yeah you know, all i have ever had experience with are preamp plugins. i have been most impressed with the big sound i can get out of them.
i admit im not knowledgeable on the subject. oh well, gotta start somewhere.
im not sure thats what i would use the FMR preamp for, with its reputation for clean colorless audio, and since i dont use a vocal mic, im not sure its the preamp for me.
im impressed with the effect you can get with
these plugins from Digital Fish Phones, one in particular: 'Blockfish'
the saturation stage sounds good to my ears.
im also a big fan of Disco DSP 'ThrillMe' i love the squashed sound you can get with it. i wonder if theres a hardware preamp or compressor that could lend a similar effect.
im also impressed with Steinberg's Magneto, as simple and old as it is.
i would like to build a hardware clone possibly at some point. i want an aggressive sound with lots of color for drums in particular, but really for everything. they are in the $1000 range however, which is a bit high for me at the moment.