So the other day was the first time I ever got to go hands-on with a proper oldschool synth which has an entirely upfront interface - no menu, no scrolling options etc... just pots, switches and buttons..- and DESIGNED specifically for that synth - unlike midi controls which are just generic blocks of controls, not placed/arranged in terms of function.. My nova came pretty close, but you still had to scroll to get to some of the settings and some knobs had multiple purposes

It was a korg mono/poly and it just amazed me how different it felt to work on...

It's made me want a sampler where everything has upfront buttons/controls.. I mean EVERYTHING - a knob for start position, a knob for end position, effect knobs, level knob, bpm/stretch, etc etc etc... Unfortunately the SP isn't midi controllable, or I would be out building a controller for it!

I immediately went out and bought 35 pots, a handful of switches, case, etc to make a full upfront interface for my tetra... (well.. not for all 4 synth parts, although that would be nice - just enough to control every parameter of the synth part)

A korg esx is prolly the closest sampler to what you're talking about. It had a couple menus, but as far as hands on, nothing beats it! I loved making beats on it cuz you usually don't stop the sequencer, you let it roll till somethin is bumpin

yeah, it's probably the closest thing.. I was thinking of getting a cheap rack sampler + build a midi controller