Types of Lightsabers, Lightsaber Soundboard, Sound Fonts, Smooth swing, Blade and more.

Hello everybody, welcome to the site if you're new here. This post is going to be one in a line of other posts that are instructional and hopefully helpful to you. If you're reading this post you're probably interested in buying Lightsabers or you have bought Lightsabers and you're looking for more information or knowledge about Lightsabers or specially Neopixel Lightsaber in general.

So this is one of those posts that is basically going to be like some definitions or some terms and vocabulary that are thrown around in the Lightsaber community and some people don't know what these words mean or what they entail.

So the point of this post is just to explain those sorts of things that are about Neopixel Lightsaber. For understanding Lightsaber, you have to understand the following terms of the Lightsaber community.

Table of Contents:

Types of Lightsabers.

Empty Lightsaber.
Stunt Lightsaber.
Standard FX Lightsaber.
String blade FX Lightsaber and
Neopixel Lightsaber.

Lightsaber Soundboard.

Crystal focus 10 or CFX Soundboards.
Proffie Soundboards

Sound Fonts.
Smooth-Swing.
Lightsaber Blade.

Medium or mid-grade blade and
Heavy grader blade

Anyway if you want to buy a Neopixel lightsaber check out my post-best Neopixel lightsaber companies and also the top 10 best Neopixel Lightsaber in the world. I'm going to do a lot of posts like this hope that is going to help you make informed decisions about your purchases and so without further ado let's get started.

Types of Lightsabers

Typically there are five different types of Lightsabers that you can buy

Empty Lightsaber
Stunt Lightsaber
Standard FX Lightsaber
String blade FX Lightsaber and
Neopixel Lightsaber

There are others but these are typically the most common that you’ll find on the market. Let's explain them.

Empty Lightsaber

So empty as the name suggests there are-

No electronics are installed in the saber,
It’s usually a shelf queen or
Bought by collectors or saber enthusiasts. Not Neopixel lightsaber

People like to put it on a saber stand or on a shelf and show it off. And typically these empty sabers are the replica kinds, especially the pricier ones. If they're empty they’re usually going to be a lot cheaper than functional sabers that have light and sound. But empty sabers were another option.

There is also lightsaber toy, which is not included in this list.

Stunt Lightsabers

So moving on to stunt sabers only have light coming formed inside the hilt they usually have no sound and they're usually meant for spinning or flow arts or dueling or for beginners or for those just trying to save money. Stunt Lightsaber

· Only Light but no sound.

· Usually meant for dueling, spinning, and flow arts for beginners.

· Use standard in-hilt Cree LED inside the saber (like Single Cree, Tri-Cree, Quad-Cree, etc.)

If you're just getting into this Lightsaber hobby and collecting right out of the gate typically you’re not going to want to spend a few hundred dollars on the saber. Because it's also not a Neopixel lightsabers. So most people flock to stunt sabers because they are relatively cheap starting anywhere from 40 to 50 us dollars to anywhere from 200 us dollars depending on the seller but these are typically reserved for people that are interested in spinning or flow arts dueling or those trying to save money and for beginners. I have discussed best stunt Lightsaber for dueling, you can check the link.

Standard FX Lightsaber

Next are standard FX sabers which typically have light and sound. The light comes from LEDs inside the hilt and these typically have a basic soundboard depending on the store. Now I say depending because some saber companies offer sabers that are effects sabers that you can have the soundboard upgraded to.

· Has both light and sounds

· Basic soundboard

· Usually meant for dueling, spinning, and flow arts for beginners.

· Typically inexpensive, but the premium can be expensive.

· Use standard in-hilt Cree LED inside the saber.

· Has color-changing capabilities and soundboard upgradability (depending on the store).

It is not Neopixel installed.

For example ‘Sabertrio’, they have their stunt FX and Neopixel Lightsabers, and these stunt sabers have no sound as I’ve mentioned before. The FX sabers have a Pico crumble soundboard from Plector labs. However, you have the option to swap that soundboard for crystal focus 10 which I’ll explain later.

These sabers are usually meant for the same thing that a stunt saber is meant for spinning flow arts dueling beginners or those trying to save money. However, there are sabers that have much better lighting setups than other stunt sabers or FX sabers.

For example, there are sabers that have a single Cree LED inside the hilt that shines up from the hilt or if you don't understand what a hilt is? Then it's the handle, the part that you hold on the saber. It shines up from the hilt all the way through the blade. It’s a hollow polycarbonate tube with usually some diffusion foam and maybe a mirror or a reflective surface at the end of the saber near the tip.

So that's typically what is used for effect sabers, usually, it's a single Cree, a tri-Cree, or a quad Cree setup. Tri-Cree and quad-Cree’s setups are usually much brighter and there are comparison videos, posts, and pictures out there comparing what a single Cree LED saber looks like compared to a tri-Cree and a quad Cree LED. But typically the quad Cree LED sabers are much brighter.

String Blade Effect Lightsabers

Next up is string blade effect sabers these have both light and sound similar to a standard FX saber they typically have a basic soundboard and like I mentioned before.

· Like the Standard FX, these have light and sound, with a basic soundboard, but have an LED string blade.

· Galaxy's Edge, Hasbro Black Series, Force FX, etc.

· Uses multiple strings of 64 LEDs in segments.

· Can be brighter than Standard FX sabers, but are not exactly duel-worthy.

· Blade has a "scrolling" effect.

· Other limited blade effects.

It's not a Neopixel lightsaber but near the Neopixel lightsaber

You can have people gut to saber and rip out the internals and the electronics and install a better soundboard which Pit Force Five on YouTube. He does a great job of that with the galaxy's edge sabers from Disney and he converts those to Neopixel Lightsaber. But for the sake of this definition, we'll just stick with they typically have a basic soundboard stock.

However, these in comparison to standard FX sabers have an LED string inside the blade. These are usually found in the master replicas of the Hasbro the force effects black series, galaxy's edge at Disney stuff like those are the most common LED string blade effects sabers. They use multiple strings of 64 LEDs in segments.

So what they intend to do is to show that scrolling effect that if you've seen some of my posts before with Neopixel Lightsabers that there's a scrolling effect to where the light goes up. The blade accurately to what the movies look like. However, the LED string blade effect sabers the ignition, the scrolling effect is pretty clunky and leggy and it's a lot less realistic looking than Neopixel sabers and it is an older technology string blade usually have fewer LEDs per meter. So the scrolling effect isn't as smooth and the blade effects are much more limited compared to Neopixel Lightsabers.

Neopixel Lightsabers

Now moving on to Neopixel Lightsabers. These can also be called plector pixel sabers. I believe that's the copyright. So not many saber companies can actually use that name but plector pixel sabers, pixel sabers, neo sabers. You’ll find a couple other designations but Neopixel is basically the overall broad term for this kind of saber. These have both light and sound and usually use the latest and greatest soundboards on the market.

What is a Neopixel Lightsaber?

Neopixel Lightsaber is a kind of pixel Lightsaber that uses a digital color image pixel representing an RGB data value (Red, Green, and Blue). This color pixel and strips are basically programmed with some drivers which use a single wire inside the blade. This Neopixel blade can create lots of color in a combination of these three colors Red, Green, and Blue. And this color is lighter than the general hilt LED lightsaber.

· Also called Plecter Pixel Sabers, Pixel Sabers, Neo Sabers, etc.

· The pinnacle of lightsaber technology.

· Use the latest and greatest soundboards.

· Use Pixel LED Strips, in a 144 LED/meter configuration.

· Very bright blades, largest color spectrum.

· Depending on the soundboard, these have the most (and best) blade effects.

· Typically* the most expensive lightsabers.

They’re also usually the most expensive sabers on the market but have by far the most customization and effects. These use pixel LED strips not strings in a 144 LEDs per meter configuration and that allows there to be very little space in between each lighting diode.

So that the blade looks very full and bright and allows for full RGB customization in comparison to string blades. The LED diodes are farther apart and there's less per meter. So it is not nearly as fluid looking and full and usually.

The RGB colorization and customization are not nearly as advanced as Neopixel Lightsabers. These Neopixel sabers are without a doubt the pinnacle of Lightsaber technology as it stands now. I’m really excited for the future to see what saber companies and saber myths are able to do. So Neopixel Lightsabers are the pinnacle. But you must avoid 5 things when buying a Neopixel Lightsaber that I have discussed in another post.

Lightsaber Soundboard

So moving on to sound a soundboard. if you don't understand what a soundboard is? It’s really just as the name suggests, it's a board that controls the sound of the saber but depending on what kind of saber it is. That board also controls the lighting effect of the blade. I’ll go into detail about some of the top soundboards on the market in another post.

· Controls the sound of the saber.

· Controls the lighting effect of the blade.

For now, I’ll just give a brief definition of two pretty common soundboards that I’ve mentioned before on this site.

1. Crystal focus 10 or CFX soundboards

2. Proffie soundboards

Crystal focus 10 or CFX Soundboards

So the first one is Crystal focus 10 or CFX. This is quite possibly the best user-friendly and most easy-to-use top-tier soundboard on the market. It’s developed by Plector labs and regularly updated by IRF Plector himself. The crystal focus 10 offers many blade effects, sound effects, ignition, retraction effects, etc. if you are interested in seeing some of those effects already there are posts out there, but I also have posted on my site. I’m trying to do quite a few posts in a small series about crystal focus 10FX. So please feel free to check those out.

· Developed by Plecter Labs, updated regularly by Erv Plector.

· The best consumer/beginner-friendly top-tier soundboard

· Many different blade effects, and sound effects (check my other videos to see them!)

· Can be used in FX or Neopixel Lightsabers, but more common in Neopixel sabers

· Usually priced at $85

This soundboard can be used in effect sabers or Neopixel sabers but is more commonly found in Neopixel Lightsabers. The board itself costs 85 dollars and is much more capable than the effects sabers offer. So they’re typically reserved for Neopixel sabers. However, like I mentioned before Saber Trio and some other companies may allow you to upgrade the basic soundboard or the Pico crumble soundboard or whatever soundboard they're using to a crystal focus 10 in your FX saber.

Proffie Soundboards

The next soundboard I’ll talk about is the Proffie. The proffie is quite possibly the best Lightsaber soundboard on the market period Proffie has all the same features that crystal focus 10 has and then some as it is open source it's basically limited to what LED lights can do and the imagination of the people creating the light scripts and the coding for the soundboard.

· The best lightsaber soundboard.

· Open-source, so blade effects are nearly unlimited.

· Quite difficult for beginners who don't understand coding or Arduino.

· Ultimate enthusiast soundboard.

· Difficult to understand and customize.

· Usually priced $20-40 cheaper than the CFX.

However, it is quite difficult to understand and customize. If you're a beginner or those that have no coding knowledge are typically considered the ultimate enthusiast soundboard the prophets and it is cheaper than the CFX by about 20 to 40 dollars depending on the vendor. The crystal focus 10 and the proffie soundboards are the two most common soundboards that have optimized sound fonts being developed and sold by font makers on websites like saberfont.com kyber phonics personal site, repulse custom sounds, etc.

These font makers typically make sound fonts for crystal focus 10 and 8. Because most people looking for these sound fonts either have Neopixel Lightsaber or they have FX sabers upgraded with a crystal focus 10 or a higher tier soundboard. So the crystal focus 10 and Proffie are the two most common soundboards that sound fonts are being developed for now.

Sound Font

If you don't know what a sound font is? The sound font is the sound of the saber when you turn it on, that is the swing sounds the sounds the noises all the noises that you hear that's the sound font. So purchasable sound fonts usually take the form of a folder that has many dot wav files that correspond to each sound.

· The "sound" of the saber. Duh.

· Typically in the form of a folder with many .wav files, as well as configuration and setting files.

· Include swings, hums, lockups, blasters, clashes, tip drags, power-ons, power-offs, etc.

· Most fonts can be found on Saberfont.com, Kyberphonicfonts.com, Repulsecustomsounds.com

So the swing sounds, the clash sounds, the h sounds, the blaster sounds, and the lock-up sounds though they're typically labeled swing dot wav, swing one dot wav, swing two-dot wav, clash one dot wav, as well as in that folder, there are configuration files that are read and interpreted by the saber soundboard. So when you're talking about a sound font it is what you hear when you're talking about a blade profile is what to see.

Smooth-Swing

Now going into depth about sound fonts that are smooth swing sound fonts. If you don't know what this is? This is one of those things that when you see it for the first time and when you hear it for the first time, you really never want to go back to what you saw and thought before. Only a few soundboards are actually currently using this technology like the CFX, the proffie, and a few other soundboards. I’ll discuss it in a later post.

· Relatively new technology

· Uses accelerometers, and algorithms to play swing sounds and hum sounds in tandem, creating a seamless swinging sound

· Accurately tracks the motion of the saber

· Used by sabers that have CFX, Proffie, Verso, etc.

Smooth swing is the technology used by the accelerometers and an algorithm on the Lightsaber soundboard to repeatedly loop h sounds and mix swing sounds in such a manner that it accurately tracks the motion of this saber. So I'll show a video now showing the difference between a smooth swing sound font and a non-smooth swing sound font and trust me after you see this video here you're going to notice that there's a huge difference and it's much more accurate to the movies.

Lightsaber Blade

Now moving on to blades and dueling. One of the few things you'll see when buying a custom lightsaber is the different grades of blades. It's the same concept as when you see a commercial for a truck or something that says it's made of military-grade steel or military-grade alien or something like that it’s just a term to describe a certain quality of the material. Lightsaber coller also mattars.

Typically there are two different Lightsaber blade grades

1. Medium or mid-grade blade and

2. Heavy grader blade

Mid-grade or medium grade:

These are blades that have thinner walls which typically allow for a brighter-looking blade depending on the configuration of the saber's lighting approach. So typically if you have an effect saber that has an in-hilt LED lighting setup, then it will have a better brighter-looking blade. But it also depends on if you have a Neopixel Lightsaber which I’ll mention in a second.

· Thinner blade walls.

· *Typically* NOT meant for dueling.

· *Typically* brighter-looking, depending on a few factors.

· Not nearly as durable as heavy-grade blades.

· Usually are less expensive than heavy-grade blades.

· Weigh less than heavy-grade blades, meant for spinning/flow arts.

The trade-off with mid-grade blades is that they're usually not as durable as heavy-grade blades and in most cases, they should not be used for any heavy full-on dueling. These are typically shown blades used for spinning and flow arts as they typically weigh less than a heavy-grade blade. In some cases weigh up to two times less than a heavy grade blade

Heavy grade blade:

Now moving onto heavy grade blades these are blades that have thicker walls and in some cases are one and a half to two times thicker than a mate grade blades walls. These are typically less bright than mid-grade blades depending on the configuration of the saber's lighting approach just like I mentioned with the mid-grade blade, if you have an in-hilt LED saber then there may be a noticeable difference between a mid-grade blade and a fairly thick heavy grade blade.

· Thicker blade walls

· *Typically* meant for dueling

· *Typically* less bright-looking, depending on a few factors (usually no noticeable difference for Neopixel blades)

· Very durable, meant to take a beating

· Usually are more expensive than mid-grade blades ($90-160)

· Usually are fairly heavy, and the balance of the total saber weigh can shift to the blade

· Not usually recommended for spinning/flow arts due to weight increase

Once again that just depends on what kind of blades, where you bought them from, how well they use the diffusion film etc. in some cases the difference in lighting and the difference in blade brightness and color and color disparity is negligible. But that's just for you to determine these blades can usually withstand heavy full contact dueling and are basically meant for that purpose in some cases.

These blades are almost indestructible. It’s always advised to check the manufacturer's specifications, recommendations, or advisories when contemplating buying a heavy-grade blade and contemplating dueling or hitting your blade on other blades or objects in terms of most heavy-grade Neopixel blades.

It's usually not recommended to call out and do a lot of full-contact doing as the blades actually have something inside the blade that can break unlike sabers with inhaled lighting the blade is pretty much hollow except for the diffusion film also the blades are usually very expensive to replace. If they're broken Neopixel blades go anywhere from 90 to 150 to 160 dollars depending on the seller.

There are more expensive options out there like ripper blades and other custom blades; heavy dueling could also cause damage to the small pogo bins and plector pixel connector that connects the blade to the hilt and soundboard. Especially if the blade isn't seated correctly inside the hilt or if the retention screw is too loose, always check what your heavy grade Neopixel lightsaber manufacturer says about its durability before going all out with dueling or hitting it on things.