noob troubleshooting

[derp]

First attempt at pedal build. Know nothing

Pedal works, but very low volume and a lot of squealy stuff.

Sorry for not giving a schematic or antyhing, i just want generic troubleshooting advice to learn, like you would do to any pedal problems.

General.
I went to check voltages and realized  i had no idea what voltages are good at each component and what arent. Do i need to be proficient in EE or schematics, or can i just cross reference data sheets for component to find whats a "good" voltage?

If you had low volme output, what are the first areas to look at? (The usual suspects)

Squealing, again what would be the usual suspects/first things you'd check?

If theres a thread/ other sites that answer my questions feel free to point me to them.

[Focalized]

https://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=29816.0

[bluebunny]

Welcome.  Don't worry about what voltages are "good" and what are "bad".  Just follow the link above and report back what you find.  We'll take it from there, and along the way I'm sure people will explain why some voltages may be bad or good.  You don't need to be an EE (not many around here are), but we would like a schematic please.

[Mark Hammer]

The "problem" identified is what is coming from the output jack.  But what is happening along the way?

I've found many issues in my builds have been productively narrowed down using an audio probe.  This lets you check signal (rather than needing to know about proper voltages) at different points along the path from input to output jack.  In a sense, treating the pedal like a collection of mini-circuits in one box, and testing each of them individually.

Making the probe is simple.  Clip off one end of a standard guitar cord, and instead of a 1/4" plug, the ground/shield goes to an alligator clip, and the hot goes to a capacitor.  If the cap itself has a nice long-and-slender lead that can permit touching specific points on the board, great, although some may prefer to wire the cap to an actual "probe" from a meter.  A cap in the 100-470nf range is fine.  It may shave off some low end at some contact-points, but its purpose is to keep DC from reaching your amp.

Using it is equally easy.  One uses it as a sort of replacement for the normal output, as if the pedal had several "taps" between in and out.  Let expectations for what the volume level should be guide your amplifier volume setting.  Clip the alligator-clip to a reliable ground point, and touch the probe end of the cap to points of relevance.  So, is the signal reaching the board fine?  Does it get through any input cap in the circuit to the first semiconductor okay?  Is there output from the appropriate pin of that first semiconductor?  And so on.  What you're looking/listening for is that point in the circuit, and signal flow, where things just don't sound like they're supposed to.

That may not tell you specifically WHAT is causing the issue, but it will narrow down WHERE the problem resides, by identifying the point in signal flow where things go wrong..  I've had cases recently where a wire or component lead I thought had a good solder joint, turned out to have enough tarnish on it that it only provided a cosmetically-appropriate solder joint, instances where the pinout of a transistor was different than presumed, and other instances where a dual op-amp chip was fine on one side, but fried on the other.

The other technical advice offered in this thread is all good as well, but it is hard to get any simpler or cheaper than just knowing the point in a circuit where the parts, and their connections, are not doing the job they are supposed to.

[GibsonGM]

Post schematic, and post the info asked for in the 'debugging' thread. Without that info, we can't really help much.   A squealing chorus is going to have some different factors than a squealing high gain death metal pedal.