Hey guys and AudioEng,

I've been using a Tascam US-122L, a two channel USB interface, for a while now with Cubase LE (that came with the interface). It does some pretty solid recording, but I'm looking to upgrade so that I can record a whole band into my PC. I know I have more than the specs necessary to do the recording in my computer (3ghz quad core, 6 gig ram, 1.5TB HD space, etc.), but I'm still curious about what to do with the hardware side to upgrade.

My options that I've been considering are either getting an outboard mixer (like the Carvin C1644, a Behringer Eurodesk, or maybe a nice Allen & Heath) and running the stereo outputs into the two channels of the interface and from there into my computer.

I've also thought about just getting rid of the interface and replacing it with a mixer that runs USB, like my Tascam into the computer. I'm not sure which is worth more to do.

Option 3, which has only recently been brought up, is to simply get a hand recorder: a ZOOM H4 or something equivalent, although I've heard nothing but the highest praises for the ZOOM and it seems well-suited to my purposes (as well as being WAY more portable than a 24-channel mixer and a desktop PC), but how's the quality for those?

Handling noise is going to be an issue no matter what you use. Anything with a microphone is going to pick that up. That's why all the zoom's ship with stands, microphone stand attachments, and foam. They have pop filters as well.

I'd still recommend the H1 just as much as the H2 or H4n. Glad to see you're checking out the new little guy.