The suggestion that people should apply a gazillion plugs and use endless comping and other cheats just because the ability is there makes me cringe and speaks volumes about some of the well-deserved cynicism becoming more common toward modern digital music production, and with the current crop of affordable pro mastering engineers it's not like you "need" or should particularly want self mastering plugs either unless you're doing amateur super small-run no-budget projects and just need the overall vol up to commercial levels.
I hardly use any plugs. I track to tape and mix OTB (from the DAW) and use all outboard gear.
Thing is, I have a lot of outboard gear, and I prefer mixing in analog, so it works for me. However, with just a standalone digital recorder and analog mixer, the OP is not going to have much else to use for FX and processing...which is why I suggest going the DAW route, and yes, there are a gazillion plugs at your disposal...
...but I never said you need to always use a gazillion plugs on everything.
I know the standalone digital recorders have some editing/processing capbilites...but that's a PITA way to work in digital compared to a computer DAW and nice LCD monitors.
AFA the comment about "cheats"....ahhhh, it's called "music production"...
We are not talking about recording a full-tilt band who comes in to just lay down some tracks in a given amount of time...rather we are talking about a solo musician, home-rec setup, where recording/writing/creating all takes on a simultaneous process in many cases...and in the world of a solo musician recording in a home studio...edting, comping and all those so-called "cheats" make life a lot easier.
Recording is not about making some deep moral decisions...it's about getting a good finished product.
The reality is that all the pros use those tools, so no need to be a crusader and do things the hard way, unless that somehow makes you feel better.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about faking/cheating stuff...I'm just talking about using audio tools that make certain tedious processes much easier and quicker. That's why I go with the hybrid setup...the DAW is there mainly to edit/comp tracks...and you know, they use to also do that quite a lot back when tape was king, they just used a razor blade and/or bounced tracks from machine to machine...so yeah, that kind of "cheating" has been going on from the earliest days of recording.
Heck....if the OP doesn't want to use a DAW because of the computer/learning curve...then my advice for the OP would be not to even bother with the digital standalone recorder...just stay all analog, and stick with tape if you want to keep it simple.
Avoid the A/D/A conversions with *NO* real benefit of using the digital format.
IMO...if you are going to record digital, then at least have the BIG benefit of digital which is the editing/comping and the gazillion plugs that are much cheaper (many are free) than the cost of outfitting a decent amount of outboard rack gear.
I guess other than not wanting to keep buying tape...I don't see the need to stick one, standalone digital recorder in an otherwise all-analog setup...
without the use/benefit of any other digital devices/processes...why do that?
I think maybe a lot will have to do with the OP's longterm goals and what level of recording he is after. If it means making some changes and learning some new things to get there...then that's what has to happen.