Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface
Sounds like your amp is set relatively quiet, so the neumann can work well for that application. It's better or capturing quieter sounds, like acoustic guitar, or the sound of the room, for applications like drums. I would be careful, however, not to throw too many spls at it. Condensor microphones typically aren't designed to handle tons of sound pressure, so you'll want to move it further away than 4 inches if you record your amp with any significant amount of volume. Also, I disagree completely that an sm57 sounds like crap. There's a learning curve to it, and placement is a huge part of that, but it's honestly my favorite mic for milking a cab.
You can get a lot of traction out of an upper-mid level interface, and though it is true that the whole signal chain matters, in my experience, you can achieve respectable quality without breaking the bank. It doesn't matter how transparent your mic pres are if you haven't learned what to listen for while mixing, and I imagine investing thousands up front thinking you'll automatically achieve pro quality as a result would be an expensive exercise in frustration. What type of DAW are you using? You're on the right track with watching instructional videos, but I recommend searching out ones that more closely mirror your setup and the tools available to you.
