"ScottW" said:

I guess I'm gonna start this with a little homework via a book. What do you
guys think of Valve Amplifiers, 3rd ed. by Morgan Jones?

Not familiar with that one, but how about the "Tube Preamp Cookbook"
by Allen Wright. Publisher Vacuum State Electronics.
Not really a "cookbook", but more a kind of journey through the tube
experiemnts of the author.
There are very detailed explanations about RIAA eq., shunt regulators,
and various other tube technologies.
In the last part, there are schematics that can be built.
In the book it is said that various circuits will be(come) available
in kit form, but I've not seen them yet........
This books actually asks for some electronics ( and audio!) basic
knowledge, and sometimes even more than that.

In case you don't have that background, you could e.g. start with
"Schematic Diagrams" by J. Richard Johnson, publisher Prompt
Publications.
Not all tube, but a general electronics basic course focused on
learning to read and interpret schematics.

Since I've lent the first book to some friend that I haven't seen for
years and I'm not in the posession of the latter book, I don't have
any ISBN numbers handy for you, sorry.

--
Sander deWaal
"SOA of a KT88? Sufficient."