Viscoelastic polymers are poison for stringed instruments, because they have very high damping coefficients. They turn the precious vibrational energy from the

Viscoelastic polymers are poison for stringed instruments, because they have very high damping coefficients. They turn the precious vibrational energy from the strings into useless heat. Only cheap mass-produced instruments are finished in polyurethane; quality instruments of traditional wood construction use a shellac-based finish (sometimes nitrocellulose lacquer on guitars), which have lower damping and can be applied more thinly in practice. In the context of high-quality instruments, the difference is not subtle. Wood instruments need a finish to protect them against moisture, but that isn't an issue for CFRP. Any finish - especially the kind of thick finish you need to get a high gloss over woven reinforcement - makes the instrument worse for no benefit other than cosmetics. If you would choose a shiny instrument over one that sounds better, you're buying a showpiece rather than a serious musical instrument. Epoxy is a necessary evil in CFRP, but we want the absolute highest possible fiber volume ratio. Unidirectional or spread-tow reinforcement will always allow for a higher fiber ratio than woven material.