cello sides

ayer

Going for the (relatively) big one - started a cello!

I've heard that many makers reinforce cello sides with linen or some other cloth to prevent splitting/cracking.

Is this really necessary if the sides are uniformly thick at 1.6 or 1.7 mm?
Could using cloth reinforcements have any effect on the sound?
I'm not at the stage yet where I have to decide, but I'd be most interested to hear your comments.
Thanks in advance,