As far as we know, no Steck pianos were made in Britain until after
WW1, when heavy duties were applied to German imports.  Before the war
'European' Stecks were made at the Gotha factory of Ernst Munck, which
Aeolian took over around 1904.

Extremely fine instruments, Gotha Stecks are very similar to earlier
Munck pianos and are undoubtedly Munck designs, usually in Aeolian
house-style cases.  After 1918 British-designed Stecks were manufac-
tured at Hayes, Middlesex, and few Gotha Stecks seem to have reached
Britain; the Gotha factory was taken over in the 1920s by Philips AG.
Has anyone deciphered the Gotha vs. British vs. US numbering systems?

It seems unlikely that the scaling, voicing and tuning stability of
any European Stecks owe anything to US Stecks, which display typically
American characteristics.  Dolge stated that during retirement George
Steck strove to produce a piano that would stand permanently in tune,
but production Stecks reveal no extraordinary features except perhaps
a massiveness of construction similar to the best British makes.

British Webers were made in the new Hayes factory after 1909.  Until
WW1 they were the superb designs of Samuel Wolfenden, whose "Treatise on
the Art of Pianoforte Construction" (1916) deals with string tensions,
tone quality and stability of tuning.

The top piano makers, who investigated wire quality and behaviour,
concurred that optimum tone is obtained as a string approaches its
elastic limit.  Inherent tuning instability is largely attributable
to incurable scaling and down-bearing errors, insufficient frame
rigidity and excessive soundboard movement (through inadequate
protection against changes in humidity) which compromise the chosen
critical tensions.

Paddy Handscombe
London