Well to pimp out the VS unit a bit, it is portable, ideal for toting about to record bands on a campus. Editing takes a week of frustration and then you wonder how you were so confused in the beginning. You can cut, Copy, insert, delete, bounce and exchange tracks. How is it at recording drums? Thats up to you. It is a digital recorder, it picks up whatever the sound is that you pump in. Plenty of inputs so you can mic the snot out of the drums and get the sound you need. No you do not need a mixer... it IS a mixer of sorts.
The downside of these puppies fall into 2 main issues in my book. First: you can end up half blind reading the mini monitor on it. If you buy new though you will get some sporty software that lets you use your PC. I have heard mixed reviews there. Second and more of an issue... the headroom pretty much sucks. If you get your mix dead on the first try than this is not a big issue, but if you anticipate swells and huge jumps in the sound then be forewarned. Peanuts for headroom. Killer machines for portable multitracking. Oh wait.. third warning. The optional effects cards. They are optional...aka cost a bunch more if you want (you do) them.