Yeah, I'm kinda pre shopping too.
My style of music is very similar to yours, but I like to call it
"Neo-Classical"![Wink ;) ;)](/images/smilies/wink.gif)
But I fully expect to record the odd rock band every now and again.
What I have pretty much decided on, based on my own research, is to go with the
API 312's racked by Brent Averill (scroll down to the bottom of the page too see them.)
You can also buy his
6 or 11 slot racks with phantom power. I think what I'll do is go with his 6 unit phantom powered rack, and get 2 of the pre's. Then, I can eventually add another pre or 2 until I have 6.
As budget allows, add another rack and 2 more pres. Now you have 4 open slots in the new rack that you can add
the API EQ's
So for a little over $1500 you're into a nice pair of pre's that you that you can really build in to a world class rack.
OR if you just want a pair, you can always look here:
http://www.marquetteaudiolabs.com/api.html
A little more expensive though.