Ruby volume problem

[pdroog]

I'm sure I'm way out of my league here, but you gotta start somewhere. I've built 3 ruby amps following the schematic at runoffgroove.com. I have the same problem on all of them: when I ground the volume pot, my volume and gain go way down. The obvious problem would be that the pot is turned down, but it is definitely turned all the way up -- I checked it with a meter. In fact, the pot still works as a volume control, but the highest volume and the gain are greatly diminished the second I connect the ground. I've tried 1k, 5k, 10k and 25k pots with them same results. I've spent hours trying to figure this out, trying every combo of lead connections. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[booj]

A schematic would help

[Zipslack]

The article/schematic is here: Ruby

JFETs are notorious for having operating characteristics all over the map...use a socket and try swapping and see if that makes a difference. Double-check all resistor values. You could also have oscillations (very common with the 386)...try adding a small cap straight from pin 6 to GND (pin 4) as close as possible to pin 6. What layout/pcb are you using - some PCB designs may not be entirely correct...I've seen this with a Little Gem PCB one time...had to cut a trace and re-arrange with a jumper wire to get the connections correct.

[pdroog]

Thanks Zipslack!

I did as you said and double -(actually it was about quadruple) checked all my resistors and caps to make sure they were the correct ones. I also poked around the jfet and the 386. I discovered two things: 1) My 1.5M resistor was actually only a 1.5k (ooops!) and 2) my 386 was a bit unstable in its socket. I decided to start over from scratch for the practice and to make sure I didn't make any other mistakes. Plus my previous board was looking pretty shabby. I just finished putting the whole thing together in its cigar box enclosure and it rocks! Put in a DC power port and an LED on/off light, too. I'm a noobie at this, and help from more experienced folks like you is the only way folks like me are ever going to make any progress. THANKS!!