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Author Topic: UltraSabers vs. Other Company Review  (Read 2312 times)
Take Thy Bowl
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« on: November 05, 2017, 10:07:55 PM »

Hello, I am new to the forum as a member but have been a guest many a time. The intention of this review is to show the differences between Ultrasabers and other saber companies where they matter most- the build quality and customer service.

Around last January, I bought my first lightsaber, the Malice in red with the obsidian soundboard (I don't remember which version they were on at the time). I have used this lightsaber as a fun tool for training in various sword martial arts as well as for a Halloween costume. It has stood the absolute beatings I and my friends have given it-from being dropped on concrete, dirt, rock, gravel, you name it, to fighting against other lightsaber blades (Ultrasabers as well as the other guys). The electronics, blade, and hilt are all in great condition minus a few scuffs. This saber was worth every penny. The only problem I've had with it was upon delivery I was an idiot and thought fighting with the large Malice claws still on the emitter would be a good idea. Long story short, one of the claws was slightly loose when it arrived (no real problem there, could've been tightened with an allen wrench) and after a short period of acting like a child I managed to strip one of the screws holding in the claw. I emailed Ultrasabers and they emailed me back the same day asking for pictures. Once I sent pictures, they responded after a couple of hours saying I could send it back and they would fix it. Once it returned, it was fixed. End of story.

Shortly after that, I bought my fiance her own saber, the Aeon V3 in purple. I got her the Obsidian Premium soundboard with the ability to change soundfonts on the fly. This lightsaber arrived in perfect condition and works completely without issue. I was impressed with the build quality on such a simplistic design. I did not have to interact with customer service for this saber.

I also bought a Monarch with the Emerald soundboard. At first, the computer program would only change the sound on the saber and not the color, but after following the Ultrasaber's Emerald Driver instructions more closely I was able to get it to work. The saber still works perfectly and has been beaten on almost as much as my Malice as it's consistently used by friends. The hilt is a little bit weird to hold at first, but the build quality is good and it works just as well as I would hope it  to.

Then, due to a mixture of my own curiosity, poor judgement, lack of a true comparison between Ultrasabers and another saber company (all I could find were reviews incredibly biased towards either side), and flashy hilts, I ordered a katana saber from the other guy, with their soundboard and color changing (similar to the Ultrasabers platinum board). The hilt itself is machined well minus a few sharp edges, and is pleasing to the eye. Upon swinging it around for about 5-10 minutes the speaker blew. After about five more minutes, the saber wouldn't turn on at all. It was definitely fully charged. I contacted their customer service which took two days to respond via email asking for pictures. After I sent pictures and further described the problem, it took two more days for them to respond. I sent it in and the saber returned. Upon its return, I swung it around and to my disappointment it would keep turning off, rebooting the soundboard, then turning back on. I decided that since I had already sent in the saber once for repair and they had obviously done a shoddy job I would fix it myself with my very limited knowledge of soldering and minor electrical work. Once I inspected the innards, the soldering connecting the killswitch to the wires appeared incredibly loose, causing them to come out of contact with the killswitch and rejoin. The board on the back of the killswitch was in horrible condition and looked like it had been put in from a very worn saber- definitely not one that was nearly brand new. I didn't think I would be able to use the board, so I went ahead and ordered a new killswitch from their website. I then realized that had been a hasty decision and despite the poor condition of the other board, I could probably still use it and emailed them not five minutes after placing my order that I would like to cancel the order. They emailed me back after two business days (ordered on a monday, emailed on a wednesday) that they could not cancel my order because it had already been fulfilled. This wasn't a super big deal because it was just a cheap killswitch, but was still very frustrating to have such a slow response time. I waited for the new killswitch to arrive since I hadn't yet had time to fix the original, and once it arrived my assumption that the original was horribly damaged was proven true. I soldered the new killswitch and the lightsaber works fine now. However, I will never order from that company again, nor would I recommend anybody else doing so. A lightsaber is a great investment, and to spend $500 to send it right back to the shop and it not even be fixed is ridiculous. There is no reason an amateur should be able to do a professional's job better than the professional. The idea that I just got a lemon was erased once it returned from the warranty services and still did not work how it was supposed to.

In all honesty, Ultrasabers is superior to the other guys in every way excluding a couple of nice designs- but the hoops you have to jump through in order to get them to work are just too high if you expect premium performance and service for a premium price. Thank you to Ultrasabers for their steadfast determination to bring the best product possible. I'm sorry if I was too wordy- I tried to get all the information out without missing anything or explaining in too much detail. I'm interested to hear if anybody else has had similar experiences with other brands.

« Last Edit: November 06, 2017, 03:23:53 PM by Master Nero Attoru » Logged

Kai-Yen
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« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2017, 10:26:24 PM »

TTB - txs a million for sharing your thoughts and of course your positive endorsement of the Ultrasabers product.  I am so sorry you had a bad experience with that other brand.  Given the fact the SaberForum is an Ultrasabers discussion place online; we don't name competitor companies here as a courtesy to all the members.

Just refer to that brand as "The Other Guys" in the future and that will be universally recognized as another 3rd party not associated w Ultrasabers.

Best of luck in your saber hobbying in the future TTB!

K
« Last Edit: November 06, 2017, 03:27:06 PM by Master Nero Attoru » Logged

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« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2017, 10:29:06 PM »

Welcome officially to the forum. Glad to hear that you are very happy with US! Their customer service is outstanding and products are of excellent quality.

I will ask you to please read and acknowledge the rules. Also be aware your post might be removed because a rule was broken.
« Last Edit: November 06, 2017, 03:27:13 PM by Master Nero Attoru » Logged

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« Reply #3 on: November 06, 2017, 05:25:05 PM »

I'm going to admit that I haven't bought sabers from any other company, so I can't speak to their build quality or their customer service.  What I can say is this:  if you want a saber that has everything you need to duel with: solid hilt, blade, LED, then Ultrasabers gives you the best bang for the buck BY FAR.  With the "other guys" I'm assuming this thread is about you can get an empty hilt for $75 (the price of a Dark Sentinel LE) or you can add the entry-level package (blade and LED module) for $100.  For the price you pay for a stunt saber at the other guys, you can get an Ultrasaber with the Obsidian sound chip.

On the flipside, their sound cards are more expensive than Ultrasabers, but come with a recharge port standard which somewhat balances it out.  However, the Diamond controller has way more sound fonts available.

So on the cheap side, you've got a significant amount of savings by going with Ultrasabers, and on the high-end side you've got more comparable prices, but better features on the Ultrasabers.

That's just my opinion, anyway.  The other guys do have some beautiful sabers, but I don't want to pay $175+ for a stunt saber and I don't want to get a chip that isn't Diamond.
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« Reply #4 on: November 06, 2017, 06:49:02 PM »

I don't mind the Sentinel sabers, I love mine in Sun Rider's Destiny =] I'd love a Dark Sentinel LE at some point too. But yeah we never talk about other companies so
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« Reply #5 on: November 06, 2017, 07:54:07 PM »

Welcome, good feedback!  Smiley

Ultrasabers electronics are probably the most solidly put together for a large scale company. I have thirty US obsidian v4 hilts and none have problems. There are more falsehoods out there about US quality perpetuated by people who don't use the saber properly or Youtube sensationalist video channels who make them to score views.
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« Reply #6 on: November 06, 2017, 08:29:24 PM »

Welcome, good feedback!  Smiley

Ultrasabers electronics are probably the most solidly put together for a large scale company. I have thirty US obsidian v4 hilts and none have problems. There are more falsehoods out there about US quality perpetuated by people who don't use the saber properly or Youtube sensationalist video channels who make them to score views.

This. All of it. Point.
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« Reply #7 on: November 06, 2017, 09:38:22 PM »


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« Reply #8 on: November 07, 2017, 12:11:42 AM »

Welcome, good feedback!  Smiley

Ultrasabers electronics are probably the most solidly put together for a large scale company. I have thirty US obsidian v4 hilts and none have problems. There are more falsehoods out there about US quality perpetuated by people who don't use the saber properly or Youtube sensationalist video channels who make them to score views.

Same goes for the other companies too though. I've bought from several companies and had promblems from most (including US), so let's not tip the bar too far to the other extreme.
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Lord Sidious
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« Reply #9 on: November 07, 2017, 12:21:20 AM »

Same goes for the other companies too though. I've bought from a several companies and had promblems from most (including US), so let's not tip the bar too far to the other extreme.

Yes I agree.
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« Reply #10 on: November 07, 2017, 12:36:26 AM »

Well at least the explicit mention of the other guys name has been cleaned up.  Now if only the poster would acknowledge the rules...
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« Reply #11 on: November 07, 2017, 12:39:08 PM »

Well at least the explicit mention of the other guys name has been cleaned up.  Now if only the poster would acknowledge the rules...

I sent the poster a PM after cleaning up this thread, with the link to the rules.  Should be addressed shortly.
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« Reply #12 on: November 07, 2017, 03:43:52 PM »

Welcome, good feedback!  Smiley

Ultrasabers electronics are probably the most solidly put together for a large scale company. I have thirty US obsidian v4 hilts and none have problems. There are more falsehoods out there about US quality perpetuated by people who don't use the saber properly or Youtube sensationalist video channels who make them to score views.

Thirty???   THIRTY?Huh  *gulp*
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« Reply #13 on: November 07, 2017, 04:27:55 PM »

I'm guessing those are just his with the v4 boards Tongue
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« Reply #14 on: November 07, 2017, 05:42:16 PM »

A balanced perspective is certainly healthy.

I have lightsabers from other companies and while I really enjoy them, my US compare just fine to those.

In fact my US hilts are awesome, and you're getting a high quality weapon with stellar service when considering US.

I'm always happy to recommend them.
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