Looptrotter Modular Console

We take a look at what has to be one of the most configurable analogue consoles out there.

That analogue consoles are still ‘a thing’ in 2025 doesn’t surprise me, because they make great recording front ends: not only can they provide lots of high‑quality recording channels, but they also make it really quick and easy to manage multi‑miked band recordings, since the engineer has one button/knob per function when it comes to things like soloing, muting, polarity inversion, and building truly zero‑latency headphone mixes. But when it comes to mixing, our DAW software outguns them in so many ways, so many of us feel that it only really makes good sense to bring sounds ‘outside the box’ when we’re looking for the character that specific analogue hardware might contribute.

While there are exceptions, most professional analogue consoles released in recent years have fallen into two camps. The first comprises high‑quality but efficient consoles with preamps, EQ and sometimes dynamics processing on board, and a specific workflow almost ‘baked in’ — the Audient ASP8024, Trident 78 series and Harrison 32Classic, for example. The second type has been a somehow ‘slimmed down’ offering that takes up less space than a traditional console and needs augmenting with other hardware: Neve’s 8424, for example, has no preamps of its own but provides remote control over the company’s separate rackmount preamps, as well as providing a couple of 500‑series module slots so you can tailor the bus processing. The SSL XL‑Desk and API’s The Box are even smaller examples, but offer many more 500‑series slots, allowing you to customise any channel.

Modular Thinking

Looptrotter’s Modular Console is a bit different. It certainly falls into the latter category in that every channel is intended to be populated with 500‑series modules. But like the Audient and Trident, it comes in a range of sizes and offers more ‘big console’ features. It’s been available for a few years but as it isn’t the sort of device that’s easy to line up for review — it really needs populating with more modules than I think anyone at SOS owns — we’ve not had the opportunity. So when Looptrotter’s UK distributors KMR Audio, who also sell a huge range of 500‑series modules, recently invited me to their showroom to put their demo rig through its paces, I jumped at the chance and caught a train to London.

Although it has lots of I/O and provides aux and summing buses, a master section and metering, the Modular Console lacks any preamps, EQ or dynamics processing. Instead, each input channel is given a pair of 500‑series module slots, arranged one above the other, where you might usually expect to see the preamp and EQ sections of a console. The big idea, of course, is that you can configure it with whatever preamps, EQ or dynamics processors you want, and that your choice can be different on every channel. A less obvious benefit is that, unlike with a conventional console and patchbay system, this arrangement allows you to put pretty much all the hardware controls you might need on a session within easy reach of the listening position.

Most of the plentiful I/O are on DB25 connectors, and those intended for connection to your converters are protected from phantom power.

The desk is made up of one or more Input Modules and a Master Module, each just wide enough to accommodate eight 500‑series modules. This eight‑channel ‘bucket’ approach influences the Modular Console’s off‑the‑peg sizes, of course. The current options have eight, 16, 24 or 32 input channels, and the larger versions can be arranged as you prefer, for example with all input channels on the left, or with some to the left of the Master Module and others to the right. If you wish, Looptrotter can also incorporate a desk surface for your screen and computer peripherals, and Looptrotter tell me they’d be happy to build larger custom consoles too, with additional channels added as eight‑channel Input Modules.

The standalone linear PSU, which seemed ample and quiet when running the eight‑channel demo console.The whole ensemble is encased in solid‑but‑stylish wooden furniture, which extends out the front to form an armrest. There are a range of different wood veneers available from California Trading, a supplier in Looptrotter’s native Poland. At the time of writing, these could only be viewed on a Polish‑language website, but Google Translate makes it easy to see the options that are available, including European oak, American walnut, bubinga and rosewood. Power comes from a fanless, 3U hybrid power supply (Looptrotter say that “switching power supplies provide a lot of power, and behind them are linear regulators that thoroughly clean the power lines of all the garbage.” ) It remained whisper quiet for my several hours with the console.

Input Channels

Each input channel features an insert point, and this and both 500‑series slots are individually bypassable. It’s possible to use double‑width stereo 500‑series modules in adjacent channels. As the inputs come in buckets of eight, you couldn’t physically place a stereo compressor in, say, channels 8+9, but the module slots all have I/O on the rear panel so if you really wanted to process channels 8+9 with a stereo compressor you could find a way.

Each 500‑series slot can be individually engaged/bypassed.

The input channels each have four aux send pots, and each of those is switchable pre/post fader in the aux...