Roland UA-101 and hardware/software routing choices

[Zenitram]

Has anyone ever used this interface?

http://www.roland.com/products/en/UA-101/

It's got 8 analogue ins, and I'm interested in it as a way to send all my hardware synths (which are a combination of new and old, analogue, VA and digital) into my computer on different channels (as well as any bass parts I might happen to play), so I can then apply effects to them in real time in Reason and Reaper, as part of the composition/messing-around process, rather than having to record the synth 'clean' to audio, and then applying the effects to that, without being able to change the synth bit. If that makes sense.

I can get one fairly cheap, and it seems a bit too good to be true.

I can also get a really nice mixer with lots of sends and auxes and all that, which I would have fun with if I start acquiring some more/better hardware effects. So all the FX stuff would be in hardware form, happening before it all gets to the computer.

I can't decide which way round I want to do it. Obviously, using the computer to add lots of crazy effects in real time to my synths on multiple channels means a strain on the old machine, but it also means I already have all the plugins and effects and things anyone could possibly want, in Reason and VSTs. But then hardware is so attractive too.

So, er, does anyone have anything to suggest, or comment, about that, at all?

Thanks.

[cheddatom]

I would say you'll do well to get your latency down to an acceptable level if you're adding effects through a computer and monitoring them while you play. When you see "latency free monitoring" it usually means it's routed through the interface so you can monitor a direct signal latency free, but adding any effects on the computer would add to latency