a selection of tried-and-trusted basic guides to stompbox components.what are the parts (in general)?from ‘beavis audio’:
a guide to resistors and potentiometers
https://web.archive.org/web/20150315021313/http://www.beavisaudio.com/techpages/Pots/a guide to capacitors
https://web.archive.org/web/20150315020249/http://www.beavisaudio.com/techpages/Caps/a guide to parts from the excellent gaussmarkov site:
http://gaussmarkov.net/wordpress/category/parts/a guide to parts from guitarpcb (comprehensive print-out-and-keep pdf guide):
http://www.guitarpcb.com/PDF%20Files/A%20Beginners%20Guide%20to%20Effects%20Pedal%20Components.pdfwhich parts do you need for stompbox building?miro’s guide (here at gfx) to how to choose parts for stompbox building in particular:
http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.uk/p/components.htmlgeneral rules for choosing parts (and what can you substitute for parts you haven’t got).‘keens laws’ from r.g. keen’s excellent geofex website (spend time there, it’s an education).
http://www.geofex.com/effxfaq/keenslaws.htmsomething to get you started anyway...
things like transistors and integrated circuits can get far more complicated, so more in-depth details about those components will be found in other dedicated and specific guides here.