Considering the only difference between this and the 12 is MIDI in/out and the extra channels, and I'm not sure the MIDI is worth it, I'm thinking I shoulda got the 16 or 24 for future proofing. Its interesting that the mixer comes with a bunch of presets for all the major DAW's except Reaper. Not quite sure why that is?
OTOH, I'll probably under utilise the 12 as it is, so in reality it doesnt matter what I've bought
The only thing I think that limits the 12 is the lack of proper send/returns, as using stereo returns means not being able to use the inbuilt fx.
I hadnt considered the mixdown/summing thing you mention. It really does sound nicer than the Focusrite Saffire did (to my ears), and the all analog summing thing isnt something I've ever looked into before, being usually ITB. I'll consider this! Thanks!
Anyway, great write up. This range of mixers seems to be pretty classy to me, its surpassed my expectations for sure.