This project isn't dead. It just took a little longer than expected because life got in the way. The first rendition is finished. I'm not completely happy with it but it turned out fairly well. Everything is currently set up for full stereo but I accidentally purchased mono 3.5mm jacks. Also, I suck at drilling so some of the holes are off center. Current version has 3 ins, an aux send, and a headphone out. The aux send can be patched back into one of the inputs for fx. It runs on two 9v batteries but I could easily add a dc in. I don't think I'll be selling any anytime soon because I don't feel comfortable putting these out until I'm 100% happy with the design and I'm in the middle of moving so I don't have time to be assembling mixers.

Pics:

shut up

orly?

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something like a korg nanocontrol, but 4 stereo / 8 mono +  master fader would be awesome.
vertically paired 1/4inch inputs on the back for each channel, mono switch for L only
a trim knob. maybe 2 inches x 4 inches x 8 inches. hmmm,

Boss BX4s are like pop tarts crazy good!

Word.

The Boss BX4s were basically this. Tiny little stereo mixers that run on a 9V battery.

Crazy useful too.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004TM31Q … mdp_mobile

Alto Professional ZMX52 5-Channel 2-Bus Mixer with Zephyr Mic Preamps

I'm using one of these for my setup and haven't had any issues yet.  It's a nice little mixer for the price.  I'm still super interested in this project though!

Feature creep IS bad, it's true!

I just feel that the main weakness of most li'l mixers out there is that they only have one output, and I think even just an aux out would really make this special and unique, and more useful for a lot of chip people. Three stereo ins and two stereo outs would perfectly fit the very common "two gameboys and a kaoss pad" setup, with only 8 knobs!

Anyway, it's your project, and I'm sure it will be rad no matter what! Personally, you put a stereo aux out on it, and I'd buy one. Four stereo inputs and an aux out, and I'd flip!

Alleybeach and I prototyped 3 Arduinoboy boards for $5 with shipping. oshpark is da best

Someone on Mutable Instruments ordered 30 monotribe midi boards for $40.

http://oshpark.com

@mostlytoast it will take me a bit but I can give you a link to a place that does small run PCB production for a decent price.  A lot of the peeps creating DIY stuff on the Mutable Instruments forum use them.  I believe you can order batches of 15.

Yeah, not sure if I'll do faders and whutnot. The cost to make these would go up quite a bit and I would rather keep the design simple and have one less thing that could fail. Maybe if this project goes well I'll add more things in the future but I'd rather focus on the now. I was mainly looking for how many inputs would be needed and whether people prefer dc in or 9v batteries. I do plan to build at least one for myself but whether I sell this design is another story. The first one should be finished in January if everything goes well.

@kineticturtle: Thanks for the great ideas however, balanced XLR outputs and aux sends feel overkill for this project. I may add this but don't count on it.

@sandneil: That ART mixer looks really similar to what my goal for this project was.

@sxe_weekend: I suppose diy kits would be possible but I would have to have PCBs printed, otherwise I would just be sending out bags of parts. Not sure if I can afford that at the moment because most places that print PCBs require you order them in large quantities.

Thanks everyone for showing interest in this.