I have a Prophet 12 module, MS-20 Mini, Analog Four Mk1 and a 0-Coast all going into Ableton. It's a very aesthetically pleasing little setup and I love the sound of each machine, but it's always felt a little awkward actually using them when I'm trying to make a track. I was all software for a long time before I got any external gear, so I'm very used to having all my synths playing live at once, or using multiple instances of the same plugin. So far the best I've been able to do with hardware is build a complex default template in Live that has all their IO set up, and then try and record the parts that I don't need to have playing live while keeping the synths patched to the sounds I do want live (i.e. a one shot filter sweep vs an evolving bassline or arp). But then I'll have to record long takes of tweaking those parts so I can make another sound, and then repatch to come back later in case I want to change the notes or record new ones. Plus needing to switch patches between projects, which can get a bit unwieldy for my two semi-modulars without preset memory.
I know this is probably a lot of whining, especially for the old timers from before DAWs. Making music is work. But maybe I've thought about this workflow all wrong?
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