Is the 'return' path / switch needed?
What you should be getting when you simulate the basic circuit is this: -



I have just used a single resistor of 2 kohm at Q1's emitter and things look right. All the voltages and currents look good to me and I also did a quick check using a 1 kHz source at 10 mV peak and it's producing heavy distortion (as expected and required).

I think you didn't connect your 9 volt source.