this might be helpful for you:
i've got a Joemeek VC8 Fathead,
its a channel strip but its also a guitar preamp, with a floor controller,
you get an XLR preamp with 48v phantom,
guitar/bass input
there's an insert so you can put an EQ or whatever on the preamp,
then there is opto distortion which sounds really special !
then there's the opto compressor which sounds warm,
its got presets and amount of compression, easy to use,
then there's the EQ, sweepable low, sweep mid and high
this thing also has an FX loop so you can add reverb, delay to it,
its got a direct output (wet or dry signal)
and two outputs
there's a foot controller to switch on distortion,comp,eq,mute
there's a groundlift switch to avoid hum
---------------------
now for years i used it to record vocals and bass guitar,
the preamp is decent, i like the compressor it really has a useful sound,
i like the eq for guitars and bass, for vocals i don't use it much, just a little cut in the lowmids
i've even recorded sound samples of birds that sing outside with this thing (with an AKG c414) , silent enough to do this.
you don't get a ton of freaky effects but i don't really care,
first you need to get a decent sound out of your guitar or vocals,
then the easiest thing to do is use reverbs and crazy plugins,
adding a stompbox to the setup doesn't cost much
these units are hard to find since they're out of production,
i'm selling mine but to be honest i'm trying to sell it to some local people for €400 - i have no idea about your budget, or how cheap you can find them in the US, i think i paid about €900 when it was new
i got some of the opto distortion on the "vocals" in this tune,
its not a song, its just something with sounds in, a test.
http://files.mp3.com.au/download.asp?id=113210&Type=MP3&ReferURL=
