Hi Scott, thanks for the question and clarification.
As I said in my previous post, to MY ears it sounds slightly warmer, that's the way I hear it, but that's just me, some other mandolin players have agreed with me, others have said it's noticeably different and "better". I recommend you watch some of the demo videos and opinions of the professional mandolin players. It really depends on the person. We will make some more comparison video demos soon so you can hear for yourself the differenced, but there are a few things that both materials have in common.
First, the sound of the mandolin is much louder and has more cut than a wood mandolin, this is because the surface of wood is softer than carbon fiber, and it absorbs a little bit of the sound, where carbon fiber is a harder surface and reflects the sound more. You can compare it to an echo in a cave or brick room, as opposed to a music room with padded walls. There is more sound bouncing off, instead of absorbing, and that makes it sound louder and more clear.
Secondly carbon fiber has longer sustain, making it ring longer, and more clearer. It naturally has more spring and stiffness than wood, so it has more clear harmonics, and sustain.
These factors are great for a mandolin because the mandolin is naturally a small instrument, so the adde volume is very helpful, also the tuning on mandolin strings is high pitched, so having the clearer and more cutting sound also adds to the desired sounds of a mandolin.
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