When former aerospace engineer and guitar aficionado Ellis Seal set out to design a composite acoustic guitar, he believed the inherent properties of carbon fiber could produce sound, playability, durability and consistency impossible in a wooden instrument. Today, his company, Composite Acoustics (Lafayette, La.), produces a guitar line that, his customers claim, justifies his work. The secret? Seal’s AcousticTailoring process, which permits customization of each model’s tonal properties. Seal says many factors contribute to a sound signature: For instance, wooden guitars are assembled from separate body and neck components, but Seal’s feature a one-piece body and neck to enhance stiffness.

Instrument shapes are generated as 3D CAD models and master plugs are CNC-machined from aluminum. Resin-infused carbon/epoxy molds are pulled from the plugs. Reinforcements are cut on a CNC cutting table from Eastman Machine (Buffalo, N.Y.) and kitted. “We use 5.7-oz woven fabric, a 9-oz uni and some