When Hannes first took the stage with the team in 2014 and became a permanent member of the show team, he and Markus developed his stage saber, Ventrix. Unlike the Traxus, form follows function here: a straightforward design with a taper at the blade holder and no distracting elements. Still, care was taken to give it an impressive appearance worthy of a Sith.
The main part of the saber is a uniquely machined 9” extension from The Custom Saber Shop. The lower part has deep grooves and the middle a so-called diamond knurling for optimal grip. At the top there’s an engraved panel for the switch and recharge port, just like on Markus’ stage staff Vortex. The blade holder and pommel were also adapted to Hannes’ particular ideas with additional grooves, making every part of the hilt unique. A bargraph, an LED strip in the hilt that can show the battery level, with self-programmed animations, plus the matte black powder coating give the saber the elegance you’d expect from the saber of a smug Sith.
Inside is a 3D-printed chassis that Markus designed specifically for the Ventrix. It holds the electronics firmly in place and ensures technical reliability and a low failure rate even under intense use on stage. The soundboard is a Crystal Focus Saber Core 6.5 SPSE (Saberproject Special Edition) to ensure compatibility with the Saberproject Surround system. So depending on the need, the saber can be fitted either with a 2 W speaker or, on stage, with the SPS radio module. Since Hannes has fought for the dark side of the Force since the beginning of his stage career, the saber naturally has an RRW LED, but thanks to handy connectors it could be swapped for another color (which, honestly, hasn’t happened a single time since the saber was built).
Since Hannes ended his active stage career with our second-to-last program, “Die Gier nach Macht” (The Greed for Power), the Ventrix has retired as well. Since a lot has happened in the development and features of soundboards since 2014, the saber is currently in Markus’ saber workshop waiting for a technical overhaul.
The Lightsaber in Shows and Events
Building the Lightsaber
Video
Hannes explains how it works at gamescom 2016
