i say forget the mixing board altogether.....it is debatable whether sending signals out of cubase and into a desk, and then back into the computer will have any positive effects. Some will swear that it makes the signal sound warmer, but if thats the case, then you are basically buying the an expensive desk as one big effect unit., which can be taken care of using a plugin. The EQ's on a 1604vlz is far from anything to rant and rave about. If you have a lot of equipment already, then yes maybe patching them into a mixer is the most reasonable thing to do, but even now, alot of people just bypass the mixer altgether and patch everything directly into an audio interface.