| The one major difference is that the alesis is also a sort of soundcard as well. Ie, you go into the mixer and you can get straight to your computer via the mixers usb out. the plus side is that you dont need an external or computer based recording soundcard, it all gets sent from the alesis via usb.
the downside is its a very budget all in one soluton, I had the misfortune of having to use one for a demo at my pianist friends house, he wanted to use his piano and I couldnt be bothered moving all my gear to him! they sound glassy and, well, horrible to record through, and if you are just using it as a mixer and you are going to record through a 3rd party soundcard the preamps are thin and a bit weak.
if you just want to have fun and not worry too much about things sounding great then it will probably serve you well, and not having to buy a soundcard as well is a definite plus.
the tapco stuff is made by mackie, who are a well respected company that makes quite allot of good gear in the mid price range. I havent used the mixer you link to specifically but ive reccommended tapco stuff to students of mine looking for cheap studio gear and its always been pretty well made and generally quite good for the money.
the downside is of course that you will need a soundcard as the tapco is just a mixer!
so, if you have a soundcard, or intend to buy one, id go straight for the tapco. if you dont want to have to spend anymore money after this then the alesis is probably your best bet, but it is a bit of a compromise in quality!
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