OK, I peeked at the thread again - dang!

Look, I'm used to mixing live sound with channel counts between 12 and 48 channels, but never simultaneously all at once. Because I only have 10 fingers, I use the mixer's subgroups for different commonly grouped items like vocals from 4-8 singers, drums into another subgroup, etc. But by so doing, I pre-mixed several of the channels into single faders.

I'm an engineer and a hacker. Engineers solve problems using available technology. Your engineer friend can't truly mix 24 channels down into 2 in one sitting for one song. There has to be some pre-mixing going on, subgrouping, channel bouncing, etc.

All of this can be done inside of the computer. That's why people do it that way. That's why nobody has found this more than 8 channel output issue up until now - including the PG überusers like rharv.

You keep talking about your mortgage and so forth and how you can't afford to spend major coin. One thing I bet you have a hard time beating me at is being a cheapskate.

Don't you remember I'm the guy who showed you where to buy the studio foam for about 1/2 of what Auralex charges?

IMO, mixing inside the box would have been way cheaper than your purchase of the 2 MOTU units, all of the audio and firewire cabling necessary, a second computer for the 'tape deck', the interface for that 2nd computer, license for the recording software in the 2nd computer etc. etc. etc. Your DAW has unlimited tracks. Two that you can use for the destination right there.

The control surface approach lets you do the thing you were used to 40 years ago, avoid any noise stackup that will get introduced by going back out to analog to the mixer then back to digital with the 2nd computer, and saves a pile of money in the mean time. Did you see the price of the 8 slider 8 knob Behringer control surface? $209. One cable needed; a USB cable to get from it to the PC. I bet you've got one of those lying around.

But, please verbally abuse me if I post in this thread again. You are permitted to send me a PM or do it publicly in the thread. This goes for anyone still reading.