Cleaver too loud

[Mike McLane]

I built a Cleaver and on the normal setting (assuming pot rotation from 7:00 to 5:00) I can't turn it past 9:00 without the amp getting crazy loud as compared to the underlying dry signal. Going up from there is unbelievably loud. I have checked the values on all components and they are correct. The JFET bias is 9 volts on both sides. Anybody got any thoughts?

 

[Nostradoomus]

What is your rig otherwise? The volume on your amp can play a role for sure.

 

[Mike McLane]

Thought about that. I usually set amp at bedroom level when just dinkin' around so I find there is a disproportionate volume boost due to starting with such a miniscule "dry" signal. However, when I compare it to my MXR Boost/Line Driver (w/ 20Db of boost) I get more volume at 10:00 on the Cleaver than I get max'd out on the MXR. I tested the values on all of the resistors. . .they check OK. Just wondered if there might be a mislabeled or faulty component I could trouble shoot before junking the whole build and starting over. . . . . OR . . . . . does this thing really put out this much volume!?!?!

 

[HousTom]

FYI, using an A250K as the Volume pot basically solves this.

 

[GenoBluzGtr]

Different circuits will do this.. some are designed to be "coloring"... and you generally get equitable dry to wet volume, but others are designed with some measure of "boost" included... because some folks want their dirt to push and already dirty amp, and unless there's plenty of headroom in the volume control, it will just drag the amp volume down. I'm also a Dirt-pedal-into-a-clean-amp guy, but some really great overdrives I can only run at a 9 or 10 O'clock setting.

HousTom above is correct, though, you can decrease the size of the volume pot if the settings are important to you.