Didn't have a chance to go through all of the product info, can you transfer recorded tracks individually to pc or mac? XLR inputs with phantom power are very handy, that the one thing I don't have between my Mackie HUI and Delta interface - I had to get a little phantom converter unit.
There are limited things you can do with 8 tracks, unless you can bounce down, but for a band a unit like that would be pretty cool for making demos and capturing moments. I would see that unit as being great for getting you to the stage that when you go to a pro studio you will get the max out of your sessions. If it was me though, I would probably look to get an interface like the Delta 1010 (but one that also has XLR's) that I could hook up to a good laptop and interface it with Reaper (free to download and as good as Pro-Tools) for recording and mixing. That would give you a lot more freedom for double tracking, mixing, editing and mastering - plus you would pick up invaluable engineering skills. BUT the learning curve would be even steaper.
If you are ll buying it together, then you might as well take a vote on what you want to get out of the unit. You would probably be more able to make a professional quality recording using a high quality muti-in soundcard into a laptop with recording/mixing software as opposed to a self contained portable recorder. I could be wrong though, I'm not familiar with this particular piece of gear. Let us know what you decide to do.
