Soundcraft Signature 22

I have a live setup that I need quite a few inputs for, that I also like to record from when its in my studio (read: bedroom).

Pros:
This is certainly one of the most feature packed mixers in this price range. 4 band EQ plus a high pass, sounds fantastic, and is perfect for sculpting sound for a mix. 5 auxes, Plenty of space for sends even on top of the two built in FX, and each aux channel with a pre/post switch. Speaking of FX, they sound great, I'm a real lover of reverbs and the longer reverbs in this sound excellent. Being able to chain one effect into the other also makes the chorus, vibrato, etc. much more usable for performance since you can add reverb or delays to them. The other three auxes pair very well with my poly effects (4 in/out). Having the two groups is excellent, and means I can multitrack record my performances reasonably well, split by percussion/harmonies/bass, even though multitracking from the mixer wasn't my ultimate goal, very useful.

Cons:
Monitoring section is a little lacking. Group AFL would be nice, as would control room outputs, but you have to make compromises at this price point. It's also apparent with the lack of inserts anywhere, though for my personal use, it's not quite so important. A second minor concern is the cheapness of the pots. Maybe my previous A&H mixer spoiled me, but the pots for this mixer feel very cheap in comparison. Not poorly made though, they are easy and accurate to adjust.

My biggest actual concern is the usb return channel. The usb noise, when being used as a standard analogue channel, will make anything but already quite amped signals unusable, as the usb noise will become very apparent when you get towards and passed 50% gain. It's a shame to lose two channels to such an issue.

Edit: I just wanted to address this part, as I've found the usb noise has something to do with the routing, possibly something like a ground loop. What I can say is that in a normal channel, my synth produces zero extra noise or hum, but plugged into the usb return channel creates an excessive level of usb noise.

Overall though, I am very happy with this board as a routing interface for my studio, and as a mixer for my live sets. It's well worth the money. Also the blue is actually a lot darker and better looking in person that is appears in photos.

WE use this in our home studio .
It's perfect for us . wish I have and even bigger one 32 CH would been even better.
Only Thing I don't like is the I can Use the 2 FX aux ... Would have been perfect if I could use all 5 aux with our own board effects . but 3 is better than 2 so this is a winner . And We use the Bus as an additional FX Send ....
CH1-8 have a " " Compressor / Limiter " " . you can NOT edit them but they work Well and gives really good sound for drums ...
the Gian distortion is really where its at with this mixer . We had a Mackie for a long time But the gain distortion was too sharp . this on is really Good .
I like this mixer ... Sure it's no Digital mixer but have you tried distorting Gains on a digital mixer ... haha

Recommended to all those that like Nicely saturated mix .