..especially when they are advertised as working!
My joy at having won a DOD 565 Chorus was scuppered when I tested it. Two fresh batteries (it runs on 18v), LED comes on and..... well, it passes audio, but no chorusing. As there's no "drainpipe: effect, there's obviously no delayed signal, which suggests the BBD chip (in this case an SAD512) is most likely fried. Oh, and the occasional thump, which isn't dependent on the LFO rate, which is a bit weird.
What really pisses me off is that this keeps happening. I've bought a lot of pedals off eBay and more than my fair share of them haven't worked as advertised and the "oh, well the light came on" or "it worked the last time I used it in 1987!" answers don't really cut it. FFS people, test the f**king thing before you sell it! Seriously, how long does it take?
Normally, I'd see if I could repair it, but the chances of finding an SAD512 are slim and even if I did, the cost would be prohibitive.
I'm beginning to get more than a little f**ked off with this.
My wife asked me to stop singing Wonderwall.
I said maybe.....
Comments
With a decent refund from Kermit it could still be a win
As it happens, I just remembered that my Carlsbro Minifex Chorus has an SAD512 in it, but I'm not sure I'm prepared to risk damaging it in a swap test. Maybe I'll try the DOD one in the Carlsbro. That should tell me whether it works or not.
I've found the schematic and have been poring over it. *If* the '512 is ok, it's worth fixing.
Anyway, I've messaged the guy about a return, as eBay seemed to push me down that route. I'll have to see what he says.
I said maybe.....
Again, a plea: spend the five minutes to ensure that everything does what it's supposed to before listing on eBay!
For the record, my "arrived not working" list:
Pearl PH03 Phaser (pedal wouldn't switch on-faulty switching IC-repaired)
Carlsbro Phase 2 (LFO not working at lowest speeds- faulty capacitor-repaired)
Carlsbro Flanger (LFO not working at all- faulty op-amp and faulty capacitor-repaired)
Korg FLG-1 (faulty footswitch mechanics-repaired)
HH Clockwork Concubine Flanger (burnt out resistor- still in bits as I can't find a legible schematic)
Ibanez PT-9 (LFO not working at lowest speeds- leaky capacitor and corroded PCB-repaired)
Ibanez PM-7 (can't select 6-stage in-phase mode-faulty switch-need to get a new switch)
Carlsbro Minifex Chorus (intermittent footswitch-repaired)
Symmetrix 525 compressor (mains transformer broken off PCB and rattling around loose inside, due to packaging consisting of one layer of brown paper!-returned)
DOD 565 Stereo Chorus (dry signal only-returned)
Surely I'm not the only one this happens to?
I said maybe.....
I think I've had one dicky pedal in all my deals...
Want to buy an Echo?
http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/88755
R.
Eqd Speaker Cranker clone
Monte Allums TR-2 Plus mod kit
Trading feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/60602/
It's that lot out there who irk me.
I said maybe.....
Eqd Speaker Cranker clone
Monte Allums TR-2 Plus mod kit
Trading feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/60602/
The two Ibby pedals also had component failures, and they aren't exactly notorious for being unreliable. Come to think of it, two more Ibby pedals I have developed faults later on: a dodgy footswitch on a TS-7 and a leaky transistor (which bleeds distortion onto the bypassed signal) on an SD-9. That makes four out of nine Ibanez pedals with faults.
Given that many of the faults weren't immediately obvious, it either suggests that they weren't tested fully, or that the issues were known about and the seller hoped that they wouldn't be noticed in time. I'd like to think it's the former. If there is a moral, I'd say that it is to test everything fully upon receipt.
I've only encountered one faulty Boss pedal so far. That was a CE-2 that wasn't chorusing. You could hear that characteristic "drainpipe" effect, which meant the BBD chip was ok, and that the problem was with the LFO. Turns out that the 100nF Mylar cap in the LFO circuit hadn't been fitted flush to the PCB (a bugbear of mine) and had somehow been pushed towards the PCB, breaking the track. Easy to fix!
I've bought plenty of broken kit which was advertised as such and repaired it, but I'm happy to do so when it's made clear, as you can then bid accordingly. I wouldn't chance a bid on anything advertised as not working if it contained hard to find/expensive components, unless there was a thorough description of the fault, and I was confident that the problem lie elsewhere.
Which reminds me- anyone else noticed the price of faulty gear going up these days? Both the asking price and final bid amounts are often way more than I'd ever expect.
I said maybe.....
The worst I've had have been dodgy jack sockets or crackly pots. Both easily cured with a drop of Servisol.
I said maybe.....
I said maybe.....
"Relax, you can trust me. I will refund you 100% when I receive the pedal." Um, fuck off? Like, why the hell would I trust you AFTER you've failed to send a pedal that matches the "fully working" description?
And yes, I've had the "it worked when we recorded the album... 6 months ago" plug it in and have another go before wasting my time.
It's just that in almost all cases, it could have been so easily avoided.
I said maybe.....
I know how returns are SUPPOSED to work, it's the eejits I talked about in my post that don't.
I've bought lots of pedals over the years and *holds breath whilst tempting fate* can't recall a single DOA or major fault. The usual problems are a) cosmetic condition is worse than stated, or (as someone had above) b) pedals arriving in jiffy bags or even paper envelopes, with little or no padding! I always send a polite note to the seller now when I make payment, to remind them of the basic standard of packing I expect.
I swore off buying used pedals. Or used in general, really. As @Sassafras rightly says, there's probably a (fairly) small percentage chance and if you bought a lot you'd get a more accurate idea of the odds, but at the same time if you're burnt first time it doesn't really encourage you to try again, either. Bit like one mooted reason for why some people keep gambling while others don't- they're the lucky (!) ones who won big first time, which skewed their perception of their chances overall.