SSL describe their new XL–Desk as the “smart dumb analog console” and that sums it up pretty well because although it’s a traditional old–school console in many ways, it’s also the result of some very smart design. There are two common trends in analog console design at the moment: the integration of increasingly comprehensive DAW–control and automation facilities, and the inclusion of API 500–series slots, to allow the user’s choice of preamps and processors to be incorporated into the console. For now, at least (I detected hints of future possibilities), the XL–Desk ignores the world of DAW control and automation. Instead, the design team’s focus has been on creating SSL’s first console to cater to the 500 series. Sixteen module slots are placed in–line with the console channels, and there are two more which, by default, house the most recent version of the company’s G–series stereo bus compressor (which now boasts a high–pass filter in the side–chain).