well...posting vs. owning and knowing your rig..and good from bad...useful from not very useful..etc..is another ball game.
any way..
the guy asked the best ways to spend the dough. i think he was shown that..and given tons of options.
we all know the chain of importance..
and it starts with mics. then pre/ad..lastly what its writing to.
so why again is the Oade mod marantz not an awesome place to start?
after all...since when has Doug made or mod'd anything that sucked?
I think that thing is just around $600 new, unmoded. I bet its under $800 all decked out. add a 2gb flash card or microdrive..and you can still have a bunch of money for great mics.
C4s..and there'd be change. buy some concert tickets perhaps?
+T for all the great suggestions and trains of thought.