thanks, what preamp would you suggest. i play guitar too and i record all of my guitar direct in through a sansamp, but the violin sounds dry and thin through it(more like a sax than a violin!!!). do you think changing the pickup would make a difference, or is it the preamp? Also, how will micing up an amp sound different to recording direct through a preamp, surely the sound coming out the speaker will be the same tone as the sound coming from my monitors? i'm putting effects on it, but i also wanna have the option of getting a natural tone.