Build Your Own Clone Message Board

First attempt: bypass worked, but the effect/on gave such a low volume.

Second attempt: used a lens to inspect closely. Doh! Reversed the 390 and 390K resistors.

I would definitely recommend to closely look at the resistor bands. They all look the same late at night, in dim lighting...

Go figure!

Now I just need to adjust for the sweet spot.

This happens all the time to folks that are new to this. I always recommend measuring with a meter prior to installing any resistors and not even using the color codes. It really helps to cut down on the mistakes. Of course I'm color blind so it's not like I have a choice. Even my wife who I rely on heavily when trouble shooting builds here on the forum has trouble from time to time identifying some of the colors.

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"It’s your soldering."

Very cool, good job troubleshooting! Some resistor color combos are really troublesome and, as Stephen says, the best way is to use the meter to test. Another tip: if your meter has the type of probes that are simply pins, don't grab any of the metal bits with your hands when testing resistors (or any components for that matter) - this can throw off the measurement sometimes significantly.