Just as an added note, when I say that the difference between the Pacifica and the RNP or Fireface pre was astonishing, I mean that in the sense that it was an astonishing difference as far as mic pres go.
Change guitars, massive difference in tone.
Change amps, massive difference in tone.
Change mics, massive difference in tone.
Change mic placement, massive difference in tone.
Change rooms, massive difference in tone.
Change mic pres, not always so massive a difference in tone. Usually much more subtle change in tone.
To me though, with all the variables listed above that go into the creation of tone, it's really nice to have one part of the chain that is a "steady-state" sort of thing, meaning you know it's always gonna sound pretty darn good. Too many variables makes it difficult sometimes to troubleshoot where the "tone-drain" is happening. Getting the Pacifica, for me at least, has eliminated one more possible location for "Tone-drain" in my signal chain. I can comfortably assume now that whenever the tone is not quite happening, I don't need to look at the pre anymore, it's probably one of the other (many) different possiblilities that I need to address first.
That's a nice place to be, and worth every penny.
