A couple of questions you need to ask yourself before buying
the 1202 VLZ Pro.
1. How many people will go through at it once?
2. Will you ever be in a band?
3. Do you plan on using it to record?
If you are the soul user of this unit, it is really good for the price. Easily under $400. The preamps are pretty great, especially with the new Pro version. Lots of good mixing capabilities. If you will have a couple of vocalists and few musicians, maybe the 1402 or the new 1602(might be 1610--not sure exactly) will do better. 1402 (@$550)has 6 mic, 4 stereo and the 1602 (@$850) has 10 mic, 3 stereo (I think). The 1602 should not be confused with the 1604.
If you are in a band that plays on stage, get a 1604 or the equivalent (about $900-1000). You will eventually need the 16 mic/line jacks and the their flexibility. Nothing worse than buying a small board and a year later realizing that there are not enough inputs--really, I know. I have a 1202 and this happens all the time.
If you are recording, it is a fine unit and works well. The biggest downside is the fact that you have to reroute your cable patching between recording and playback--especially if you are using an eight track recorder. For a bit more money you can get an Alesis Studio 24 ($600) or
a Studio 32 ($800) and the channels have a send and return button on the mic/line channels. The 24 is eight mic/line but uses -10db RCA jacks from the mic/line channels (though, that is not "too" terrible) and the 32 has 16 mic/line channels that have balanced 1/4" +4db jacks, which is better yet.
I am sure there are plenty of alternatives and opinions to hear yet.
Peace, Jim
[This message has been edited by Jim Marquard (edited 10-28-1999).]