Problem debugging the BJT input biffer

[ribolovec2]

Hello! I have been recently building a tube screamer clone, but when i tested it, it didn't function - just extremely loud pops and noise (unbearable). I checked voltages at various nodes in the circuit and almost all of them seem fine .. the pins of the IC as well as the output buffer.. but the INPUT buffer behaves strangely.. the base is at 3.4 V DC instead of virtual ground which in my case is about 4.65V (the power supply is 9V). Another thing I can't explain is that I read about 0.5V DC on the input, when there's nothing plugged in. (there's not supposed to be any DC present at the input since there's a blocking capacitor). And finally, the emitter of the resistor is at about 3V.. Apart from that anything else seems to be okay, although you can never know. I am using a 2N5088 transistor and checked the pinout.. I have installed it the right way. I built the project on perfboard but I checked numerous times for any solder bridges and that kind of stuff.. so far haven't detected anything. Could it be a faulty transistor? Or a bad capacitor which has leakage?