Finished my Median Compressor – have a couple questions

[bidurgi999]

Hey everyone,
I just finished building the Median Compressor, and I’m running into something a bit odd that I wanted to ask about.

When I turn the Blend knob, the volume increases up until around 3 o’clock — but once I go past that, the volume actually starts to drop. Is that normal behavior for this pedal?
I’m still pretty new to DIY builds, so I’m not totally sure what's expected.

Also, I set the bias for Q1 by measuring the drain voltage (positive lead on the drain, negative on the DC jack ground) and adjusted it to around 1.85V. Just wanted to check — is that the right way to do it?

Thanks a lot for your help, and hope you’re all having a great day!

 

[mybud]

My build report here FWIW. And yes, turning the blend control to either extreme does seem to reduce the volume. I assume that’s because you are hearing only the compressed or uncompressed signal. I biased mine by ear and it seemed to compress adequately.

 

[bidurgi999]

My build report here FWIW. And yes, turning the blend control to either extreme does seem to reduce the volume. I assume that’s because you are hearing only the compressed or uncompressed signal. I biased mine by ear and it seemed to compress adequately.

Thanks for the reply — turns out it was totally normal haha. Have a great day!