I'll get the ball rolling with one or two posts, but feel free to join in, add your advice, ask your question and, of course, disagree...

Added later... As this area has proved popular with much more stuff from members, I've moved my original posts to the beginning of the thread to give beginners a start in each of the important areas of "that sound"...
Many thanks to all contributors for their later, more erudite and eclectic postings...
