miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
I'm looking to do a hybrid thing if I have to, for no reason other than convenience.
Well I certainly can't argue against it...I love my hybrid rig, but TBH...when I track, I really don't get too hung up on tweaking the channels. I mean, I have my deck outputs wired to the console, so I am able to set up a rough cue mix, and at most, I'll have some basic reverb on an aux bus, and I'll touch the EQ's a bit just to get things to settle in, plus the pan & level.
I do agree that it's very easy to do that with an external console compared to using the DAW mixer when initially tracking.
You might want to check out the Harrison Mixbus...they say it a very "console like" DAW rig.
Harrison Consoles: Mixbus
Other than that, if you go for hardware, and you want all the processing options and recall stuff, and all that...I would think a digital console will be your best bet to interface with you DAW...and there should be a few options out there that are budget friendly considering that small format digital mixer have been around for a long time...like going back to the Yamaha O2R and stuff like that...
...but yeah, I saw that new one from Presonus in a magazine, and it's supposed to have it all....not sure about the price though.
I think going with an analog console might make it more complex...the multi-I/O on the interface...etc....though 16 channels isn't that much of an issue or expense these days...but still you would need the console and the multi-interface for $2k...mmm...not sure about that.