Considering This

[12milluz]

You can totally do it! I started about two years ago when I was only 13. While I am "techie" I learned soldering and everything from scratch. I'm not perfect yet, but I've learned so much in these two years. It's definitely possible!

[appliancide]

Great soldering tutorial: http://www.tangentsoft.net/elec/movies/

[axemurderforhire]

-How to pay for the parts for the 27 projects on your list
-How to convince your significant other to pay for parts once you figure out the above

Priceless, just priceless. i have,nt told the wife just how much i have spent so far ha ha

[markeebee]

The ever-fragrant Mrs Bee likes to do sculpture and look after stuff in the garden.  I have no idea why.

I like to make guitars, amps and effects.  She has no idea why.

So I don't think anybody else can tell you if this particular pit is the one to sling your money in.  Listen to your inner nerd.

[jacobyjd]

The ever-fragrant Mrs Bee likes to do sculpture and look after stuff in the garden.  I have no idea why.

I like to make guitars, amps and effects.  She has no idea why.

So I don't think anybody else can tell you if this particular pit is the one to sling your money in.  Listen to your inner nerd.

I wish I could garden.

Hobbies make some crazy leisure activities...I keep running into things that I feel like I need to save until I'm old to do. Things like tying trout flies and gardening...when life slows down

Problem is, your wife has the excuse that seeds are cheap 

[Boogdish]

Buy yourself a soldering iron and a GGG kit and see how it goes for you.  If you don't like it, you can still use the soldering iron to repair your guitar cables when they break or build your own when you need more.  And if you can't get your kit to work, you can sell it on the For Sale forum here and one of us will put it to good use.

[markeebee]

...when life slows down

Yes, I know what you mean......there is just SO MUCH pressure in the world of high finance, fast women and archaic transistors 

[jacobyjd]

...when life slows down

Yes, I know what you mean......there is just SO MUCH pressure in the world of high finance, fast women and archaic transistors 

And, to my great sadness, a distinct shortage of trout streams in NE Indiana. I miss PA so much it hurts sometimes. I'd give up a lot if I knew I could make a living there and still be able to wade the Yellow Breeches, Tom's Creek, or the Conewago again...not to mention canoeing the Black Mo', Red Mo', Juniata, and the Yough. *sigh*

[Kearns892]

Before I even touch a soldering iron I would suggest reading up as much as you can, kind of an obvious statement, but here are some links that have been a help to me.

http://www.beavisaudio.com/techpages/SchematicToReality/

Good source of easy to read schematics with breadboard layouts, these really helped me make the connection between whats happening and a schematic and what that really looks like.

http://beavisaudio.com/bboard/projects/

Thanks Dano!

[MikeH]

Buy yourself a soldering iron and a GGG kit and see how it goes for you.  If you don't like it, you can still use the soldering iron to repair your guitar cables when they break or build your own when you need more.  And if you can't get your kit to work, you can sell it on the For Sale forum here and one of us will put it to good use.

This is GREAT advice.  When I started DIYing there weren't the plethora of pedal kits available on the net like there are now.  Just in the last 2 years alone I'd say the number of sites offering DIY pedal kits had increased at least 10 fold.  I probably would have picked it up a lot faster if there were.  I think I went 3 years in between my very first build way back in college to my second (which really set off the addiction).

Anyway- I learned a lot from the Anderton books, "Electronics Projects for Musicians" in particular.  The projects aren't the greatest, because many of them use parts that are difficult to find, but the intro sections are a wealth of information.

And welcome!  Yes, you can do it.  The question is; do you really want to do that to yourself?  Once you go down this road, there's no turning back...