OK, here goes! First review! Haven't done this since, well, book reports.
I was given an old beaten combat saber years ago and i fell in love with it, so when I decided to buy my Raven SS I knew more or less what to expect. I ordered it with the Diamond board and I couldn't be happier.
Been wanting this baby for a long time.
My one initial disappointment was being told there was not enough stock for me to get spare parts(claws).
My second, and really less so than the first, was my free charge port. I really didn't want one, I feel it kinda ruins the whole aesthetic, but got one anyway and was told this too was because of stock limitations, that it was a free $70 value. And since my first thought was "I bet I could 3d print a sweet plug for that", I can't really complain. I didn't end up doing the plug, but more on that later
More awesomeness, Now with Portrait mode!
So, Diamond board, standard RGBW setup. I love the colors available, the variety of sounds and the versatility of the motion control. Naturally i'm elbows ;)deep in the launcher so iv'e mixed my own colors on the fly as well as loaded custom fonts and edited stock, and the flexibility of control just makes me think of the hours I could spend creating.
And While I wasn't around for Felicia's tortured beginnings, I find the current on-board menus a pleasure to navigate. Based mostly on normal saber moves, I find being able to change settings with a flick or jab truly thrilling. I must say I din't see the volume control coming, but I was thinking "They must have thought of this" and then triggered it by accident! Love it Love it Love it.
My Final concern, and one I totally saw coming, was/is the result of the first two intersecting with my own dark desire to 'custom the hell out of this thing. I set to resolving my complaints with a little DIY work and the body lends itself quite easily to modification, sturdy as it is, but I wanted to take full advantage of my toy and use those extra auxiliary channels. I'm finding the state of the wiring and board junction very difficult to work with, though definitely doable. I just expected it to be a little easier given that the flexibility of these aux channels is a main selling point of the Diamond platform, and while I didn't do a whole lot of digging, I kinda got the impression this was done all the time...
But, ultimately very happy. I will persevere and bend these primal forces to my will.
wanted to do a video, then figure'd i'd do before and after, then realized there's a whole sub for custom show-and-tell, so I guess my follow up will be there, though by then it won't be much of a review... Oh well we'll see.
'Till then, you'll find me over the forge....