Well, honestly, I would recomment ditching the unmentionable B brand mixer and getting something a bit better, since you are running into that even if you put a preamp first. BUT, I suppose if you are looking at absolute bang for your buck, a decent preamp is a good idea.

On a side note... How is that AT2020? What are you using it for? I find it actually works alright on acoustic instruments.

What to get next depends on what you are trying to record?

If you are fairly new to recording, i would say brush up on you skills first and search the internet and these forums and try to absorb as much info as you can putting it into practice with the gear you have.

Then you will be able to make a more informed decision on when gear you need.

I should mention that Behr mixer and monitors (and Nady mics) are on loan from a friend at the moment, so I don't mind using them for free.

Considering that the AT2020 is my first mic, I have been happy with it. I've used it to record my uke, some voices, and hand percussion. Without having the experience of owning higher quality mics, it has definitely been worth the money so far.... I think I paid around $135.

Sidenote: I also kind of want any purchase to be able to help out with live performance as well. That is part of the reason why I was thinking about getting the Brick or the 3630 compressor.

For single mic'ed tracks, I can (and mostly do) bypass the mixer and go straight to the Soloist.

I am leaning to the Brick because my uke records very low and can use the boost live and in the studio.

I am not too worried about getting the 3630 right away, because my friend is selling me his for $50 in a few weeks, so I was thinking of saving for the Brick.

I just wanted to see if there was anything I was fundamentally missing in my chain.

Thanks!

If you do get the 3630, PM me I can send you a few mods you can do to make it sound a bit better. Basically the THAT chip in the orignal design can be upgraded, as well a few cap and the power supply upgrades. The upgrade will cost about $100 USD.

How labor intensive is the upgrade?

Takes about 2 hours to complete if you go slow. It more less take the 3630 up to a DBX level.

I think the Brick would be the better investment, since you're not going to upgrade your interface (my first choice). The Brick will still be a worthwhile investment when DO upgrade the interface, plus it doubles as a DI box, as you said. (I don't know why I haven't gotten one myself)

If you wanted to work on mics, I'd get a 58 and two 57s.
While the AT4040 is a much better mic than the 2020, I'm have no problems pulling my 2020 out when necessary - it does a good job. Any upgrade of condenser is going to cost at least your whole budget.

When I do upgrade my interface, I was thinking something Presonus Fire all the way. Except I don't have any Firewire ports. I have to work on that.

I also have to upgrade my RAM and hard disk.

I am definitely planning on getting the 58+57s.

But as we said, the Brick is super-versatile.

I have my first paying recording gig in two weeks, so I am pretty excited about that.

upgrades

Hey, My biggest advice is monitors

having great monitors is a must. you need to feel as well hear the power your adding or taking away to the mix

http://cdmasternow.com

Monitors aren't going to help if the mic is the quality limiting factor right now. Also, if you're mixing loud enough "to feel the power" then your mixing palate is skewed.