Audio buddy defense
The audio buddy is a great starter pre... it gets a little bit noisy at the very top of its range, but this is only really a concern when you're miking quiet things with dynamics. It has a little bit of a grainy, midrangey sound to it, but for $79 it is a huge improvement on the built-in pres on most home recorders. I say get it, learn what a pre does and how to use it, and then maybe try something more expensive down the road if you get more serious about things. I do agree, though, that this is an exception when compared to other pres in that price range... watch out for that PreSonus stuff, I had the "TubePre" for about a day and hated it. Not a good investment.