prowla

I've come to the conclusion that eBay don't give a monkeys about counterfeits and, after arguing with them, being told by their "AI" that there's nothing wrong with obvious fakes, escalating, speaking to people, and so-on, I've lost faith in their service. The fact that they then started adding on a "buyer assurance" (or whatever they call their buyers fees) premium gives me no confidence that an issue with an item would be successfully resolved; either (a) their conclusions would be via the same system as their handling of counterfeit reports and yield the same results, or (b) they've downgraded that to deliberately create a premium "service". I've pretty much stopped using eBay.

I've got a 4-door saloon (the back seats fold down, so I can fit quite a lot in there), a toy car (2 seater with enough space for an overnight bag but that's about it), and tend to have scruffy cheapo (a spare if needed, for jobs to the tip, etc.).

Why have only one car?

£822.72 or Best Offer unlikely...

Casually dropping in the F-word.

They're two pairs with an intersection of one.

It's a real one.

My Jetglo says hi.

Bunged a few quid - hope it works out!

It is turning into a bit of a saga.

A gun case might be suitable - there are some large plastic rectangular box with a handle type ones.

Maybe not a complete tool - it's entirely possible that he is hacked off that he can't play a song because one note is unplayable. For illustration, my go-to bass developed a worn fret at E on the G-string, which meant I raised the action a bit but then found it less enjoyable to play and drifted towards another bass (try playing "Born To Be Wild" without that E!); it's now had a re-fret and normality is resumed. On the question of "compensation", whilst he's put effort & cost into collecting the instrument, but I don't think that is recoverable on his part, so the compensation question is unlikely going to get him anywhere. If I buy a pair of shoes and the soles fall off within a week I'll go and get a refund, but I won't expect them to also pay back my bus fare for both journeys there and back.

I've got it to augment the C4 synth pedal, as its paltry controls aren't sufficient to realistally do much with; effectively it's adding 6 buttons to the C4 (MC6 = MIDI Controller with 6 buttons). The C4 has a MIDI interface box but its connectors are non-standard so I connect them via an interface (a box with standard MIDI DIN connector on oneside and the C4's proprietary connector on the other) called a Neuro Hub which sits on the underside of the pedalboard (they now do a smaller interface called a MIDI Adapter). MIDI is quite straightforward: you can think of it as a simple network addressing system where: Every attached device has an address (called a channel, a number 1-16). Each attached device (could be a synth, a pedal, a lighting controller) has a pre-defined set of messages it can accept, such as keyboard notes, control-knob settings, selector switches on/off. You can send a value along with the message (a number 0-127), which could be the note on a keyboard, the value of a volume slider, a switch on/off, which effect setting to select. Typically synths allow you to save a setting of your choosing to one of 127 memories (eg. 0=moog sound, 1=80s synth bass, 2=the sound they used on that hit in the 90s, etc.); these are called "patches". A programmable MIDI Controller like the MC6 allows you to program each button to send one or more messages to a given MIDI channel (and set what's displayed on the LCD panel next to the button); typically these could be to choose a given sound you've configured on the synth (a "patch") or to step up/down through the patches. In my case I've programmed two of the buttons to send the messages to step up/down through the C4's patches. Note that the 16 channels and numbers 0-127 may seem limited; this is because MIDI is based on 1980s technology (ie. 8-bit computers). However, you can send multiple messages to the same unit, eg. play a piano sound at middle-C with vibrato at 50% volume (ie. that is 4 messages), so it really is quite powerful. Imagine you walked into a room with some kit and the producer said "play me a piano sound at middle-C with vibrato at 50% volume"; you'd press a few buttons, twiddle the Vol control, and hit a white key half way along the keyboard; curiously similar to what the MIDI controller would do. The manufacturers of each unit typically publish a list or table of the messages you can use to control its features; all you need to do is look up the sequence of commands you need to send to make the target device (eg. the C4) do what you want..

Cheers! With mine the Stomp supplementary switch is as wide as the gap you want to leave to the next pedal. Actually, for a Stomp, the two switches are just momentary press going to a TRS jack, so making one into a project enclosure (you can get good quality aluminium ones for a few quid) is a pretty simple job. The one I bought lights up too, so it's got that "essential" extra featurette... On my board the MicroBass 3 preamp is the hub and the switcher along the front just connects to its fx loop and switches the 4 supplementary pedals in/bypass at the touch of a button. That means you can switch out a pedal (eg. the Stomp), silently change its setting, and then switch it back in when ready.

My board has this one from NinjaFox.

And there y'go - there's no solution which suits everyone!

I think the comments here fall into the category of advice rather than criticism; everybody has to start somewhere. The key thing is knowing consumer law. As a buyer I'd typically go for the refund, so as to avoid a saga of follow-on remedial action(s). But offering the fix is a good starting position.

Oh yes - that's allowed! 🙂

If they're operating a business then consumer law overrides any policy restrictions.

You could get a really long strap so the bass hangs down near the pedals; then you'd be OK with the glasses! 🙂

Some other options: Use bigger writing. Get a tablet on a stand and pretend it's controlling an instrument. Investigate autocue.

Regarding specs, maybe ones with a heads-up display could be an option - they might even become a "look"!

I tried some varifocals spectacles and they were awful: the edges of my 32" 4k monitor became curved and I couldn't read things by moving my eyes but instead had to keep them still and move my head to read; I also couldn't use my peripheral vision. I really couldn't recommend them less.. As for contact lenses: I was recommended not to have them for astigmatism, as every time you blink you slightly shift them. I think that varifocal contacts would exacerbate that issue and you'd be looking at the world through a wobbly fish-eyed vision.

Someone buying a used bitsa for £200 can't expect too much, but OTOH they could get a used Squier for similar. If the seller enthuses that they've put a lot into the build, set it up, and so-on, then perhaps the buyer could take them at their word. It's possible that the buyer got GAS and then someone else looked at it and went "hang-on, it's got issues". Given that you mention "customer satisfaction", it is possible that the buyer took you to be a business and is therefore viewing it as a fault with a retail purchase. They might've become disillusioned with the whole thing. I'd be wary of buying Chinese parts and tarting them up, as their quality can be questionable - I've had a couple of howlers. Mostly "yebbuts" from my side, but I do hope it gets sorted satisfactorily for both sides!