I bought this to replace a larger 16 channel mixer that had lots of routing options. I needed something smaller, but with a similar amount of inputs and as I'm mostly mixing stereo sources, stereo channels were very welcome.
Enter the super compact Mackie 1202 VLZ; 4 mono channel + 4 stereo makes 20 channels, but there are also 2 stereo returns and a tape-return. That is 26 inputs in total!
It is not really a 2 bus mixer, but it has a nifty feature; the mute/alt bus: when you press mute on a channel, that channel is diverted to a set of separate outputs. I've hooked those outputs up to my audio interface, so I can choose which channel to record, by pressing the mute switch. I can also record the four mono channels separately from the direct outs.
Using the Mackie is a joy. Everything feels sturdy and the layout is clear. Sound-wise it does not seem to add any character of it's own, which may or may not be desirable in your case.
There's only one thing I'm really missing, and that is that I can not easily mute the speakers connected to the monitor outs when I want to monitor using headphones. But other than that I'm very happy with the 1202 VLZ.