Middle Hungarian Musical abused pedal

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> My client has a 1940 Steinway Grand and the middle
>pedal is not catching the Bass section of strings> I
>played the piece and told her not to hit it so
>quickly. She said that it had'nt been that way
>earler.Question- What would you try first

I would first try moving the sostenuto rod toward the damper underlevers.  
You may also check to see that the screws are tight.  If that doesn't do it, 
the rail may be too high, or the damper stop rail may be too low, or the 
entire damper/sostenuto regulaton can be whacko...... 
Good luck, 
Ed Foote RPT