Basics – Key Components - Resistors, Capacitors, Diodes, Transistors, ICs, Switches, Pots

Lesson Overview: Meet Your New Best Friends — The Key Components

In this lesson, we introduce the core components you’ll be using to build and understand audio circuits. These aren't just parts—they're the building blocks of every sound-shaping device you'll ever work with.

You’ll learn:

• What each component does, and how it behaves in an audio circuit.
• Resistors – controlling current and setting gain.
• Capacitors – shaping tone, filtering frequencies, and coupling stages.
• Diodes – clipping and distortion essentials.
• Transistors – the heart of amplification and signal shaping.
• ICs – briefly introduced, to contrast op-amp vs transistor circuits.
• Switches & Pots – how control interfaces shape your signal in real time.

This isn’t just theory—you’ll see real-world examples of how these components interact and why they matter. By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to identify and understand the role of every major component in a circuit—and start thinking like a circuit designer, not just a builder.