Very versatile mixer!

This is my first real mixer as a hobbyist and so far I'm loving it. It has everything I need for now and is built like a tank. If you don't need a ton of Aux sends or Direct Outs for all 16 channels then you don't need to look any further than this mixer. Extremely rugged and great action on all the pots and faders!

Workhorse

This mixer is a true workhorse. It is incredibly versatile, has 16 channels, 4 subgroups, and 6 auxiliary sends. I have used this for bands, coffeehouse like events, church services, plays, and recording. It has above average sonic quality, and a standard high-pass, parametric-mid, and low-pass equalizer on each channel, allowing it to deal with rather stubborn microphones that just don't seem to want to comply with your wishes. The six auxiliaries handle everything, from effects to monitors, with some ease, and the subgroups are great for controlling drums as a whole, or for recording. Oh, and don't forget, rack mounting makes the mixer easy to haul around with all of your other gear. However, as it is not a thoroughbred, the preamps do have some sonic quality issues, and the lack of stereo inputs is depressing, along with the small scale faders.

BOTTOM LINE:
This mixer is a wonderful unit for use in a rental position, installs at middle and some lower budget high schools, or for early band touring.

Pretty Nice

The 1604 is rugged and sounds great. My biggest issue with it is that it only has 8 direct outs when there are 16 channels. I would have also liked to have seen more options for output such as XLR. If you're using this for a live setting I think it would be fantastic. However since were using it in a radio production studio, it's lacking some features that could have been useful to us.