welcome

crispybishop04 wrote: So ... Why should I invest in an analog board when a digital board can do all of that, and more?

why do you feel you need a board ?

The Projectmix is a good way to get a taste of many things in one product

The analog unit will give you monitoring and routing when the computer is not alive
great for personal gamming etc
it gives zero latency hardware monitoring ... with the digital stuff hooked up to the computer you can never be sure and there is always that doubt

these question have no specific single answer
more importantly is how you like to work and what expectations you have
both of these units are near the bottom of the market and offer good value for money when used within context

when recording I don't use a mixer anymore
but then I have a lot of stuff

I'd like to say that most analog boards have better pre's, eq's, etc than their digital counterparts... it differs largely from brand to brand though

Eh, that's not necessarily true - a Beh****er board's pre's and EQ cannot compare to those on an 01V - I know, you said "most"...

I prefer to have an analog board inbetween my mics and recording medium, mainly for the tactile routing and simplicity of connections - but that's me.

why do you feel you need a board ?

I prefer the intuitive feel having a mixer board, and automated faders are something that I, as a techie, just love. I don't have application for pre-recording EQ, so I suppose the only concerns I should have are with the mic Pre's. Thanks a lot folks!

crispybishop04 wrote: ... I prefer the intuitive feel having a mixer board, and automated faders are something that I, as a techie, just love...

yep
fun

doesn't quite answer the question
the Mackie Onyx 1640 won't give you the automated faders

I am trying to split the idea of mixing board from DAW control surface

Many people use their board as a primary monitoring control and signal splitting device.
it can be used when not in record mode and might spend half the time in jamming or general listening mode.
it provides hardware cue sends and zero latency monitoring
and signal switching and splitting.
some have multiple control room monitoring/speaker handling.

At the other end of the scale there is the DAW with hughe I/O and a DAW control surface.
NO signals ... analog or digital go through the board ... some even choose to put talkback through a different system with a button at the producers couch.

By keeping the Mic-pres seperate, you get to put more of the budget into JUST the Mic-pre.
I like this philosophy, but it's not for every one and at the lower budget some of the packages offer good value with many facilities and a good way to taste all of what is on offer.

Many people use their board as a primary monitoring control and signal splitting device.

Count me in as one of many...

8-)

bent wrote:

Many people use their board as a primary monitoring control and signal splitting device.

Count me in as one of many...

8-)

I second that emotion

yeah

I used to have the Auditronics 501
but
I will try to live without it

a friend pestered me and offered a fair sum for my two 501s and I gave in
there are in very, very good hands
and will be brought to well above their original condition and specs
he is a wonderful electronics engineer and an excellent audio head
and a pretty good guitarist

as I said
I will try to live with a simple control room based around the DAW
with a DIY multi-input contol room monitoring device

err
no
isn't not designed yet

I needed to reduce the floor space used
and reduced the maintenance time required
they deserved more time and effort and perhaps money
...
more than I have now ... or in the foreseeable future

I may regret it one day