Got the Tapco Mix.100

Hi - I have the Tapco Mix.100 - because all I do too is one track at a time live recording (with Cubase). It's got two XLR and your 48V phantom. Either 6 balanced INs or up to 10 unbalaced INs. I love it. Does everything I want. It's about half the price of the Behringer (which is a good one too though). Found it for $70:
[[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.digitalp…"]TAPCO Mix.100[/]="http://www.digitalp…"]TAPCO Mix.100[/]

TAPCO - Audio Gear with Vibe

Cheers,
Martin

In your budget (I'm guessing based upon the other postings) they are all kind of the same. That said, Soundcraft makes a line of notepad mixers or some such that are likely considerably better than Behr****. Tapco is made in China for Greg Mackie so depending on how close his quality control is, that could be a decent unit too. I don't know of any non-sino mixers in that price range actually.

Soundcraft mixers are also great! I liked the Soundcraft Notepad 102, which is comparable to the Tapco, but it was more expensive than the Tapco. And the Soundcraft Mixers - at least the Notepads are also made in China (darn lol). I wish I could have found one made in Germany or the US, or Italy like my Fatar Studiologic keyboard. But I don't know if there is a company out there that's not outsourcing to China - not for a under $100 mixer at least :)

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

I'm actually open to other ideas, and here's one I hadn't considered. Right now, all I have is an M-audio audiophile 2496, and a Roland VS-1880. I bought the Roland earlier this year thinking I'd either use it or sell it for profit (got a good deal on it). I've had the 2496 for about a year and it was a gift. I've been unsure of what I needed for the 2496, and a bit after purchasing the Roland I decided to go computer based. Well I just learned that I might be able to use the Roland as a control surface/front end for Reaper software DAW, and I'm thinking about going this route. But I'm not sure if I can indeed use it with the 2496, and if so what I'd need to get to be able to as far as cables and everything.

Well,

I have a $100,000 studio and I have this as well and if all I had was $3,500 for DAW system (excluding the computer) I would ABSOLUTELY buy this
http://recording.org/content/614-studiolive-24-4-2.html

I own the 24.4.2 and its more than amazing. 24 pres, hooks up to a laptop or desktop and you are rolling. The software is so fast. You don't need anything else. Really...

LirVa:
Just a thought here....but rather than continue down this current path of cheaper boxes why not get rid of the soundcard and bag the mixer idea and move up to an inexpensive direct USB audio interface like a Mackie Blackbird, Apogee Duet, Presonus, M-Audio, Focusrite, RME Babyface etc etc...
Looks like you want a decent mic input for the SM58 and then an instrument input and you already have Reaper and there ya go....instant improvement...Bob's your uncle!

I'm not sure to be honest. I said the sound card was essentially a gift (a favor for doing some computer work for someone) and I've got the Roland which I have been trying to sell for a month without any luck at all. I'm not sure I'd be able to get anything at all out of the sound card.

Ya I know...times are tough with selling used electronics even in the best of times.
They lose value so quickly and you end up keeping them around collecting dust...I have plenty myself that should be on Ebay!
To tell you the truth, I think I would be using the Roland as my mixer instead of buying another one. There are some good cheap buys on older Mackie small format mixers on Ebay for under $100 that were very good in their day.
I had a 1202 back years ago and it was a great little mixer.
Tapco's are really the same designs as the Mackie stuff....same guys..different packaging.
Some people think the Tapco's are better than the Mackie's but I find that pretty hard to buy.
They both have basic designs that are pretty clean and straightforward. I know the older US made Mackie and Tapco stuff is far superior to any of this Chinese made stuff that's out there now.
There are a lot of those small mixers out there used, that many people barely even used.
And of course the Roland which to me is probably even better sounding than any of those has 8 inputs, 2 "balanced" inputs for your mics and the 6 unbalanced inputs for keys and such.
The Roland has digital stereo SPDIF on the back and 2 monitor outputs and some separate aux outputs.
You don't need to use the Roland to record with..just use it like a mixer.
If you use the SPDIF then you still have the 2 unbalanced stereo inputs open on the 2496 to use which would technically be 6 mono audio channels!
Your pretty limited in separate inputs going into your computer with the 2496 anyway.
Of course you do have MIDI but as far as analog inputs it looks like 4 in plus the SPDIF no matter what you do.
If you're submixing everything going in first...just record 2 tracks at a time into Reaper and use the SPDIF that way it all stays digital.
Having a multi-channel audio interface directly into the computer via USB or FW is still the best choice for separate channels into Reaper...you'll have the best recording chain and the most control over each track to edit.

As a point of note I have had some incredible problems with Tapco in live sound. Not so much QC as some incredibly bad design combined with some very very slow manufacturer's service. This has resulted in the retailer I was working with putting our tech in contact with Tapco and he is now working with them on redesigning the rack amps; which had the temperature sensor mounted right by the power transformers; not only that but the sensors had a fault which meant that once they reached a certain temperature point, their chemical makeup permanently changed so then they would not read temperature correctly!

In mitigation they have worked with us through the problem, but its cost me a substantial amount of money in having a bank of Tapco rack amps that have all failed necessitating me buying an entire string of replacements to get us through almost a 2 year problem-solving issue. This after reading many reviews of how good they are.