judgment of the Duo-Art player and its style, I estimated that it was between 1923-1926 (1923 seems to be most fitting). If I remember correctly, 1923 matched more accurately with George Steck's numbers.

Serial no. VR
69060

I do understand that many of these old pianos are difficult to date accurately, I really just want to know if the guy who refinished the piano, in what my guess was the 70s, put George Steck decals on it instead of Aeolian. In the 20s did Aeolian even sell a Duo-Art grand branded as Aeolian?

My plan for this piano is to restore it myself. I love to take on projects, especially as a college student. I have an interest in player pianos, I rebuilt one when I was sixteen, so the George Steck Duo-Art was right up my alley as I wanted to explore the world of reproducing pianos. I bought it for $500, which I know seems like a lot, but it was the cheapest Duo-Art I could find locally, it also came with almost two hundred rolls. The Duo-Art system is entirely there, no missing parts. It also has a perfect set of ivories, they needed a good cleaning but cleaned up well. The action was gone through at one point, and it is the only thing that looks like it was reconditioned correctly and with great care. The player was half-rebuilt and it looks very half-assed. The guy who refinished it back then must have been smoking something special, he finished the walnut accent and trim pieces the same as the mahogany base, now the piano is all one uniform color! Which was not original for its cabinet style, and is why I don't trust the decals.

Pictures:
[img]https://ibb.co/ns9Bby3[/img]https://ibb.co/ns9Bby3
[img]https://ibb.co/XDvKByv[/img]https://ibb.co/XDvKByv
[img]https://ibb.co/Bstswzd[/img]https://ibb.co/Bstswzd

Thanks for reading these thoughts, questions, and concerns that went straight from my head to the keyboard. Any information is greatly appreciated!

-Austin

Have absolutely no idea, but really enjoyed the post. I'll be checking back. Hope somebody can help.

Austin, you may want to try your question on the Player Piano Talk group in Facebook, or on Mechanical Music Digest (just Google it). You'll find more knowledge on old Duo Art systems at both. I am in the (long) process of getting an old Weber Duo Art restored.

I wouldn't date anyone named "George."


Regards,

Bruce!

Re this:
https://ibb.co/Bstswzd

Wow!!! I don't think I've ever seen the underbelly of a player piano before. I had no idea it looked like that!

It probably is a generic Aeolian grand that they originally sold as a George Steck. The serial number would put it at about 1923 no matter whether it was a Steck or Aeolian.

That sounds about right. Thanks for the input.

Yeah. When I saw the underside for the first time I was shocked to see how tightly they squeezed all of those devices under there!

What is really nice about these old mechanisms is that the only sound from the vacuum pump is the whirr of the motor, unlike the vacuum cleaner type pumps that people would put into old players that became so leaky that nobody could pedal them hard enough to make them play.

The problem with the DuoArt grands is that the spool box is above the keys. This is a giant maintenance problem, because tubes from the spool box goes through the keys, and the spool mechanism gets in the way if you have to pull out the piano action for maintenance. It took me several hours to fix a part on Steck DuoArt that normally would have taken less than an hour.

Yeah, I opened up all the covers on it when it arrived at my house, luckily there is nothing wrong with the piano action at the moment. It is definitely a unique design to put the spool box over the keys instead of a drawer like the Welte or AMPICO but you are right that it makes for a very inconvenient servicing. I don't know exactly when I'll get around to the rebuilding but in the meantime it makes a nice piano to practice on.

Chopin did.

You have an interesting piano. I hope to see more of it in the future. As for your questions, there are some even more interesting answers. First off, I am fairly certain that your instrument is in fact an Aeolian. At the time, both Duo-Art and Ampico pianos were placed in several brands with differing prices and levels of quality. Both companies also built pianos under their own names, for instance, the Ampico company built the Ampico Symphonique. Aeolian also built players like yours that had their own name. That is why your piano's plate has the design and casting of the Aeolian company. These instruments were often very high quality, but these companies did not have the reputation of companies such as Mason and Halin for Ampico, or Steinway for Duo-Art. Unfortunately, whomever "rebuilt" your instrument did not seem very skilled. One shady tactic used in piano rebuilding is to use a higher quality fallboard decal from a higher quality brand within the company. These higher level brand were with the companies' umbrella, for instance, Steck was under Aeolian, but the piano itself is really a less known piano, possibly of lower quality. This practice is similar to modern day stencil pianos where you buy the instrument for the name, not the piano itself. I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me with questions or concerns.

Although it was only her pen-name, or should I say nom-de-plume!

I'd date someone called George if we clicked.

Nice piano, how much does it weigh?