Awesome, thanks for the help guys!

I have the arduino uno, whatever the most recent version. I also have a cheap multimeter and a fair amount of components I've bought or pulled from electronics over the last year or 2. I'm very tempted to as you said setup a test on the arduino to process audio, even though I know it has it's limitations. Unfortunately I have a habit of looking far too into things. for example I spend all day yesterday learning how the fade command works. I've known how to use it, but I now know that it is almost the same as the blink command, just continuously repeated changing the frequency/duty cycle each time. I then hooked up an analog voltmeter and saw it bouncing, then a piezo to try and change the pitch whilst still in the blink code. I have an issue that I don't understand how electricity works. I've spent so much time researching and all I get is the comparison to a water system which is a load of crap. Especially in AC. If i were trying to fill up a bath, using the AC comparison, I would be putting water into the bath, then taking it back out again. No matter how long I did this for, id never have a full bath. How does this work? If electrons are moving forwards and the backwards, surely nothing will happen?

Thanks for that reply! It's going to take me a while to understand everything you've mentioned. I've only just learnt about op-amps that's how basic my knowledge is. I'm slowly following though. Is their any good starting point in general electronics or things I should know before jumping in at the deep end?

Thanks for that super helpful reply! The main reason I wanted arduino is because of the USB feature. It's be so cool to hook an amp up to my PC and write effects like that. Is there anything similar to the arduino that could handle the speeds? I assume you're talking about the ADC/DAC, which should be around 44.1KHZ, but the arduino it's 10. There are "shields" out there that claim to have much much faster ADC/DAC but again i'm out of my depths now and may be completely wrong.

I have a line 6 DSP board around, would it be possible to load my own code onto there somehow and use that as my DSP?

Thanks for the reply. I'll take a look at that book you suggested. My question was where to start, I keep getting suggestetions to buy a kit but I know I won't learn as much as i'd like

Hey guys, brand new to the world of guitar amps and all so if I seem a little stupid please forgive me, i'm just very un-experienced.

I have a basic knowledge of electronics, I mean very basic. I can wire up a plug, solder acceptably well, I understand basic components like resistors/caps and their values. I recently obtained an arduino started kit and my god it's addictive. I love electronics and some aspects of programing, that being said I have little knowlege.

Where is the best place to start?

I'll start off by mentioning that I don't like kits. Not that they aren't fun to put together, i love lego! but thats the point, too me it's like lego. I can follow an instruction manual fine, but at the end of the day I have learnt very very little. I'm un-aware of kits that go into detail of each component and what it's effects have, why it is used and so forth.

I'm extremely interested in the solid state/amp modelling side of things, especially software/microcontrollers and the likes because of the arduino. I've just been introduced to the world of "DSP's", but I am clueless as to how they work.

Are their any books or youtube guides to the world of guitar amps. or recommended kits that actually teach you, rather than just tell you to place a component in a place?

some questions I have:

would it be possible to incorporate an arduino into an amp? on board effects if you will?

would it be possible to use pre-existing DSP boards to understand how they work and how they're programmed?  I have a dead line 6 DSP board but i'm sure the chip is fine.

What is so special about the Axe FX? Why is it light years ahead of anything else in the market? I am assuming that most of the amp moddeling side of things is done via firmware/software. the hardware is just adc/dac etc, so why is the axe fx so so so much better? Could I build my own stripped down version?

I'm just a little confused as to where to begin. any input is appreciated.
thanks
Jamie