Lowering input gain on Ross Comp clone?

[Thump-Lump]

After searching around the web and on here and unable to find info that isn't over my head and/or doesn't pertain to what I want to know, I am having to ask you fine people straight out how to do this.  Without boring you with all the details, I have come to the conclusion that I need to lower the input gain on a modified Ross Compressor clone I built from a Mammoth kit.  The short of it is that I play and record within a small room (12'x12') and need to play at lower levels.  Being a noob, I'm not sure how to or what would be the best way to go about this.  Three options I thought of but don't know how to implement or even if they would work at all are 1) a lower gain transistor (a 2N5088 is there now) in Q1, 2) lower the bias voltage going to Q1 or 3) lower the value for R7 and let more signal bleed to ground.  Below is the schematic of the input side of the comp.

I am slowly starting to get a better grasp on the electronics involved in building pedals and hope that those who already know this stuff will be understanding in my noobish questions.  THANK YOU!!

[R.G.]

Unfortunately, none of these approaches will work for you.

The biggest issue is that Q1 has a gain of just a bit under unity - there is no gain there. Worse, if you do lower the signal going into the compressor section, the compression will increase gain to keep the output up at it's reference level. It's what compressors do.

To get lower output, put a volume pot on the output and turn the output down. The compressor will still compress, but you'll be able to turn down the level of the compressed signal.

[Thump-Lump]

Thanks RG.  There is a "level" knob on the output already.  Below is the complete schematic.  The problem I am having is that of noise.  By itself, the comp. is clean in bypass (no guitar pickup noise) but as soon as I turn it on and adjust the level to one that is comparable to the bypass mode, there is a noticeable "shhhhhh" noise. The same noise as if I turned the amp up.  My thinking was that the input side gain was to high, then being compressed (IE raised compared to the guitar signal) and then put out as more noise and lower guitar signal, like comps do.  I was thinking with less gain on the input side, the noise would be lower, albeit at the cost of guitar signal but, that is acceptable.  One other thing that made me think there was to much gain is that the output level knob is very sensitive.  The only area that is usable is the lower 1/4th of the rotation.  I know this can be dealt with easily but wouldn't help with the noise issue.  Since what I was thinking would work won't, any other suggestions?  And THANKS again!!

[Thump-Lump]

To add just a bit more, I know someone may suggest the obvious answer, "Turn down the level on the guitar".  Yes, that would work but also will effect the tone coming out as well.  I have tried that and didn't care for the sound.  The problem lies in the effects order I use.  I have experimented with the comp as the first effect pedal and it was worse.  Right now, the order is Guitar-BMP-Comp-Flanger-delay-amp (ala D. Gilmour).  Now, I thought the noise was from the BMP but, when I take the comp out of the chain, the "shhhhhh" noise goes away.  Only when the comp is used with the BMP is there noise.  Individually, they are fine.

[Thump-Lump]

OK.........Before some else calls me a "dumba$$" I'll do it to myself.  My "dumba$$" realized that if I turn down the output of the BMP it would be the same as a lower input gain in the comp. without compromising the tone from the BMP and lowering the noise.  I knew it was a gain structure problem but, I was just looking in the wrong place.  If anything, maybe a booster in front of the BMP would give a hotter signal compared to the noise floor.

[R.G.]

Good thinking. It is a gain structure issue now that you explain it a bit more.

Compressors are inherently noisy. This is because they are designed to have more gain when their input signal is lowest; no input signal to speak of puts them at maximum - and noisiest! - gain. Distortion pedals are potentially very noisy also, because by their nature, they run at high-ish gains all the time. So they tent to amplify their input noise a lot. Putting a distortion in front of a compressor brings out the worst of both pedals in terms of noise. Far from being dumb about it, you did a very nice job of reasoning it out.

The BMP is sensitive to noisy components on its front end, so there may be something to be gained by reworking it, especially if it's a decades-old unit whose input transistor may have been abused, which can add noise.

You might want to put a somewhat-soft noise gate after the compressor. That generally works well because the output of a compressor is more consistent than bare guitar signal, so it's an easier decision for the noise gate about when to cut off.

A very sensitive output level pot in a clone might well be that the maker used a linear taper pot instead of an audio taper pot. I suspect that subbing in an audio/log taper pot would give you more usable control range on the pot.

[Thump-Lump]

Once again, THANKS for the help, RG.  I checked and the output level pot is a 100k audio/log pot.  Still learning here so bear with me here.  If I understand pots correctly, couldn't I fit a resistor across 1 & 2 on the pot there by bleeding signal to ground?  For example, a 25k resistor there would bleed off 25% of the signal there by only having the lower 75% of what is coming into the pot available to pass out but using 100% of the pot's rotary motion.