mixers and pres really chap my hide

[orksnork]

im sitting here saying to myself, i want to get standalone (or mutli channel) rack pre's, then i say no i want a better mixer...
and i dont know what to do...
honestly a huge concern is something as simple as the mute button (per channel) on mixers...

and a thousand other things that slip at this hour

[chessrock]

For me, if it were down to a choice between a decent mixer or several budget pres, I would opt for the mixer. It just makes a lot more sense, and the quality differential will likely be negligable.

On the other hand, if you're trying to decide between a nicer mixer or several channels of good mic pres like Sytek . . . then I think you'd do better with the outboard pres in the long run.

[Blue Bear Sound]

If you're at all serious about recording, it pays to get the front-end down.

Work on getting yourself some high-end pres... you'll always have them - if you choose to sell them they'll retain their resale value (or even go up) - and while you may go through many consoles/mixers, you'll always have a solid foundation for nailing the tracks right up front (unless you feed them with Radio Shack mics!)