Saber Forum

Does this come with the Obsidian soundboard? If not, what does it use, and how does it compare to the obsidian soundboard?

It does not come with the Obsidian soundboard, it retains the stock FX soundboard.

Would Ultrasabers install an Obsidian Soundboard?

Yes, but you'll have to wait for the Custom Saber Operations to open.

Which doesn't really stack up next to obsidian, but is still generally considered a plenty decent board. It's not the best, but it's not horrible. Many consider it to be greater than the Econo boards, though some prefer Econo instead. I've owned a couple sabers with these boards, including the Anakin. It's nice, and when you have it you'll like it, but if you've already had obsidian then going backwards will just not be the same for you.

Getting Ultra to install Obsidian in one for you would probably be possible, but you'd likely have to go through CSO when it is open. (Ultra's custom division) Watch these forums and Ultra has said he'll give us the heads up announcement when it's running. :)

Does Obsidian have a larger variety of sounds compared to the Force FX soundboard?

I know its customizable, but I'm speaking in terms of sound quality.

The Obsidian is, technically speaking, superior to Force FX sound.  It's louder, has more crisp sounds, and has (as you mentioned) customizable sound fonts.  It basically takes the customization feature of more expensive boards (Crystal Focus, Petit Crouton) and the affordable price range of the cheaper boards, and combines them.  For the price, you won't find anything better.

Just fyi, I totally don't get money for promoting Ultrasabers haha.  I just have experienced the Obsidian board for myself, and I can tell you firsthand that it blows the FX away ;)

Yah.  It's almost without question that the sound quality/sampling is far superior with boards like Obsidian and PC and CF.  Not only technically with the bit quality (16-bit vs... I think the Force FX series is 8, possibly 6 bit??), but also with the mixing.

I was able to hear some of the "newer" Force FX boards recently--the Dooku and the Ventriss.  They are... ok... the hums are very nice.  The mixing is poorly done, though, as... IDK... they messed something up, the sounds are scratchy for the mixed swings/clashes at times.  Hard to explain.

Sound mixing for sabers is... well, I've been doing it for years, and... it's not "easy" to get it right... but hard work pays off!!  :)

Well I suppose I'll just have to pay $300 for this saber + an estimated $75-100 extra for Ultra to custom install Obsidian, whenever CSO finally comes out... =/

No, you could get the Anakin ROTS Force FX itself.  Then when you're ready to get it done by Ultra, you can send it into the CSO and pay whatever the conversion fee + Obsidian would be.  Just an option.

Meh, I'd rather not pay for the shipping fees twice; I live on the other side of the country. Did Ultra give an estimate as to when CSO would be open? I read his posts and the dates he gave have already passed.

I'm not sure. I think he is planning on opening, taking on what he can handle, and then closing again until those orders are finished to avoid the enormous backlogs that many custom sabersmiths suffer from. It should also be noted he injured his hand recently and that has to have put him behind schedule, not to mention the guys have just been catching up with everything after Dragon Con recently as well. Keep an eye out and I'm sure it'll open up again relatively soon. :)

Just a little update, if you didn't see the new post by Ultra- the CSO will not be up and running any time in the near future. The feasibility of such an operation with one guy and his current staff would be low. He has suggested just going through with your orders now, and not waiting for the CSO to open to pull the trigger on your order. Heres the link:

http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=3085.0 (http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=3085.0)

Yeah he's right, I wouldn't worry about waiting on the CSO.  Ultra has so much stuff going (including cranking out new sabers like crazy lately!) that he just won't be able to start it up without some help.  I stick to my advice - grab an Anakin FX off eBay or something, and send it in for conversion (you will save a ton of money like that truthfully).  You can always get the FX board switched out for an Obsidian at a later date, when he does start doing custom work again.  If you do your research and practice enough with electronics, you could even attempt an install yourself!

I must add that I wouldn't recommend it DIY unless you're VERY familiar with this kinda stuff.  Practice with cheaper boards (like the econo board from an Obi-Wan toy) before you move up to boards like the Obsidian.  Just wanted to give you some options.

One other thought:  All though a little more expensive (but not much more) is buying from US.  Less hassel of things you have to do, plus you will get reward points!!!!

Buying saber on line (lowest price I seen is around 120-130) plus shipping charges.  Shipping charges to US for conversion.  Cost of conversion and shipping back back to you.

That's a fair point, I was thinking along the lines of getting something on eBay used.  I've seen quite a few FX sabers, MR ones too, that are barely used (most people know the FX line isn't for dueling) and going for cheap on eBay.  I know this because I've been lurking around there, looking for Vader ESB models haha.  You can find various ones for like 70-80 bucks typically, some even cheaper.  That plus conversion plus shipping ends up around 200 or so.

Just my two cents.

That would be a real good price.  Before I bought my Hasbro Count Dooku on ebay I had been looking for about a month.  Ebay was the only place I could find that had a new one...I got hosed...paid 250.00 with shipping.  About a month later they were like 100.00 less on ebay, and I seen that they were available at other locations on the web.