Reviews – Fibertone Guitars

Loving my Fibertone 16-inch archtop (default 16RC ). This carbon fiber gem is a game changer.

The fretboard is effortless bliss: fingers glide like butter, no drag or fatigue, perfect for endless comping and solos.

Tone-wise, it’s killer. With my 1.5mm pick unplugged, the acoustic projection roars—deep, resonant lows and mids and tamed highs , and room-filling sustain that nails that vintage jazz snap. Amplified, zero feedback, pure magic.

The ordering process was a highlight too. Rok at Fibertone was incredibly friendly and responsive—answered my emails swiftly.

If I had one suggestion, it’d be adding online configuration options to tweak things like specs and colors on the site. It’d make customizing even easier and more intuitive.

Bottom line: If you’re serious about archtop guitars, the Fibertone 16-inch is a game-changer. Top-tier quality, effortless playability, and projection that inspires. Highly recommend— This bad boy’s my daily driver now—boosted my groove instantly. Jazz heads, don’t sleep on it.

Hakan Levent

Today am writing a quick review of a recent NGD for me- a very special one indeed!

As many of you know, I had been looking for years for a carbon fiber archtop because of extreme humidity issues in my area. In the summer the weather is very hot and humid (sometimes 90%+), whereas in the winter, humidity conditions in my house sink below 10%. The high humidity causes issues on outdoor concerts where archtop guitars are difficult to keep in tune and of course the low humidity issue runs the danger of valuable instruments cracking. For this reason I sold my Martin acoustic and bought a Rainsong as a stand guitar. However the Rainsong is not intended to be a jazz guitar and both its playability and sound make it completely unsuitable for jazz and most other music I play on stage. However pure carbon fiber archtops are simply just not out there in the market, until now.

A few months ago I found a builder of carbon fiber archtops in Slovenia made by Rok Drobun under the brand name Fibertone. After speaking with Rok numerous times on Skype, etc, we hammered out final specifications for the guitar, which has a double cutaway, a 4” deep body and 16” bout. I selected a Reilander custom pickup with a split coil tap enabling it to be played either as a humbucker or as a single coil with a tone bleed circuit. The construction of the body and neck is 100% unidirectional carbon fiber.

When I took delivery of the guitar, the guitar exceeded my expectations in every way. I play 13 gauge flatwound Thomastik-Infeld strings, which are generally not very easy for most players. Playability of this guitar with even heavier strings is incredible with comfortable low action. I did not want the guitar to be loud acoustically because it will always be played amplified so Rok made the body extra heavy with sound posts for feedback control. Acoustically the guitar has a very woody sound and plugged in, you would have no idea you are hearing a carbon fiber instrument- to me it sounds like a laminated guitar.

Craftsmanship is superb with incredible detail to fit and finish. The guitar was obviously made with love and intense pride by Rok and it is evident that this instrument was not stamped out by an assembly line. The guitar is simply stunning looking with the mint green body and natural carbon fiber neck. The sound of the guitar is very balanced. I’ve brought it out on several gigs already and I can’t wait to put it through the paces!

In closing, this is an excellent guitar and an excellent value. Custom guitars don’t come cheap, archtops are generally expensive, and carbon guitars aren’t cheap either. Custom carbon fiber archtops combine three very expensive variables so your Squier strat player is not the target audience here. That said, for what you get this is an amazing guitar for the money- and highly recommended.

Lowell Schantz

A review of my 16RC

In May 2025, I purchased a black and white 16RC. Although I already own several high-end guitars, I was influenced by Sandra Sherman’s video, which features the very guitar I selected. Since acquiring it, I have used the instrument for both rehearsals and a recent live performance.

The guitar’s appearance and finish are outstanding—the instrument is meticulously crafted and presents a contemporary aesthetic, with carbon fiber and richlite construction complemented only by a floating bridge which is the only piece of wood! The neck offers excellent playability, featuring low action and no buzzing, comparable to the finest guitars I have encountered, including the French Jacobacci J5.

Acoustically, the instrument projects notably well—although not quite as loudly as a traditional acoustic guitar, contrary to claims made in Sandra Sherman’s video. Nevertheless, as noted by French luthier François Guidon, a quality archtop should produce a strong unplugged presence, which this guitar delivers.

Turning to its amplified performance, tonal preferences are naturally subjective. I tested the guitar through a Henriksen jazz amp, Roland JC120, and AER Alpha Plus, each revealing distinct characteristics. Across all setups, the sound reflected that of an exceptional instrument, comparable to leading archtops on the market, yet distinguished by a unique personality. The tone is harmonically rich and highly responsive to hand positioning, exceeding the modulation achieved with my wooden guitars. The custom Q humbucker, designed to Rok’s specifications, performs admirably; additionally, the audio representation in the Sandra Sherman video is accurate.

With 55 years of experience playing guitar, I can confidently state that my Fibertone surpasses the Gibson L-4CES I previously owned. Among carbon fiber guitars, some models rival the best traditional wooden acoustics, and I believe this represents a significant direction for instrument development. Furthermore, Rok Drobun demonstrates exceptional customer service and commitment to satisfaction.

Claude PETIT (France)

Once I had the green light from my bride to buy an archtop and I began searching, a guitar forum pointed me to Fibertone. Finding out they were so far away in Slovenia I naturally had a few questions initially. But… From my first dealings with Rok, I immediately knew I would be buying this guitar from him. He is super accommodating and has a can-do attitude. He was able to check all the boxes of what I wanted in a guitar.

I knew from watching a couple of the videos that these guitars could project, but I was thoroughly impressed once I received this guitar. The top is very lively, the volume is great. Some CF guitars can kinda “quack” at you but this guitar has a smooth response, partially owing to the ebony bridge and maybe partially the awesome sound port. I kind of expected the guitar to be heavy but it wasn’t. Very balanced.

Pulling it out of the case the first time, it struck me that the guitar had flown from Slovenia to the US then across the country to Dallas, then spent the Christmas holiday weekend in a cold warehouse (it was below 20 deg F which is a Texas rarity) then in a truck jostling around all day, yet upon receipt it was completely in tune. In fact I’ve been playing around on it for 2 weeks and I have yet to get out of tune even enough for me to get around to putting the tuner on it. Stable as can be.

Also completely blown away how true the frets are – the action is straight and low and can get as low as you want. It delivered with .012 flat wounds on it, which are heavier than the .010’s I’m used to, but I didn’t notice a thing. The playability is awesome and intonation spot-on. Obviously a lot of care and skill were spent building and setting up this guitar. The slotted headstock I asked for is beautifully done. The neck is a unique but comfortable shape, very slightly wider feel than my Gibsons and Fenders and Taylors and such, but with almost a slight classical flat on the back which I like, and the cross section feels very uniform and consistent from head to heel. Love it. A fast finish on the back of the neck. The fretboard has the custom hand inlaid Trinity knot I ordered and looks fantastic. Every aspect of this guitar is a testament to Rok’s attention to detail and to the fine Fibertone workmanship.

I’d like to talk a quick sec about my dealings with Rok. He was extremely accommodating, way beyond anyone else I contacted. He was very patient with me during my “kid in a candy store” phase as I was trying to choose my options and specify my preferences. These were things which, up until then, I hadn’t thought much about – binding, purfling yes or no, zero fret yes or no, where to locate pots, etc. Rok was generous with his experience and recommendations but still left everything up to me. I quickly learned to trust his judgement and in some cases though the options were mine I left some decisions up to him.

Also, when it comes to trust, I haven’t felt more at home with anyone I’ve custom ordered from, even here in the US. He is a great communicator and I never lacked info or was in want of a status. He checks in with detail questions or photo updates often which was a nice and welcome touch. Also his manner of doing business is completely above board and customer and quality focused. I’ve never had a more worry-free transaction.

Sorry for the long-winded review but the takeaway here is – I totally recommend Fibertone!

Thomas Raif

Tried out the Fibertone archtop guitar made by Rok. It’s a well thought out product and the technology and work involved in such a fine work of art are really noticeable. Really nice sound with brilliant clarity and rich harmonics. It plays like a dream and it si really well setup. The bass response from the lower strings sounds almost like a piano.

It has rich harmonics and nothing is sticking out, just a well balanced guitar tone. I tried playing it clean through my little solid state Vox amplifier and it worked. I then added just a pinch of reverb and little tremolo. As an amateur jazz lover I tried producing some familiar sounds and it sounded just beatiful. The coolest thing is that it stays as it is set up, because it is made out of carbon, which is awesome btw, because it is more durable and reliable than a normal guitar would be; no more turning the neck screw haha! Hats off man a really lovely piece of art and fine craftsmanship.

If I’d get another chance I’d try running it through my ginourmous pedalboard, ’cause I think it could unleash a beast.

Tomaž Zupančič

I’ve visited fibertone guitars to find out more about these unique guitars. The owner Rok is a very competent and nice person and when it comes to guitars he has a a lot of knowledge of the fiber material, that he puts into his work.

And he takes his time to show all the models and explains everything in detail, so it was very informative and in good atmosphere.

The guitars have a lot of facets and are unbelievable good sounding, everything is handmade and high standard of quality and everything can be custom made. So the only thing that is difficult, is to decide what of the good things there are to choose for a custom model.

I would definitely recommend to check out these remarkable guitars, you will be surprised.

Martin Rosenberger

I couldn’t believe how warm and natural Rok’s guitar sounded!

Ed MacEachen

Fibertone Guitars look and sound beautiful! Rok really puts his heart and soul into his work. This is really obvious when you get your hands on one of Fibertone guitars.

Jan Robas

I asked Rok for an impossible guitar. I had talked to 3 builders before him and they told me to find someone else, they just couldn’t build the guitar I wanted. I wanted a thin-bodied arch top with an even and open tone that would project well.

There are physics involved that make this a near impossible task. There are traditions in arch top building that make what I wanted a difficult request. None of that stopped Rok.

He built me a loud, clear, articulate box that I can play the kind of music I like on. I’m not a jazz player, and though I do play blues I’ve always preferred early acoustic and jump blues. The guitar Rok built me can do it all.

Rok listened to me when I shared the tone I was after and he translated that into magic build techniques.

Hearing is believing.

Peter Geiger

A review of my purchase:

So back in March 2022 I decided to pull the trigger on one of the Fibertone Single Cut (Les Paul Style) guitars. I initially contacted Rok Drobun (the builder/owner for some general information/spec. Once happy with his description etc, I sent my initial payment to commission Rok to start my guitar. His comms were awesome all the way through the build, with regular updates.

Then end of July i received the message I had been waiting for… ‘your guitar is finished, see photos etc’. It is a stunning machine! Little did I know that it was even more stunning in person. I completed my payment to him & the guitar was on its way to me.

I received the guitar within days. The guitar is such a well thought out & well built guitar. Unfortunately the 3 way toggle got damaged in transit & Rok did not hesitate to send me a replacement.

Considering this is a guitar made by hand, the fit, form & finish is outstanding. The carbon finish is cool as hell! The neck is the most comfortable neck I have ever had. The weight of the guitar is perfect for me at just over 3.5kgs (It has a mahogany & laminate body with carbon fiber shell over the body & the neck is entirely carbon fiber. It is a very solid construction as you would except with carbon fiber. The pickups are Rok’s own & they have a rather nice PAF tonal quality about them from the wood & carbon mix. The tuners are grover style locking tuners & very smooth/stable. The electronics are CTS 500k pots which compliment the type of guitar it is. Overall a fantastic Fibertone guitar.

I have had my guitar for a few weeks now & truly don’t want to put it down.

Thank you Rok for your awesome guitar, excellent comms & friendship.

Brian Dunks

Sandra Sherman review...

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16" SC sound sample

16" SC sound sample