New to UltraSabers, Help?

[AerykGunn]

Hello All, I am Aeryk Gunn, and this is my first time posting on the forums. I would first like to say, the sabers on here look awesome. Second, I am a big fan of star wars and am not afraid to put money into a lightsaber, but not THAT much money I'm sad to say. I'm a college student trying to get through school and just don't have that much money to spend.

Now then, on to business. I am interested in a lightsaber, but I do not think that a lightsaber without sound is really worth having. I mean that's what sends shivers down my spine, is the thwum of the saber as it ignites.. Now.. for sabers already built... that's an extra 150 dollars. But looking at the stuff under "sound" the sound pieces are only 18.50. Now.. I don't understand? Is there something to this, am I looking at it wrong, or am I just a moron? Or is it just overall cheaper to build it yourself?

And lastly, I'm not the BEST with technology, but I am going to school for electrical work soon, and my father owns an electric company.. is putting one of these suckers together hard? Or can I possibly do this in my sleep?

Sorry for the wall of text, I am just concerned. Thank you very much, and I hope that we can work something out. I look forward to doing business here in the near future

Also, which battery packs can go with which handles? HMS Compatible or something? It doesn't seem the batteries have that detail on there.

[Warlock Umbra]

Whoa! I'll tackle some of this for you & let some other members help with the rest. Currently the only way to get sound in your saber from Ultrasabers is to buy an assembled hilt with sound (which means $150). The items you speak of in the Sound section of "build your own lightsaber", are just speakers attached to a battery pack. You have to have a soundcard with programmed sound fonts and Ultrasabers doesn't currently sell just soundcards by their self. There's a thread on here that explains why it's expensive to get sound in your saber. Hope I could help some!

[thejedimasternick]

First of all, welcome to the boards and to the saber community! As far as money goes, well, there are ways around that. Many of us have lives or families, which means that money is something we all have to be smart about. In terms of buying a saber from here, you will be making a smart choice. Well, at least from my knowledge and history with Ultrasabers. I have yet to sway from this site.

The whole sound thing, well, it is expensive. The good way to go with a lot of these sabers is just buying a regular stunt saber and trying it out. When you get to customizing it, you can always buy a cheapo soundboard from those Obi-Wan sabers you see at the store and stick that into the hilt of the saber. Of course you would have to wire it correctly, but that is something you can learn to do. An alternative way of doing this is actually buying an FX saber *Master Replicas if you can find it* and actually convert the saber yourself. You can either do it or perhaps Ultrasabers if they could do it themselves. The plus would be getting a movie accurate looking saber that can be converted to duel with. Of course, this is up to you. But I would suggest just start with the basic sabers first to see what you like.

As for wiring everything, well, it isnt that hard if you know how to solder connect things correctly. Of course the more customization that you do, the more knowledge you need, as in not to overpower your saber LED. But, that will come in due time.


As for the battery packs. They are pretty much the same in every saber. The MHS thing is when you want to have a universal way of fitting emmiters and pommels onto the sabers and such. The only difference with battery packs is making sure they fit into the saber and you have enough batteries to power the LED.

[AerykGunn]

Thank you both very much for your responses. I see. Hmm so going straight for a customized lightsaber is not the best bet? And yeah, the way I found UltraSabers was by looking at lightsabers. I currently have Darth Vader's saber and half of Darth Maul's saber. So I could possibly take Darth Maul's sound out and use it (though I don't quite know how to do that)

So should I not start out with a custom built one? Buy one of the more basic sabers and see how I like it from there? Again thank you both for your help, I had a feeling there wasn't much way around the sound thing.

[AerykGunn]

There's a thread on here that explains why it's expensive to get sound in your saber. Hope I could help some!
[/quote]

I've been searching for the thread you spoke of, and can't find it. Per chance you know where it is? I even used the search guide. Please and thank you?

[Warlock Umbra]

Take heart, cause I'm pretty sure Ultra is working on other sound option(s)! These are the best sabers you can find, so any money spent is well worth it! A good place to start might be to get a metal grab bag saber in the "quick ship sabers" section. You can get a great saber for little money!!

[thejedimasternick]

Wait, you have the Master Replica ones? If that is the case I would say do not touch them, or perhaps convert one of them. Speaking as a big Star Wars collector, the sabers are pretty much a collector's item. I have two MR's and my wife has one. In short, her's is the only one left that is not damaged. Granted, I have two awesome sabers I can fight with, but you might want to consider not destroying them. Just for looking cool on a shelf somewhere sake. But, that is just me learning from experience. Converting them isnt hard if that is the case. You would basically have to take everything apart and put the new LED in. And that can be some what difficult since you have to break and snap a lot of things, not to mention screw in some new retention screws and make sure everything is connected right. Hm. It is really up to you on this one. Converting a saber right off the bat might be a little hard. Then again, if you mess up, you could always ask Ultrasabers. I would still say get something basic right now and get the feel of the saber. If converting your other ones or switching soundboards you have in other sabers is somthing that you want to do, you will always have that choice. The cool thing about the basic sabers is that it is not hard to make it your own. Painting, weathing, adding extra leather or couplers or anything like that is not difficult. So, just think it over.

[AerykGunn]

I am not sure if they are "master Replica" per se, I got them on thinkgeek.com if I remember right. They are uhm.. FX Lightsabers and I think they are what Master Replica became? I'm not sure. But I see what you're saying. I am unhappy with my Darth Maul one however, the blade is... even with changed batteries, too... dull? Not bright? Something like that.

I was thinking of my first Jedi Saber being the Aeon, Standard, or Liberator. Any personal experience with those? With a silver or blue blade (haven't decided yet). And I don't suppose UltraSabers could take a soundboard out of one of my MR sabers, and put it in one of theirs would they? ha ha I'd be interested to ask.. Thank you again for your help, my two sabers are already a little banged up in the blade itself, not really the handle.

And Kush, I meant, you mentioned a thread saying why the sound is so expensive, I was curious enough to read it but can't find it even after using the search tool, if you'd be able to let me know I'd appreciate it.

Again thank you all for your help I really appreciate the help, I think I may wait on trying to build my customized lightsaber. Might be good to get some classes in on wiring and stuff lol.

[Warlock Umbra]

I'm tryin to find it for ya. I never have any luck with the search either! I'll put it in this post when I find it. 

Here it is: http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=829.0
Last post on the first page.

[AerykGunn]

I'm tryin to find it for ya. I never have any luck with the search either! I'll put it in this post when I find it.  

Thanks a lot! I appreciate it. Again thank you both for your help. No rush.

[Iyce]

The thread is called "cheaper sound options" or something.

[AerykGunn]

The thread is called "cheaper sound options" or something.

Ahhh thanks. I will search that.

[thejedimasternick]

Hm, best way to check is looking at the bottom of the hilt. They will say what they are. Well, they should. Master Replica sabers do. There should also be a year as well with all that. But, if the blade is not as bright, it may be the batteries *maybe they arent good quality?* or it could be just banging the saber too much. You will get a candy stripe effect on the blades that will make the lights seem dimmer than usual. That lets you know you need a new blade. If you dont like the saber, I would say just convert it. If you want to do that, though, I think that is something they could do. Well, dont want to speak for them, but that sounds like something the could do. You could always gut the saber and put it into another saber, while still being able to wear the hilt around your belt if you like. I always liked the Maul saber personally, but I do see how the buttons could get in the way for people not used to dueling with it.

As for the Aeon, Standard Issue, and Liberator. They are all pretty good hilt designs. Personally, I would choose the Standard Issue or Aeon. The Aeon gives a nice little coupler around the emmitter, which makes it a little easier to keep your hand placement when dueling. The ridges help as well. The Standard Issue is very smooth and sleek, the finish on the hilt also helps with the handling as well. If I had to choose, It would be pretty hard to. I like both of those sabers. Liberator is an acquired taste to me. I dont like it because of the chooke point. I am an emmitter grabber, so the choke in the middle doesnt do much for me. As for weight and durability, I would say both sabers are pretty much the same. Liberator is lighter. I believe the Standard Issue is a little lighter than the Aeon. As for the lights. Well, you can always switch the colors with the silver LED, but it does make the color dimmer. And usually you have to use two light discs to get a good color. Found that out.

So, Up to you, hah, once again. But keep asking questions if you like or looking through the boards. That is why we are here.

[AerykGunn]

Alright thanks a lot. You're right, I see the Master Replica on the bottom of both. Thanks again. Yeah I was coming to choose the Aeon as well, and I am a emitter grabber too. And I like the Darth Maul handle, but I don't like it because one of the pieces keeps cutting into my hand when I hold it, and it's really easy to accidentally turn off. Also, the emitter is NOT that easy to really hold on too surprisingly.

As for the batteries, could it be because the Darth Maul uses 3 AAA and my Darth Vader uses 3 AA batteries? seems like that might be the difference. Wish all used AA though. And unfortunately my sabers blades don't come out. lol.

I may look into converting it later, right now I'm just going to get a saber and see how I like it. In the future I will work on it more. Thanks again, I appreciate your help. I really want to make a custom blade using the Raven and Glaive claws, mixed in somehow. I think that would look really cool for my Sith Blade. But that will wait till later.

[thejedimasternick]

I like the metal parts. Feels good. Personally though. Helps me grip pretty well. I have gotten used to my Maul, so it doesnt bug me anymore. My Luke ROTJ is my fave hilt and is even worse with the metal cutting in. But it gives me great grip and I just love that saber, hah.

The sabers were meant to be bright, pretty much with all of them. The reason why they use different ones, not too sure, just now thought about that too. I have a Maul and Vader, and both are pretty equally the same. Well, used to be. Now the converted Maul is much brighter than the other. For them coming out, well, yeah, you will have to break them. Dont do that yet, hah. On thing to add though. The reason why you may go through batteries pretty quickly on the sabers though is because those use a lot of battery power because of the sound. I rarely switch out my Ultrasaber hilts' batteries, just because it only powers the LED. The sound will suck up more energy.

As for the claws, yeah, I like them. Not too sure how I would fair since my hands are usually where the claws are. but, I would like to see. As for putting them on, well, it all depends on where and how secure you want them. I mean, it is as simple as drilling some holes and holding them in place with some screws. then again, I think the War Glaive and Raven have slots to actually keep them in place. But, you could always just double tap the claw for safe measures.