MIXpad 4 vs. Mackie 1202?
 

How does the more portable (and half-priced) Mixpad 4 compare with the Mackie 1202?

The only other difference i see is that the mixpad provides 36v of phantom power but reading at the NT3 specs it says that it accepts P48, P24, P12 Phantom, so does that mena that it can be powered by the Mixpad? OR does the power need to coincide (i.e., 24 or 12 exactly and not 36?).

Some high quality mics do require the full 48v phantom power while others are more forgiving. I'd not recommed buying a mixer that could supply only 36v as that would immediately remove a number of mics from consideration for future upgrades.

The ME64 is wonderful mic. Be aware that it does have a bit of a bump in the high frequencies. This gives good speech intellegibility even with a fuzzy windscreen in a breezy environment. Remember that you can always turn down the highs, but you can't add them if they're gone.