[HiTech RedNeck]

Satin and clear are mainly optical effects. Unless the stiffness was different or the thickness, a blind test shouldn’t know the difference.

[ResponseAbility]

There are many guitarists that refinish the satin to give a clear coat just for the sound. It doesn’t seem that it would matter, and I can’t tell you what the reasons are. But I trust my guitarist friends to know what they are doing and to tell the real reasons they do it,lol.

[Gargantua]

Actually, HTRN, a "satin" finish has a comparitively rough, variated surface with pitichial elevations and depressions by the millions at a microscopic level, while a "silk" finish is more smoothly mirror-like.

At any frequency (most apparent at an object's NVF ~ "natural vibrating frequency") the sound will be more sharp clear, harmonically dense and well-defined when emanated from a vibrating object with a smooth, glassy surface... in much the same way a tiled shower room will resonate more fully than a room draped in blankets.

Thickness and cellular density of the wood itself matters, as well, but ultimately, the smoothness and uniformity of the coating on the surface will have the final "say," so to "speak."

Just sayin...