What's the purpose of a preamp

[mae_savestheday]

I have a mixer with phantom power, 2 mono XLR inputs, and 3 1/4 in. stereo channels. I would like to have more for recording drums. Instead of getting a bigger mixer, should I get a preamp and what would a preamp do for me?

 

[YellowC4S]

A mixer with more inputs will allow you to adjust the levels for each instrument. Also, there is the question of the output voltage of your instruments and what they may do when plugged into a preamp looking for line-level voltage.

 

[N3051M]

is this for recording or gigs/live? generaly some people like a seperate mixer just for the drums and then plug in to the other one to mix everything... just an idea