this guy's channel is great, he does a lot of synth teardowns/repairs

https://www.youtube.com/user/markusfuller

youtube
there are some great vids exploring what's going on in simple circuits and what electronic components do there

Thanks for all the recommendations, guys.  I knew you'd have some helpful pointers!

Recommend afrotechmods on youtube. Also eevblog. I really like eevblog teardowns because he'll kind of do a critique on the design. A lot of it may go over your head, but each time you'll get a little more out of it. Personally I'm not a huge fan of books.

The books that Make publishes are a great way to get started because they teach you the fundamentals with the primary purpose of understanding, modifying and hacking away at your own projects.

I started the same... following schematics and stuff
then googled what were the components i used ... wiki is a very good start.
also looked to all the data sheets about those ic's i' was using

google again one link leading to another

Time much time reading

then i'll invite you to customize (bend) your existing designs

And  start with a small project on your own  and getting all the info you need asking precise questions on electro forums
burning a few fingers and components, crying

and then succeeding and moving to a bigger project

We always learn

have fun

Hey gang,

This is a bit humbling to ask, but lately I've been finding myself wanting to know a lot more about electronics--specifically circuit design.  Right now, I am of the ilk that only follows tutorials and pieces together information as I need it, but I would really like to take that a step further.  I want to understand why the pieces and parts work the way they do so that I can build on them, modify them, break them, and/or make my own.  I'm pretty novice when it comes to understanding this stuff so I know I'll probably need my hand held...  A lot -___-

If anyone has any great resources for learning this kind of stuff, I would be eternally grateful.
Thanks!