Hmm... about reducing the level of the synth to line level. This is something that the VCA could do, right? I would think that if the level begins to exceed what, say directly to a speaker without the mixer between them, it would begin to clip and distort the signal and stress the material of the speaker. Do you mean that if it were to REALLY exceed line level it might cause me to smell burnt circuits?

Should I test it out just to be sure: both directly to the speaker and also through the mixer? Could I monitor the level on the mixer's VU meter?