Well a mixer and a control surface are two different things.
The mixer would be used for preamping the mics, eqing and routing to your Daw system. Also the mixer would be used to set-up a headphone cue mix and as a breakout for stems from your daw to avoid internal summing.

A control surface would be used for controlling parameters inside the Daw. ie:fader moves, transport control, plug-in settings ect.
Some CS's have built-in mic pres to.

I would demo a control surface first and decide if it is going to increase your work speed or not. I personally find them difficult to use and they pretty much just slow me down.

Hope this helps,

Chris

i think there's money more well spent! i prefer to spend on a great pre or something other than a mixer or control surface! i can use the mouse...

inLoco wrote: i think there's money more well spent! i prefer to spend on a great pre or something other than a mixer or control surface! i can use the mouse...

I tend to disagree. A good control surface can be as good for a mix as a good pre. To use a mouse to control fader movements, you would have to listen to the track over and over and over and over and over.... again until you get the curve settings just right. However, with a control surface, you will only have to listen a few times.

As you listen to a mix more and more, you tend to accept flaws within the recording more as it goes along. You will also develop a general sense of apathy towards the mix around the 26th time you listen to it.

A very organic control surface such as the Radikal SAC2.2 or the Mackie Control Universal will make short and less tedious work out of getting the levels right.

However, Chris is absolutely right. A control surface and a mixer are two different things altogether. I have yet to see any budget mixer/controller combo (by budget, I mean less than $10,000) that does both things well. The Tascam FW1884 is a good control surface, but at best, only a decent mixer. The Yamaha (don't recall the model number, but the same general product as the Tascam) is generally just a decent control surface and a moderately good mixer.

Of course, you could get a good mixer and get a VCA controller for it so that it will send voltage/midi signals to your DAW, but this is very difficult to set up if you aren't used to it.

Best bet - if you are on a budget and can't afford an SSL with flying fader automation is to get a good mixer and a good control surface and not a combo box. Try an Allen and Heath Mixer with a Radikal or JL Cooper controller. All told, you could have an awesome set-up for less than $5K.

J...

cucco when i say i can use the mouse is with when budget comes to mind! i've recently bought some stuff and am saving money so i can buy other stuff! a good pre for instance is much more important for me than a control surface! i've always used the mouse to mix with cool edit pro, and i know i can be mixing 2 or 3 times more than if i'd mix with a control surface... but for instance when i use the fade outs i would never use the faders on the controler! i'd want my fade outs to be precise, something i know wouldn't happen with the controler...
Actually i tend to find it easy to mix with a mouse... the thing i feel consumes more time is equalizing...
if i had to buy a controler i'd go with the tascam us2400! seems a great piece of gear...