Circuits an' solderin' an' shit

[TacoMilagroIII]

Today I bought a beginners soldering set and a sound-to-light LED kit. I failed. It lights up, but doesn't seem to be reacting to anything. That's not really the point of this post though.
I bought it because I'd like to experiment with making sound making devices with parts I get at the electronics surplus store. I've seen schematics for them online, so I know it doesn't take much in the way of parts. I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with this, or knows anything about it and could suggest a resource or beginners project. I want to work my way up to modding old video game consoles.

[BrokenDeck]

TIP: When trying to desolder, always use de-soldering thread, the suction devices don't work worth crap.
TIP: Don't touch a wire connected to a resistor with the solering rion more than a fraction of a second, or you will burn the resistor out.

Um that's all I can think of at the moment :P

[Knoxius]

I've been on and off working on creating a guitar pedal for the past year. So far I've only got a statis fuzz/distortion pedal (can't figure out how to get the pots to work properly). Haven't had the resources to expand on it or into different kinds of effects.

If you do want to try the distortion pedal, here is the page that I put it together with. The page explains a little bit about each part being used, but it helps to find guides that are a bit more in depth. I used a lot of this channel to learn about parts such as resistors, capacitors, transistors, etc etc. You'll find that each part is very easy to understand.

Eventually you gotta figure out how each of these components work together, and you'll be able to start devising your own inventions. Try asking Mich or Loansindi about all of it; they are very savvy in this particular field.