Ultra Sabers...how's the sound?

[wolfmetal45]

Hi there, new to the forums but a long time Star Wars fan.    Now that I'm almost 18 I'm almost to the minimal age of joining the 501st Legion, something I've wanted to do for some time, and a Sith costume is something that's always seemed like fun to make.  I'm almost finished designing the costume itself but there is one hitch.  The lightsaber.

Now I've been digging around the source for studio quality lightsabers we've all heard of (not sure if they can be mentioned here, I'll just assume people know what I'm talking about when I say the 'mainstream competition' from a certain major manufacturer).  But then a friend directed me here and i have to say, I like how these look.  But I do have 2 main concerns.

1:  Durability
Let's face it, at heart we all love to get with a buddy or two and just hack at each other with these things.  Though a friend and I both are interested in stage combat and were looking to choreograph a few fights using studio quality lightsabers.  How would you guys say these things hold up saber on saber?

2:  Sound
To me, the effect (and costume) just wouldn't be complete without the sound of a lightsaber.  You know the crash of 2 blades hitting, the screech of it powering up and down, and the hum it makes while on and swung.  I noticed some, but not all, of the lightsabers here come with some soundboard option.  What quality are they?  And what types of lightsabers have the options?  So far I've only found them on Movie replicas and single blad designs.  No staff lightsaber design yet.

Thanks for reading guys and have a good one,
Stephen

[ThreadJack]

Well if you want lightsabers to fight with, then you've come to the right place. Ultra Sabers are designed both for staged and 'real' combat. As far as sound quality, from what I've seen/heard it's great. Probably the best you're gonna get.

[DirtyJersey]

ThreadJack is right. These are probably the best quality "Combat" sabers around. The hilts are machined aluminum, and the sound is just amazing on the customizable Obsidian sound board. Look in the reviews section here and you should be able to find some good videos with saber sounds. Matter of fact, start with this Bellicose review: http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=2130.0

If you want a staff with sound, the only options at the moment are the Double Hilt Darth Maul or you can buy 2 sabers with sound and join them with a vented coupler

[Ty_Bomber]

As stated above, the durability of ultrasabers is second to none. They are widely regarded as the best that you can get for that purpose, and if you dont believe me, check this out.

It's an older video, but they still hold the same standards.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StB5wRy3KdI" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StB5wRy3KdI</a>

As for sound, in my opinion, dollar for dollar, the Obsidian option that Ultra offers is the best board that you'll find. There have been alot of breakthroughs in this hobby for sound, mainly the Crystal Focus (which is out of most people's price range), and the Petite Crouton soundboard (which is kind of a CF lite). They have their own strengths and drawbacks, but none of them compare to the Obsidian soundboard in ease of customization or sound quality (especially at that price!) I direct your attention to this video to tell you more about it!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gituKA8vZyI" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gituKA8vZyI</a>

Best part about the Obsidian? They'll install it for you, before it ships! If you went through TCSS and didn't want to risk frying your own board, you'd have to send it to a sabersmith, and fork out another couple bills, not to mention the time it would take your saber out of your hands.

These ARE the sabers you're looking for my friend. All you have to worry about now is your costume, and we have plenty of advice in that department too!

example:

http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=2714.msg31294;boardseen#new

Welcome to the forum! Cheers!

[Master Artorius Vidnyl]

IMPORTANT NOTE:  The above durability video was created when Ultrasabers still produced PVC hilts.  If you (stupidly) attempt any of those things with a metal hilt saber you will cause cosmetic damage to your lightsaber.  It is also never advisable to place electronics in water.

That being said, these things can take a beating.  There are posts about people on the forum who have no one to train with so they battle TREES.  If that doesn't say durability then I don't know what you might be looking for. 

[Manroon]

Durability: They are TANKS. It is nearly impossible to do anything worse than cosmetic damage to an ultrasaber. You can fight all night with these as long as you like, and they will out do anything else on the market.

Sound: Obsidian is the best. Blows Hasbro and MR out of the water. Entirely. It. Feels. Real. Sounds real. You turn on an obsidian saber, and you forget you can't slice off your friends arm. It's THAT GOOD! lol

[Qui-Tom Helms]

When you get an Ultrasaber you will have no concerns!!!  The only two issues that comes to mind is
1.  You might knock the tip off, no problem, glue it back on and continue.
2.  You will want more Ultrasabers

And as you can tell, everyone here is happy with their saber...and they want more.

[Manroon]

LOL Yeah, I almost forgot but Qui-Tom just reminded me... there's actually a 'Saber Addicts' thread around here someplace. These are VERY addictive!

[wolfmetal45]

Wow, I have to say those 2 videos sold me.  I won't be able to get an Ultrasaber until next summer probably considering the model I want (Bane with all of the trimmings) but these definatly look great.  Many thanks for the fast replies.

[DirtyJersey]

LOL Yeah, I almost forgot but Qui-Tom just reminded me... there's actually a 'Saber Addicts' thread around here someplace. These are VERY addictive!

Saber Addict topic is here: http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=2554.0