perry wrote:

i dont need pre's in the traditional sense, but i like to push gain
(input or other) to get some saturation/distorion alot of the time.
do i need pre-amps in order to get this much gain?
or can i get this in the line mixer realm -- looking at manley 16x2
and others (even though id like EQ and Aux and busses).

Maybe. But you should know that different amp designs sound different when
they clip. Some sound nasty. Some don't.

manley gives +10db in each line channel at the output... dunno if
thats enough (daking line mixer seems like 10db as well).

perhaps if i turn up the master output as well, id get additional
gain?

what are the best solutions for this?

Get a console you like the sound of. Check the Manley out. If you want more
gain, get an outboard bump box.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."