I've seen Eastmans with finish either improperly mixed or too thinly applied, causing brittle easily damaged guitars. And, overly finished guitars that made me wonder just how good the things would sound if they weren’t "painted over." Eastman seems to be getting better at every aspect of building. At least that's been my (anecdotal) experience over the 10-ish years I've been playing them. My guess is that the switch to poly will be accompanied by a certain standardization of application, which can't be bad. And, whether they're doing it to reduce carbon footprint or really because it's quicker and cheaper to do so, if it DOES reduce their carbon footprint, that's a net positive.
Also, I have a Furch Vintage dread that is - if I'm interpreting their marketing properly - finished in poly. The tone jumps off it. So, don't worry about poly negatively impacting your future Eastman. Assuming they use the right material and know how to apply it...
Also, I have a Furch Vintage dread that is - if I'm interpreting their marketing properly - finished in poly. The tone jumps off it. So, don't worry about poly negatively impacting your future Eastman. Assuming they use the right material and know how to apply it...