Do I need preamps?
I don't know, I've paid almost $4,000 for four analog channels. In retrospect, that would've been better spent on microphone stands, extra pairs of headphones, a headphone amp/splitter for seperate headphone mixes. Maybe a couple gobos, maybe some percussion instruments. I could've bought all that and had a little money left over. I would say with certainty: don't go into debt for preamps. I put my Grace Design pres on a 36-month plan. That's crazy. I mean, the payment is not crazy, but it's just crazy to get carried away like I did. I fell into a trap that I think a lot of people do—gear-acquisition-syndrome; the feeling that just one more piece of gear will unlock the door to amazing recordings. Utter bullshit, you can make amazing recordings with your phone. Okay, that's a bit extreme: you can make amazing recordings with a modest interface and microphone. The answer is with the recording artist and the skill of the engineer. Not technical skill, but the skill to know when a take "had it," the skill to produce less, to engineer just the right amount. So much of great music depends on what's already in the room, and it's the skill to assess that, that matters.
Gear is great, I'm a nerd and I enjoy poring over spec sheets; looking up company histories; famous users of the equipment, etc. But just because someone famous used the same gear—doesn't mean you're going to get famous. It just adds cachet, a thousand bucks to the price—the feeling of exclusivity. There's a word for it that I think describes this phenomenon pretty well—"unobtainium." It's 2026. You can make great recordings with an old laptop borrowed from a cousin, loaded with free software, and about $250 of pro-audio gear. A Focusrite 2i2 and Shure SM57 is really all you need if you're a singer-songwriter. Just you and a guitar. Record vocals and guitar together as a scratch track; then overdub: nail your guitar part, then nail the vocal. For example. Well, just use any process you want. The thing about engineering is there are a million ways to fail but only a few ways to succeed. It takes a lot of practice. Placing the microphone correctly, using your software effectively, all that. On top of that—Playing to a metronome is a seperate skill from playing without one. I think recording yourself makes you a better musician and engineer, it hones the blade so to speak.
Anyway, whatever you do—don't do what I did. NO, you do NOT need fancy external preamps—the ones in your interface are completely adequete for making music. If you are a musician aspiring to become a recording artist, just get a 2i2 and a 57.