When I was 22 years old (I'm now 41), I found a job as a "Product Specialist" at Texas Instruments' European Headquarters in Freising Germany (I'm from the US, and was living in Germany). I got the job strictly because I could speak multiple languages, and TI needed some not-dumb people that were teachable and could speak multiple languages. They put us through 6 weeks of intensive analog and digital training so we'd know what we were talking about... sorta... when we'd answer customer questions in their EPIC (European Product Information Center).

So I have a rather interesting background with electronics. In once sense, I know a lot about electronics, but as far as real-world hands-on working with electronics... I've never even touched a soldering iron. Never even held a resister in my hand. So... while I could talk for days about the TMS320C6711 SDK with the Code Composer Studio IDE, and even the SLL chips around the DSP etc etc... I have no idea how to make a simple LED light up using a AA or 9V battery. And I'd like to fix that.

I've bought several "Getting Started w/ Electronics" books like the "Make" series beginner's electronics, and a handful of other "get started books. But... unfortunately... A.) I cannot find any of those books... B.) I kind of hate books.
I really need to see, touch, and even smell in order to really learn something. So, I am looking for a breadboard, and some form of getting started projects for beginners. My main focus is analog audio. I want to eventually build tube-based and solid-state audio equipment: guitar amplifiers, P. A. systems, home hi-fi gear, analog synthesizers, guitar effects pedals, speakers, microphones... etc.

Can any of you guys help me orient myself in this "new world" of electronics? I have no clue where to start, and I have a feeling that the electronics world has a massive spectrum of quality levels. A simple Google search for "Buy a breadboard" produces thousands of results, and I have no idea if one Breadboard company is the "Cadillac" and others are crappy sweat-shop garbage. The same goes for components. I bought a guitar effects-pedal PCB kit where I am supposed to provide all the components that come on the parts-list/schematic. I remembered from my old Texas Instruments days that Digi-Key was the company that we used to fulfill all of our "free samples" orders for TI customers. So I went to their website. Jesus!!! I have NO IDEA what companies to buy, what is crap vs. great, and it looks like it could take me a decade of trial and error to find that out.

So, please pardon the long post here; all I really want to know is...

1. What company makes the absolute most rock-solid breadboards?
2. Does anyone have any tips & tricks on how to spot high quality components (resistors, capacitors, transformers, tube sockets, turret boards, etc.)
3. Does anyone know of any "Getting Started with Electronics" kits that are geared towards analog audio applications?

 

D007, Welcome to AAC!
You have come to the right place.
I believe there is no better place in the whole internet world for the advice you seek.

There are so many copycats in the electronics supply chain these days that it is difficult to weed out the good from the bad without knowing who makes them.

Early breadboards were made by Global Specialties. You want to avoid the ones that have breaks along the bus bars because once in awhile you will forget about this. This can be very annoying and time wasting. Also the plastic seems to melt easily on over temperature.

You can try Circuit Specialties boards and WISH WB-102.

As for kits and components, just give any one a try. I wouldn't invest in more that US$100 for a starter kit.

 

NightFire has some "starter" audio kits.
http://vakits.com/catalog/lm380-audio-amp-kits

I usually get my breadboards at All Electronics, can’t say if they are the Cadillac of BBs or not, but I think they are pretty good.

 

As soon as I posted this, I found this video on YouTube. This guy basically nailed my question about a quality breadboard. Check!

Now, I’m looking into getting a bench-top power supply. For prototyping guitar amps, and audio equipment, I imagine will definitely need an AC power supply, since all of those things run off of standard wall-outlet power. In fact, it seems that a large part of audio equipment circuit design seems to be about making AC power convert into clean and noise-free DC power; at least that is what I’m hearing in all the videos on YouTube.

But guitar pedals, arduino stuff, and all small electronics applications seem to require DC power from the very beginning of the circuit. I’ve never seen a guitar effects pedal that had an AC power cable that you plug right into a wall.

So what does a guy in my position do? Do they even make affordable power supplies that can supply both AC and DC, and do so at a high enough level of quality for audio applications?

 

You don't need an "AC" supply. The first thing the amp (or whatever) does is have an internal AC to DC power supply as all the internals run on DC.

A good starting project is a DC variable power supply. Have a look in work junk box for an old plug pack. If you can find an analog one (non switch mode), that is a good place to start. They are heavy as the internal mains to low volts transformer has a fair amount of iron in it.
Then have a look at an LM317 variable supply. This will give you a 1Amp 1.25V to maybe 20V (depending on your transformer and circuit setup).
I like this site... http://www.learnabout-electronics.org/ but https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/education/ has good stuff too.
Starting with a plug pack keeps you away from having to play with mains voltage and that is recommended! I have a couple of old electric blanket transformers and they are pretty good for this. Even a car battery charger can make a decent power supply base a it comes with a suitable case too. Some of them have space to add extra turns to the transformer to increase the AC secondary voltage, or a switched bridge/voltage doubler rectifier can give a low/high range.


An LM317 supply will not run the tubes you may be wanting to use later, but is a very handy way to start your electronics adventure.
If you do not have a multimeter, search for "AN8002" or "AN8004" or "AN8008" as this range of meters are very good for the $$$.

 

Breadboard OEM: http://www.assemblyspecialist.com/WebStore/breadboards.html

 

You might enjoy this: http://makearadio.com/tube/30bb.php

How the term "breadboard" originated.

https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/williams-sonoma-bread-board-without-handle-walnut/

 

In fact, it seems that a large part of audio equipment circuit design seems to be about making AC power convert into clean and noise-free DC power; at least that is what I’m hearing in all the videos on YouTube.

But guitar pedals, arduino stuff, and all small electronics applications seem to require DC power from the very beginning of the circuit. I’ve never seen a guitar effects pedal that had an AC power cable that you plug right into a wall.

So what does a guy in my position do? Do they even make affordable power supplies that can supply both AC and DC, and do so at a high enough level of quality for audio applications?

This, https://www.amazon.com/KKmoon-Digital-Programmable-Constant-Step-down/dp/B01IQKS3WC/ and the many offered versions of it, are very popular and seems to work quite well. I don't know how clean it is at audio frequencies, and it depends on an external bulk supply, but that is easily sorted.

People use the 19V laptop brick, for example, and if you don't have one they can be gotten cheap. A little search9ing might tell you have noisy the output is, but here's the big advantage of this approach: it can be set for constant current. This means as you learn and poke around, you can set the output so it simply can't burn anything up.

I think, for anyone but especially a neophyte, current limiting is a great thing to have.

 

You don't need an "AC" supply. The first thing the amp (or whatever) does is have an internal AC to DC power supply as all the internals run on DC.

A good starting project is a DC variable power supply. Have a look in work junk box for an old plug pack. If you can find an analog one (non switch mode), that is a good place to start. They are heavy as the internal mains to low volts transformer has a fair amount of iron in it.
Then have a look at an LM317 variable supply. This will give you a 1Amp 1.25V to maybe 20V (depending on your transformer and circuit setup).
I like this site... http://www.learnabout-electronics.org/ but https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/education/ has good stuff too.
Starting with a plug pack keeps you away from having to play with mains voltage and that is recommended! I have a couple of old electric blanket transformers and they are pretty good for this. Even a car battery charger can make a decent power supply base a it comes with a suitable case too. Some of them have space to add extra turns to the transformer to increase the AC secondary voltage, or a switched bridge/voltage doubler rectifier can give a low/high range.


An LM317 supply will not run the tubes you may be wanting to use later, but is a very handy way to start your electronics adventure.
If you do not have a multimeter, search for "AN8002" or "AN8004" or "AN8008" as this range of meters are very good for the $$$.

This is a great response. Unfortunately, it is just slightly out of reach for my understanding of what you mean. You said, "A good starting project is a DC variable power supply." Do you mean that I should build a DC power supply myself as a good project to get started? If so, I love that idea!!!
When you say to, "have a look at work for an analog non-switch mode plug pack." Do you mean that I should grab one of those brick-shaped laptop power supplies with a standard two-prong detachable chord? If so, I have at least a dozen of those lying around at work and at home. I do not know what to look for though. You said... "non-switch mode," and "analog". I don't know if "non-switch mode" or "analog" would be physically written on the power supply, so I would not know. And I didn't think that there was even such a thing as "digital power." I would have thought that any power supply would be "analog." Maybe some fancier models have digital displays or even might use digital technology to manipulate things, but the power supply itself, would have to be analog... right? (I'm overthinking this, I think.)

 

Most newer power supplies first convert the mains to a DC voltage, them have a control circuit and switching transistors to pulse a small transformer at a much higher frequency then the mains supply. This allows the transformer to be way smaller and lighter than it would be if it was running just on the 50 or 60Hz mains. These are Switch Mode supplies.

An "analog" (for want of a better name) just has a transformer with a primary winding to suit the 110 or 240V mains, and a secondary winding to give the required output voltage. Then if it is a DC out supply, a rectifier and filter capacitor as well. The non switch mode supplied will be heavier and larger than the sometimes tiny switch mode versions.
You can use a 19V (for example) laptop switch mode supply quite well, and feed that into the LM317 circuit. In fact, I have done exactly that a number of times. So, maybe don't worry about looking for an analog one if you have another that you can use.
A 1.25V to 12V variable supply that you can make yourself is a very handy tool to have. And it would not be very costly.
Another approach is to buy a regulator board from Ebay and that is valid too, but building an LM317 regulator is almost a "Hello World" first project.
https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/blog/variable-voltage-power-supply.html

 

I'm not sure what your electronic background is, but you need to "learn to walk before you try to run". AC&DC basics, Ohm's law, serial and parallel resistors, voltage dividers, capacitors and diodes just for a start. A basic electronics kit with breadboard, jumper wires, battery holder, resistors, LEDs, etc. I've seen some cheap kits on Amazon for less than $15 that would be a good start. https://www.amazon.com/EL-CK-002-El...ronic+starter+kit,aps,146&sr=8-51-spons&psc=1 A multimeter and a good book on AC/DC basics. You will learn what you need and grow into it. 5&9V DC to start with. Or learn to make 5VDC power supplies powered by a 9V battery or wall wart (after you learn the basics). Lots of online resources for tutorials including YouTube. Good luck!