Torn if I want my first pair of high end mic pres to be these. Bill Skibbe semi-randomly came across Sly Stone’s Flickinger recording console in Chicago & bought it. This was the board from the home studio where Sly recorded Sly & the Family Stone’s There’s A Riot Goin’ On (1971) & Fresh (1973). A couple of the dopest funk records ever recorded. Well Skibbe reverse engineered the microphone preamps from that console & started selling them several years ago. You can combine the grit & girth of vintage-style gear with the transparency of modern digital recording.
But really you gotta focus on the musicianship, the people skills, building a track record, not the buying of gear. It’s not the equipment, it’s the creativity & imagination involved.