Back in the 1980s my wife Pamela and I took a big chance and built a recording studio in an old barn in rural upstate New York. I could barely set a nail straight back then, and circuitry was definitely beyond me, yet I started teaching myself (largely by making a ton of mistakes) how signal moves through circuits, how to keep track of the signal flow, and what could potentially shape it.
Later while working on my MFA, I began learning applied circuitry that enabled me to design reactive media projects involving audio and video devices controlled by microcomputers that in turn were triggered by a variety of sensors.
As of late I have been building instruments, amplifiers, and microphones from kits I find online. I have begun taking greater and greater chances in modifying the circuits (those 1960’s caps I found on eBay might not have been the best idea), and I usually end up with really cool stuff that I am proud to make music with.
The folks at Tube Depot offer up some terrific amp kits that have exceptional instructions that are easy to follow and suggest a number of modifications. I have built several of their Fender Champ style tweed amps to date, as well as their Deluxe and Marshall style kits. The folks that I have sold or given them to LOVE them, and they are among my top recording rigs
Another WONDERFUL resource is Micparts, where I have found kits for improving, rebuilding, repairing, and building from scratch a number of microphones in my studio. When I have taken a chance on cheap tube microphones of the MXL variety I have almost always been let down. They languish in my studio’s mic locker, passed over for the workhorses that I can always depend on (and which inevitably had a higher price tag or would have higher price tags now years after I bought them). But the MicParts folks have easy upgrade and rebuild kits (also with well put together instructions) that have allowed these cheaper microphones to really shine!
Lastly as a guitarist for more than 40 years, I have finally begun to explore the electronics of my instruments. Sure, I had replaced tailpieces, and tuning pegs, but I had never rewired a guitar until about 2010. Today, I often repair or upgrade old guitars for friends or that I buy at flea markets, antique stores, and elsewhere – shaving necks to more comfortable playability, replacing hardware, and (just as importantly) rewiring with quality pots, resistors, capacitors, and pickups. I also find parts online, which I combine for new builds. It’s really rewarding to have friends come over and pickup one of these guitars and fall in love.