I am yet another poor bod who is confused!
As I see it you want all the bells and whistles of a conventional analogue mixer, EQ, filters, comp' (pan?) and channel fader all funnelled down to a converter that connects via USB? If so be very careful. Read specifications, download block signal diagrams and IF you think you have found such a beast ASK the mixer makers to be dead bang sure.
Does the resultant signal into the DAW need to be just stereo? If so, on a basic level all you need is a fairly comprehensive mixer and a Behringer UCA 202! (or better)
Dave.
A bit of an update:
I decided to get Loopback for my macOS. This is allowing me to create digital audio devices which is helpful because now I can feed OBS individual mic's as an audio source from a single audio interface as opposed to having all mics from the hardware source be mixed into a single feed. So this is cool. Also, after some research I've discovered:
a) How to do a mix-minus, and theoretically be able to duplicate or even triplicate for 2/3 callers. YAY!
b) However, I cannot find a digital recorder or USB mixer (with multitrack abilities) that sends the signal to a computer (or recorder) for each individual track POST-FADER! So far, all I've seen is they all send pre-fader/eq to the computer (and recorder if it's a recorder).
In Short
The quickest way to say all the below is: I want to do the work with external hardware, on the analogue signal, and then let the computer record the tracks, not just the final stereo mixed-output.
All the above/below said, any suggestions on a premium 2-channel, 1-AUX with amazing EQ mixers? Just in case I go this route. Or perhaps a box which I could send my mic into, make adjustments, and then pass it along to the computer?
-- short motivation -- I dislike working in software for levels, knobs, and such. I can do it but (a) i dont like it and (b) I really dislike having to go back and forth through various windows (even on a multi screen set up) to mute a line or make a quick simple adjustment.
At Length
Considering (b), this means the mute buttons, faders, EQ, etc won't work and thus most of the board's functionality would be useless for a live stream (EQ, faders, mute) IF ... yes IF ... we were interested in sending to the broadcast each channel individually rather than the mixed out. I recognize this is likely not a big deal for the broadcast other than in one simple important fact: System Resources.
I have a mic which I like the sound of my voice better after a bit of EQ: and my snark kicks in and says, "I am the ONLY one ever to have thought this ever in the entire history of recording!" -- sarcasm --
That said, I want to be able to adjust all my settings via analogue and then send to the recorder/computer to record/broadcast my voice, in this order. I specifically want to have this per input channel... i.e. every mic and audio source, not just the mixed output.
Motivations:
This would reduce the system resources I'm running while streaming because I wont need to have the signal routed into a DAW and then over to OBS to get the EQ'd signal for streaming - hence one less program to have open and running and thus one less program to worry about system resources chewing up processor power. Yes I realize that to record on the computer via multi-track will eat up my resources and thus sending from there to OBS is a moot point -- but if the mixer had an onboard (off-computer) recording ability (like the zoom L12) then i can record via hardware off my computer and broadcast using my computer.
Use Case
Since all the mixer's I have found thus far send just after the gain (+compressor if they have it), any mute button + controls are also inactive for the purposes of multi-track recording. So, if somebody on the show goes into a coughing fit or becomes rather obnoxious the mute button wont work on the Mixer. I'm forced to either use a digital method, unplug the mic and later have to re-plug it, or use the gain knob on the mixer as opposed to a simple push button solution to kill the feed.
I doubt I would need to explain my motivations to have the multitrack recording ability for editing.
Thoughts
I could output via master out to OBS on my mac for broadcast (using the master outs into the mic on my computer or audio interface) and then record to a digital recorder via USB which allows for the broadcast to have the EQ'd signal, mute buttons, etc, but in this case the recorder would still have the raw values and thus not be consistent with the broadcast values and for post editing purposes I'd have to deal with that -- not what I was wanting to do.
Ultimately, I'd love to be able to record (per individual channel) BOTH the pre and post fader signals.
Work Around
A) Aux sends + loop back into mixer.
I did test on an cheap board I picked-up the following:
1) Run the mic into channel 1 all the way down to the fader.
2) Send this signal POST-Fader to an Aux send.
3) Route the AUX send out back into channel 2 and then over to the computer via USB.
4) Use Loopback to create an audio device using only channel 2 from the mixer.
This does indeed give me what I want, however, I must have then AUX Sends which are POST fader AND this also chews up both an Aux and an additional input on the mixer. Furthermore, in my test I used TSR-to-XLR cable and the routed input sounded a little degraded in quality --- I'm guessing this is because it wasn't designed to do this and also I routed the AUX over to a XLR channel with phantom power on ... I'll need to test this when I get home on a TSR-to-TSR cable. However, this is undesirable because a single mic now requires three slots on my mixer and hence throws me into needing a massive mixer for even small shows.
B) Multiple Mixers
All this said has lead to me the following possible solution:
Get two - four premium small channel mixers each having EQ, mute, etc on them. Route my mic's into these mixers, adjust the EQ, let each in-studio guest have their own mixer, and run these over to the audio interface.
The con here is the amount of hardware to buy and of course the cabling --- soooo many cables and thus a messy desk.
Am I missing something here?
Of course I could just get the Rodecaster PRO ... (not really what I want for other reasons) ... but this is an option I may have to go with.
All the above said, any suggestions on a premium 2-channel, 1-AUX with amazing EQ mixers? Just in case I go this route.
Thanks for reading this far -- and for the help. Perhaps I'm just the outlier in this world and that certainly wouldn't be atypical for me.
---------- Update ----------
perhaps...I'll have a look
---------- Update ----------
Could you describe your recording setup, and what you are actually trying to achieve, i.e., what's the end result, or results, as there seem to be two competing requirements? Is it as simple as wanting to stream live from a mixing board (i.e., a stereo, or maybe even mono mix) and at the same time capture individual tracks pre-fader for later re-mixing in a DAW?
P.S. How big is this band you need 22 tracks? What all are you recording?
Read my post above -- explains motivations for the larger mixer -- primarily because of the number of AUX's.