Is it essential to have a mixing board?

I use the Lightbridge to connect ADAT devices to my laptop. I have 24 channels of ADA8K ADAT pres, an ADAT XT and an ADAT HD24. I also have an RME Hammerfall PCIe card in the tower that provides the same ADAT lightpipe connectivity, but with the additional feature of the zero-latency Totalmix software, which the Lightbridge lacks.

I also have several mixers. If I am using the Lightbridge, one of the mixers provides monitor mixes. A couple of Quadravebs provide verb and delay on the cue mix via auxes, if requested.

What mixer are you lightpiping to the Lightbridge?
 
Yamaha DM1000 with two MY16AT expansion cards. I also have 4 ADA8000s for when I want to expand my input (or output) count but these are used mainly for live stuff because the mic pres tend to be a bit noisy--for live, all my radio mics can go in at line level so the noisy pre amps aren't an issue.

In any case, it would be difficult for the Lightbridge to provide zero latency monitoring since the A to D and D to A conversions aren't happening inside--it's more of a format converter, changing the raw ADAT to firewire. (I guess it must have some D-A because there's a stereo out but I've never had occasion to use this in my work flow.)
 
I recently bought an AKAI MPD18 for $90, not because it's amazing or the best surface available, but because it has a fader. Exactly what Steen was referring to. I just needed that physical fader to ride through some rough spots on my ability to play guitar at even levels...If I were a better guitar player, I wouldn't need it. If I was more comfortable with the faders on the screen...you get the picture. It's just personal pref and it really depends on what you're shooting for. If you want some tap pads to put midi in with or a fader to ride through rough spots a small, cheap control surface will help, if you're looking for 16 channels of faders and pre/post routing, you need to get to a firewire/usb mixer. If you can get comfortable with what you have and make it work to the quality you're looking for, save yer money!
 
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