What is it? We asked Paul Hewitt at Rocket Shells to explain it. This is what Paul had to say:

Carbon fiber is a composite material based on the raw element carbon. The process of manufacturing raw carbon fibers is very complex and there are only a handful of companies who actually supply thousands of textile weavers who then take the carbon bundles and weave them into carbon fiber cloth. This carbon fiber material can be manufactured to different specifications depending on the application.
When Carbon Fiber is combined with epoxy resins and cured properly, the result is a very stable structure, which is very resistant to change. It can be formed in many different shapes and is currently being used extensively in Aerospace and Military applications.
Because of the diversity of Carbon Fiber and composite manufacturing, many characteristics can be altered or enhanced using a combination of materials. Different combinations of core material epoxy resin, and other cloth types are often combined with Carbon Fiber to achieve the desired results. Due to the tight bonds formed by carbon, layers are very stable and rarely delaminate when combined properly.

Timbre/Tonal Color: Overall it was surprisingly similar to our Maple control drum (8-ply Keller shell). The carbon fiber had a lower fundamental pitch. It also had a slightly compressed monotone sound that the maple did not have. Our maple drum was slightly “sharper” sounding than the carbon fiber.

Dynamic Range: Carbon fiber seems to work best in larger drums. The kit we tested 2 years ago sounded best with the big drums, but we found the small drums lacked the bottom end of the bigger drums. I also played in a band in which the bass player had a bass made with a carbon fiber neck. He mentioned that the low notes sounded great, but the higher notes didn’t have the same body and depth.

Tonal Range: The sweet spot size and amount of over ring are very similar to our maple drum.

Tuning Range: The carbon fiber took the same head tunings as our maple drum. It went as low and as tight before choking.

Resonance/Decay: Also nearly identical to our maple drum. We could not tell any significant difference.

Cross Stick: Rim shots sound slightly compressed. The cross stick area and sound was nearly identical to our maple drum.

Volume: Our carbon fiber drum liked to be hit hard. We found it had more body and bottom end when played at higher volume. There was an added “kick” from the bottom end when we reached a volume around MF (medium loud) to F (Loud). The carbon fiber drum was slightly louder than our maple drum, which was true in the kit we tested a few years ago also.

Sensitivity: Good response at all volumes. The carbon fiber is very similar to maple.

Comments: A pleasant surprise. This drum was much warmer and versatile than we expected from a “synthetic” drum. This is a good option for a utility drum, especially considering its durability. It also has a unique look.

By Greg Gaylord, Robin Williams & Robert “RB” Bowler.