When we think of building something—anything, from baking a cake to designing a new preamplifier, we typically start with a recipe.
A recipe is a set of instructions that detail what the ingredients are and in what proportions. For instance, we might list vacuum tubes, linear power supplies, electronic volume control for one preamplifier, while for the next it's FETs and BJTs, plus a SMPS, and a potentiometer.
Once we finish with the recipe it's time for the tasting or listening, depending on what it is we're building.
If it tastes great or sounds lucious we leave the recipe intact. Too much of this or too little of that, and we tweak it.
Hopefully our recipes are not one for disaster, but rather for success.
