Duck Box doesn't quack enough

[andare]

I just finished my Duck Box. It doesn't quack enough and only on guitar. No volume drop. Bypass works.

The Attack knob must be maxed out to trigger a decent effect and the filter only opens up if I play medium to hard. My Strat has vintage aka low output pickups.
The Decay knob seems to behave normally, the higher up the longer the decay of the envelope.
The Blend switch also is normal, down it's just the effect (pretty dark and kind of distorted) and up it adds the dry signal in.

On bass, which is what I built this for, it sounds horrible. It adds volume and distortion, it makes the tone muddy and the filter only opens up a tiny bit if I go medieval on the strings. I tried a few P basses and a Bronco with a dual blade humbucker wired in series. Same deal. Completely useless.

I used the 22n cap for C13.

I socketed the transistor and then soldered it to the socket because it was a bit loose. No changes in sound. Or have I fried it?

My power supply reads 8.99V.

Q1 emitter reads 0V, the base 0.371V and the collector 0V.

IC voltages:

IC 1

1: 4.32V
2: 4.38V
3: 4.38V
4: 0V
5: 4.38V
6: 4.38V
7: 4.38V
8: 8.75V

IC 2

1: 4.40V
2: 4.40V
3: 4.21V
4: 0V
5: 4.38V
6: 4.39V
7: 4.39V
8: 8.75V

I checked the resistors and they seem to check out.

 

[Cybercow]

As a DIY'er myself, (but not a bass player), and based on your OP, I'd replace R11 with a 500K trimpot and see if raising that base value from ground to the "Attack" pot (C500K) will improve the range of the Attack control for a bass.

 

[The Grand Wazoo]

I know this thread is old, but I had the same issue. I changed C10 from 2.2n to 22n and the world changed. It is so much more responsive both for bass and guitar. I read about this in a post on freestompboxes.org.

 

[andare]

I know this thread is old, but I had the same issue. I changed C10 from 2.2n to 22n and the world changed. It is so much more responsive both for bass and guitar. I read about this in a post on freestompboxes.org.

Pretty sure I already threw the board away after repurposing the enclosure for a bass octave pedal but good to know! Bookmarked

 

[spi]

When I built mine it was underwhelming with single coils, but if I put a boost in front, it worked much better. Maybe I'll dig it out and try swapping that cap.