lower volume in bypass mode on a Fuzz Face clone

[jennings]

Hi folks...it's been bugging me that a great sounding Fuzz Face clone I got hold of sounds so great, but when I hit the footswitch to bypass it (it's true bypass, by the way) the volume of the guitar into the amp through the bypassed pedal is about two thirds or even a half what it is if I run the guitar direct into the amp.  I don't get this with my other pedals, and the leads are good quality 20ft Planet Waves ones.  I therefore concluded it must be something to do with the true bypass wiring.  Does this sound likely?!  If so I'll see if I can get some good visuals somewhere of how it should look and trace the fault

[ampgeek]

Greetings!
Get out your brightest light and best magnifying glass and look REALLY closely at the wiring/solder joints on and around the 3PDT footswitch and input/output jacks.  If it is one of the commercially available DIY clones, the kit likely included stranded wire.  Even a couple of "loose" strands hitting the wrong place can cause exactly what you are describing.

Been there a few times myself!!

Likewise, poor solder joints making partial contact even in the right places in those areas can cause the same issue.

A healthy true-bypass configuration in a single pedal system should not be causing any noticeable drop in input signal at the amp.

Good luck,
Dave O.

P.S.  Here is a link to a visual that shows a typical true bypass plan using a 3PDT switch.

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/pdf/ggg_ff5_sc_pnp.pdf