I was actually thinking about getting the Digidesign Digi 001 package myself from guitar center. They have it on sale for $799. I was also going to invest in a Dual 550 Apple G4 with like 512MB RAM.(I work with computers so I get this stuff cheap). Anyhow after a sound card and a good monitor (comes with the G4) is there anything else? When you say preamp do you mean a guitar preamp (triaxis, VHT Valvulator, JMP1, etc...)? The digi 001 is a rack unit soit could fit right into the current rack setup I use. Along with all my cisco routers & switches...LOL