Jimmy James and the blue flames was one of Jimi Hendrix's first bands but then again you probably knew that.The mixer is a nice item to have in the digital studio but if your a one man band you can get around it. Sequencers range from N-track on the inexpensive to Cubase VST and Cakewalk version 8 mid range to very sohisticated stuff that is mega bucks. Several HR members have used N-track with good results. I got Voyetras Digital orchestrator Pro with my wimpy AWE32 soundcard 4 years ago and as a sequencer it works well and was easy to learn. I still haven't gotten into the analog to digital audio work yet but again several HR members speak highly of soundforge for digital audio manipulation. There are user groups for N-trak, cubase, cakewalk, and I believe Soundforge right here at HR.com