Newbie question: BIG volume drop on a Big Muff

[amigamatt]

Hi,
I just got my first DIY stomp box working but I have a problem, when it's on there is a huge volume drop. I have to turn up the amp to 5 to get the same volume I usually get at 1 but then when I hit the switch to bypass I get deafened. It's a Big Muff built on the Tonepad circuit and it sounds great, it's just really quiet.
I figured somebodies bound to have seen this problem before if not with this particular circuit then at least with something similar. Any ideas guys?
Thanks,
Matt

[R.G.]

1. Read the GEO Effects Debugging page
2. use an audio probe to find which stage is losing the levle
3. if that doesn't help find it, report back here with the DC voltages on every pin of every active device.

One of those will let us figure out what's wrong.  It's highly likely to be a wiring error, a pinout or component polarity error, or a soldering problem. About 99% of all first time effect errors are one of these.

R.G.

[amigamatt]

I went over everything again and found that one of the resistors was dead. I must have missed it on the first couple of goes. Not sure what was wrong with it though as it was reading the correct resistance when I pulled it out as oppossed to infinite or 0.

Thanks anyway, on to the small stone now.......