Agreed...it tends to quack like a duck and distort the full-stick frequency spectrum. It's also a lazy, knee-jerk response to a perceived need to reduce volume (such as when accompanied by a singer) and demeans and underestimates the ability of the competent pianist to vary their attack and percussive style to adjust to the needs of the performance...

Hmm... Speaking as a competent pianist, I feel like there's a lot of over-generalized hate going on in this thread about the half-stick. Is it the ideal tonal choice? Of course not, but the half-stick can be very useful in certain situations such as that I already described. You just have to use it properly.

I am certainly capable of adjusting my articulation to the needs of a performance, but sometimes you're limited by other factors, especially when the piano and/or the acoustic are not ideal, and the half-stick has been a real problem-solver for me more times than I can count.

For example, I will sometimes use half-stick when accompanying singers, not to reduce volume, but when the piano / acoustic needs more forward treble projection to compensate. Full stick, even with a sensitive pianist, can sometimes overbalance a solo vocalist, especially young singers with less-than-operatic projection.

Admittedly, I would probably feel a bit differently if a recording engineer came over and adjusted the lid without speaking to me about it first. In my experience as a performer, I'm always the one who makes those adjustments.