not meaning to be overtly critical, and more other eyes down the road then OP, but . . . original query was virtually impossible to answer except as gossip (which device is sexier at the water cooler)
this is/was partially due to not having enough specific info concerning what you are attempting
there is an art to asking questions that garner responses that are useful and in OP's response it genuinely appears that he had more or less answered his own question prior to posting . . . He does not find
the Zed24 to be useful in the studio!
Among the gear used to record live shows I have an A&H GL2400 (actually picked up by the partner & while item was budgeted if he had consulted me prior to getting it I would have insisted on a 2800) but I do not believe it has ever been used in project studio. While I did two projects last year for which I used 3 & 4 mics on the trap set it is far more common for me to deploy 9 or 13 (depending, on room, kit, genre, performer, etc) . . . but i also have converter options that allow me to track the minimums (24+, though 2 is far more common & seldom track more then 18 simultaneously) necessary for the way I work. But ADC does not require a board of any sort, & until you start spending an obscene amount of money pre-amp & (AND) routing options (hence my throw away concerning 2400 vs 2800 boards) tend to be ugly compromises.
While you certainly do not need 8+ channels of Neeve/API (for the record I have no Neeve and only four channels of 312) to record drums adequately in the home/project recording environment . . . to provide info that one feels they have to have a control surface with tactile feedback (i.e. faders) is important info to have going in, to anyone hoping to post even quasi useful (to OP) response
In a face to face consult with any complete novice I would not recommend any fader control surface . . . but for anyone who has enough experience to know how important the a tactile feedback control surface is to them . . . then in a purely digital project studio the A&H Zed24 is probably not going to be of much practical value . . . if you have it it certainly can be used. Unfortunately the USB send to computer is prefader, apparently, a curious choice for a device that only supplies a stereo pair ADC . . .
Again initial response was that Zed24 & Presonus Project were not products directed at the same way of working. Either can be used for both live and studio recording, with modifications, add on gear etc., each have different strengths, weaknesses . . .
@ a significantly higher price point (probably) the Zed R24 might address, at a not quite outrageous cost, what would seem to be (from OPs initial info) concerns . . .
again reason for this post has more to do with situation over (not only) last weak where initial inquiries simply failed to provide appropriate info for a functional response other then 'it depends'. Nor, not matter what it some times might look like, I'm not suggesting the need for Proustian length post. But I would suggest newcomers review similar inquiries, if they are actually interested in functional responses (as opposed to 'Sound Blaster rawks, API sucks balls'), prior to initial post.
