Which should I look into purchasing first? And whatever you answer, could you make some good suggestions? This will mainly apply to bass guitar and vocals...with more attention to vocals.
that just depends on what you already have....if you don't have any mics at all, then you probably need one. and in that case you can use the pres in your board. but, if you already have a decent mic, then maybe you should go with a pre. but, to me.....i would rather have a really good mic on a crappy pre than a crappy mic on a really good pre.
In my experience, a good mic can help a budget pre but not nearly as much as a good pre can help a budget mic. Use an sm57 through a berry pre then use it with a Great River or Pendulum. Get good pre's.