this is another one of my stupid questions but its bothering me, ok everyone says your should add effect/eq while mixing, so where do mic preamps and such come in cause if you record with a mic peamp you cant go back and undo what you did so why go thru a mic preamp or any kinda preamp
A mic preamp is a necessary piece of equipment when using a mic!
A mic preamp is a necessary piece of equipment when using a mic! It takes the relatively low signal produced by the mic and amplifies it to a useful level.
Channel strips generally contain a preamp, EQ and a compressor / limiter. You're correct in saying that if you add EQ or compression at the recording stage you cannot remove it later.
You can of course use the preamps that will be contained in your mixer or with you audio interface (if it has them).