You can't go wrong with any of the Old School Audio stuff (I prefer the L and L3 for vocals in general, although they are all good)....$1200 is a nice budget for a 1 channel preamp, so you'll have lots of choices from many manufacturers. The thing is, is that one preamp won't do it all, so you want to get something that is a workhorse. Nothing too dark or bright, or too colored or clean.