@Riuozami
This: PlayDifferently MODEL1 or NOT?
I believe the QC is not what would be expected from a 3’300€ mixer…
Not judging the brand but it surely keeps me away from it now…
Yes this is what I meant…
Wow I am surprised by the QC issues, in the end this is manufactured at Allen Heath like all the Xones
Thanks for the advice. I understand where you’re coming from but I have sometimes had the opposite feeling where I can spend all day with microscopic control over sound design etc but not really get anywhere and often not have much fun. I think if you set realistic expectations (a small hardware setup isn’t going to be like a DAW) then hopefully we can still get a lot of enjoyment and minimal frustration!
Ultimately, you don’t have to have one or the other. I can hang onto my software if I want to use that but I can also get some hardware so I can go screen-free when I want to do that. Nobody is forcing me to choose!
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I am not sure about that.
I think they are manufactured in Wales by a small crew.
I was unlucky 
Hey, according to a 2018 video on the Model 1 website, it is built in an Audiotonix factory in Scotland. Afaik, Audiotonix is the mother company of A&H, SSL, etc, and this is the factory where they assemble their flagship consoles.
Well, it completely depends what you expect from a looper. For me the missing MIDI sync control is a no go (as well as no standard send/returns as basic mixer functionality).
But, of course, as a complete package for performing with FX on the fly and some looping it’s great.
For everyone not having seen DaveMech’s introduction video yet (+ follow ups):
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Late to the party, thank you all for sharing your experience here! I’m in a similar debate myself, as I started my build with a DB4, but have since added many more voices. I think I have a good routing solution (described below), but I’m still looking for that final mix interface.
First, I want to say the DB4 is an awesome mixer! about the most fun I’ve ever had on hardware. You just can’t underestimate the power of 4 independent fx engines, filters/eq on every channel, and being able to mirror inputs to any/all four channels. Combined with the dj-speed of the interface…all you need is Bluetooth and SoundCloud and you’ve got a banging set. It’s sooo much fun!
However, that said — I hit the glass ceiling on the DB4 as soon as I wanted to build on top of it. As mentioned above, no sync, so resampling has to happen upstream. But even more of a killer: It has no sends! Whatever happens in that box comes out mixed down. Period. The audio interface doesn’t fix this, either. What was said above about the USB interface is true: Finicky, terrible latency, and big-time tendency to ground loop. It’s a mixer with great onboard fx, so I can’t fault AH for the lack of expandability…it’s just a repeatedly sad feeling that what’s created there can’t go further.
As an alternative, I’m using a MOTU 16a + Faderfox control surfaces to route audio everywhere in my system. The advantage of this is 1, It’s a hardware setup with 7 stereo aux buses and 6 stereo group busses — I’m layering and sending audio anywhere and everywhere; 2, The creative work can happen elsewhere on gear dedicated to its particular purpose; and 3, The results can also be multitrack recorded into the MBP for further development. I won’t get into the resultant tug-of-war caused by the gravity of the DAW…but, I feel if I’m going to record, I have to accept this.
The problem though is that OSC-to-Motu is not performance speed (hoping I can resolve this, but as of now, adjustments are very “ease-in” and “ease-out”— adequate for routing a system patch, but not jammable.)
So what is that final mix-down interface?? All signs point towards an Octatrack. I see myself using the motu group busses to layer up A and B channels, adding whatever OT fx I can, resampling, looping, and cuing up my next bit. Elektronauts, am I headed in the right direction?? 
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Unfortunately Octatrack sounds like shit, tho, or so I hear.
Welcome to the forum BTW. Soon you will understand the nuances of the above
hey what did you ever decide on?
Just as a tip for db4, you can use record out set to ‘phones’(in settings) and then use the cue buttons to send channels out the micxer. Use mic/line channel for the return and voila, a send return
I’ve considered octatrack as mixer a few times, but it just doesn’t have enough inputs which makes you go into workaround modus from the get go and it limits things a lot for the way I work live. Also eying the bluebox . Which might be a great solution together iwth one of the faderfox midi controllers.
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