Kinda depends how ITB/OTB you are. And if you need it for mixing, audio routing/processing, recording, performing
I have the Zoom's predecessor (HD16) and it's held up pretty well for what it's been through & records cleanly
Pretty much use it for mixing out & bouncing down to as a stereo channel though; has onboard effects, but pretty limited in routing
Was running MPC into Mackie 1604-VLZ3 to plug in & route all my outboard gear, but had a few more channels on that mixer eaten up, now MPC gets it's own mixer, old Mackie Micro Series 1202
MPC has 8 outputs...but you have to assign things, otherwise you have to monitor with Phones jack (9th output, 10 & 11 outputs if you want your MPC stereo pairs plugged in at all times too). Some channels on the 1202 are stereo pairs though, so I can plug 9th cable from phones jack into other half of one of those stereo channels for monitoring purposes before I decide how to assign the outputs to mixer inputs.
MPC into 1202 with 4 Inserts and 2 Send/Returns and then mixer's master stereo outputs go into 2 channels on 1604; MPC is pretty much a drum machine, mixer has 8 channels for drum sounds that get bounced down to a stereo pair. Inserts & sends coupled with being able to route any sound to any channel makes for a really versatile setup
Most of setup is based around A) sending stuff through signal chain and B) never having to get up and plug things in/out. And I don't particularly load up a template with pads already assigned to the different 8 outputs and loading sounds from there, so I still need a 9th input for the Phones jack
Gain staging is definitely harder on a smaller mixer, only input knobs for the pre-amps and no volume sliders
So even though it's only 8 outputs...I feel like something with a few more inputs or input options than that is good (if you're into routing audio). Also has actual mixer functions like sends/returns, inserts. Input gain control and sliders. I don't know how important an EQ section is to you
My Mackie 1604 would be a much better option if the MPC and one or two pieces of gear is all you're really into
8 channels have Direct Out, outputs that can be run directly out from mixer channel into other audio interface for recording purpose. There's 4 Sub Sends too, so you can bounce multiple channels down into one audio channel. You can even send Sub channels back into the 8 channels with the Direct Outs to record processed sounds
You could:
Run MPC 8 outs into mixer channels with Direct Out on them. Now you have access to EQ & outboard gear on mixer channels and are able to use Direct Out jacks to pass audio to another interface. So instead of plugging directly into an interface, you're now going through the mixer to kind of color, effect, process everything first
Run MPC 8 outs into mixer channels that don't have the direct out, then route those 8 channels down to any of the 4 Sends you want, then record out from sends or even send those Sends over to the Direct Out channels
Run MPC 8 outs into any of the channels and record off the mixer directly as a stereo output
But this is all with analog mixing. If you're looking to record the MPC too, a digital mixer isn't bad idea, but the audio routing is a bit limited with inputs and that it's usually done onboard the mixer. An analog mixer gives you a lot of audio routing options, but you're going to need an external interface to record to
I started off with my Zoom and felt it didn't meet my routing requirements. It's great for recording down to. You can also export the audio files into computer really easy. Digital mixers are good for if you're going to move your tracks into the computer and do things like mixing, effects, processing in the box. Analog mixers work well for routing audio. I basically have a lot of stuff I like to plug in and other hardware samplers I sample & resample with, so I love an analog mixer & patchbays
Analog mixers are mostly for a summing buss or adding some sort of color to the sound while a digital mixer makes recording & post-processing a lot easier
MPC 1000 w/jjOS, Elektron Octratrack, Korg EX-8000 & MS-20 Mini, Behringer Neutron, E-mu E6400 Ultra, circuit bent Roland TR 505, Mackie 1604 VLZ3, Electrix Filter Factory, delays & compressors