How many tracks will you be recording at once? How many mics? How many line inputs? How many DIs, if any?

If you really need a mixer for recording lots of tracks simltaneously, then perhaps one of the Mackie Onyx series will do what you want. It's a mixer that incorporates a built-in audio interface with dual firewire connection.
http://mackie.com/products/onyx-i-series

Thanks all - some useful suggestions there - I like the Focusrite one and the ability to expand that so that maybe the right direction for me.
 
Cheers and have a great Christmas
 
Paul

I have an inexpensive 16 channel device the Behringer XR18.  16 channels XLR (and 1 stereo channel)
It IS actually a digital mixer in what looks like a stage box.  You control the mixer using software hooked up via Ethernet cable (wired) or through a wireless connection.  It has MIDAS designed preamps and sounds pretty good.
 
One caveat.  If you are coming from an analogue world (like I was), any digital mixer takes a bit to figure out.  The inputs and outputs are totally flexible and you can pretty much route any signal to anywhere.
 
That being sais, I haven't used it for LIVE sound reinforcement, just recording and it works great there!
 
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/XR18
 
There is a forum on Behringer's web site that may prove helpful as well...
 
This one can take 16 channels without any expansion, and through a single AES50 connector add 16 more channels (you have to add another device that has the preamps and connectors), you get 32 channels!  I personnaly did not have the $$$ or need that many tracks at once!
 
Presonus, Allen & Heath, and many others make digital mixers that can do this.  The newer generation of them do not have the hardware sliders, but use software mixers.
 
 
 

I'm guessing you're looking to be able to record an entire band at once. So how many inputs are you thinking? And are you looking to record live in the studio or live in venus? If live in venus, will you need to be handling FOH duties as well or just recording? Also how much computer horsepower do you have? Buying enough interface to fly in 32 simultaneous inputs doesn't do much for you if your computer hardware only has enough muscle to process 10 or 12 audio streams before dropout.

One of the more inexpensive mixers that will do what you want is the Soundcraft Signature 22 MTK. It is an analog mixer with a digital converter that will allow you to record (and play back) up to 22 tracks at 24 bit and 48K sample rate through a USB connection.

However, you have to make sure that you will have everything else you need to accomplish the entire scope of work your looking at.

It's one thing to plop a mixer down on a desk in a studio full time as opposed to trying to record a band live while also mixing for the live event.

Still the best bang for the buck for multi channel recording @ $299.  
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/US16x08
 
I have the older us1641 and it's still going strong.