I've used a 414 for 5 years and a 414 mkii for a year until it broke/ stopped working, i'm looking at the 424mkiii but am a little confused about seeing people record with tracks panned hard left or hard right, i feel like that would make the headphone mix whack while recording. i usually just record mono and then during mixing I do the panning. since over the years I've found some good recording techniques to absolutely have no tape hiss while recording i'm a little skeptical about getting the 424 because it might be a lot different. the only reason I am looking at the 424 is because of the mid eq, otherwise id prefer the 414mkii because i am so familiar with it