I imagine the Alembic is considerably better being priced at $3,300. And their guitars seem to be over $20K. Not in my budget for sure.
While I love the Dead, and in saw them dozens of times from the late 60's to the later 70's, I am not trying to sound like Jerry, as I am certain no amount of identical equipment would allow me to have his fingers and brain. But I do like the pure/clean tone and in general that is what I am searching for. I haven't found that yet with my Fractal FM3 and EVPXM12-MP FRFR.
If the Sarno Tube preamp is a good piece of equipment for working towards a cleaner sound, it would be a nice purchase, and not too expensive either. Only downside is it is non-returnable. But at $710 it isn't a huge investment. I was thinking of maybe pairing it with a KSR 100w power amp, and maybe a KSR 2x12 cabinet with possibly the Weber Ceramic Michigan 12 speakers.
So many choices and options, and so little budget!