radical vertical piano soft pedal regulation

[Tom Sivak]

List

I am presently doing a little playing, and the piano I
have available to me is a Kimball artist console. 
Drag.  I did what I could to make it bearable,
regulating, voicing, etc., but I had a little surprise
when I used the soft pedal.

The soft pedal was set so that when depressed it
brought the hammers to within a half inch of the keys.
 I thought, "Whoa", I'll have to fix that, but to my
surprise...it works like a charm.

Usually, the soft pedal does practically nothing on a
vertical piano.  The difference is barely noticeable. 
But on this piano, with the soft pedal set like it is,
you can play really soft, and with expression, too. 
It brings the volume of the piano down to that
comparable to one of those mute rails you find on many
pianos.   

Of course I had already regulated the let off prior to
this discovery.  This wouldn't work if the let off was
farther away from the string than the hammer line, but
when the rest of the action is regulated properly, I
suggest to you all that this is the way to regulate
the soft pedal.

Flame me if you will, but this is working for me.  
I'm sold.   This makes the soft pedal another
legitimate source of expression on a vertical piano. 
Regulated traditionally, it does next to nothing.

Any thoughts?

Tom Sivak
Chicago