Robbie said:

>[ In my (American) Aeolian Themodist the accomp regulator
>[ vacuum is fixed with a spring, and the slide valves are
>[ a crude variable bleed to the theme supply.  I'd much
>[ rather the accomp vacuum were a _regulated percentage_
>[ of the main reservoir vacuum.  A slide lever won't do this.
>[ Have you ever seen a regulating mechanism which could maintain
>[ a constant proportion?

I think what you describe above is the usual arrangement, but in my
experience it works quite well.  The snag I can see to anchoring the
accomp suction to a lever-set proportion of the theme suction is that
at fail-point pedalling strength, any use of the levers will cause
failure, where the present system allows theme to sink into the accomp
automatically whatever you're doing.

I am reminded at this end that some people like the extreme throw of
the subdue levers to suppress the piano entirely with foot pedalling.
They in fact do this on some earlier upright pedal-electric Duo-Arts
where the subduing levers are held over with a little catch to play DA
rolls and the massive pump suction permits the piano to speak at level
zero.

Some people (notably Michael Broadway who has a reputation in Milan of
"il maestro del pianola") like them to stop where I'd be only two-thirds
over so they can't suppress the piano by mistake.  No accounting for
tastes !

On later Hupfeld players you squeeze the subdue levers together, the
bass-subdue (ie treble emphasis) being (fortunately) the same way 'round
as Aeolian's and the treble-subdue being beyond it and working backwards.
This is a good system, because to obtain plenty-theme with personal tilt
of accomp towards bass or treble, you pinch a certain amount and then
swing the two levers together to bias the accompaniment.  You get the
same merging of powers at the soft end.  In fact, as I've said earlier,
I suspect Aeolian pinched a lot of their good ideas off Hupfeld.

Dan Wilson

 [ I love my old Themodist Pianola's!  Thanks, Dan.  -- Robbie