My Initiate v4 w/sound

Here's what I ordered:

Initiate v4 with Sound

[Blade LED Color:Blazing Red]
[Flash on Clash:Flash Silver]
[Battery Configuration:Li-Ion Setup with BuckPuck (Batteries & Trustfire Charger Included)]
[Recharge Port:No Recharge Port]
[Blade Option:Mid Grade]
[Blade Size:Standard 32" Blade]
[Windows:No Windows in Emitter]
[Pommel:Regular Vented Pommel (hole in bottom) [Recommended]]
[Sound:Yes, Install Obsidian USB V4 Sound! [V4]]
[Switch Type (Momentary):Silver Non-Illuminated AV Switch]
[Blade Tip:Round Tip]

Here's what I got in the mail last week:

A splendidly brilliant piece.

I hadn't bought a lightsaber over the internet since 2002. That one was from another company, was sturdy, had no sound and the blades weren't LED. For its time, it was great.

The same can be said of this purchase from UltraSabers. I didn't want to go all out and buy the most expensive saber US had outright. I wanted to ease in and see if the experience was as positive as I'd researched.

I went through the saber-ordering prompts (1-17) and got my saber in three business days.

The hilt is nicely made and fits well in my long fingered-hands, which was a concern of mine when I looked up the dimensions of the Initiate. The 32 in. blade is just the right length for my taste and the brilliance of the blade on fully-charged batteries is wonderful.

One cautionary note about the blade's appearance, though. The YouTube videos and pics on US's website do not give you the real appearance. The "core" of the blade is not white with an aural halo of blazing red. The core and halo are red. Granted, I should have taken this into account, but none of the YT reviews explained that during my researching. I was only slightly disappointed about this fact when I first lit up the Initiate.

(I was able to mimic the same core effect on my phone and iPad cameras as I've come to know from the films. At least the saber will look more like a saber in any video it's in.)

This isn't a criticism, it's a note to anyone that could be in the same boat I was when I first started looking at saber-building companies. Maybe some day we will get this sort of blade.

I'm happy with my blazing red blade, but I am excited more about the quality of this Obsidian v4 soundboard! It's loud and comes with modifiable settings that I will be tinkering with for years. I have already used the saber font threads found here on the forums to further customize my saber's presentation. It is very easy to do. A mishmash of my favorite, powerful Sith sounds really adds to my enjoyment of this saber.

Overall, I am very happy with this purchase and I will be making another one with a key difference from my first Initiate - an Emerald driver.

I think having twin Initiate sabers with the sounds I've chosen and the added option of changing my next saber's blade color would be choice. I envision a blazing red coupled with the magenta shade I saw on Palpatine's saber in Episode 3.

Keep up the good work, US, you have another satisfied customer.