I'm with you on the menu diving issue...it's becoming a trend these days, it seems, to tack a little OLED display into a module and then expect users to memorize a catalog of menu locations and access procedures to get relatively basic functions to happen. It's OK if you have one or two of these things, but there's no way in hell I'd want a half-dozen or more of these sorts of modules in a rig. Modular synths tend to be a bit perplexing in of themselves, even for experienced users, and adding a load of "hidden" functions just seems to needlessly add to that issue. Sure, they allow you to shrink things down...but is that always a good thing? Not really.

I still prefer 1 function per control situations, especially live. And I'll re-emphasize that: especially live. Performing with a modular is even dicier than studio work, and everything's happening rapid-fire. There's no "undo" function on live, and if the objective is to get thru a set with a minimum of screwups, you absolutely want that "WYSIWYG" sort of interfacing with your instrument.

This is also why I'm not big on small rigs. Modular synths need panel space galore so that you can capitalize on playing the instrument. Stuff like the 2hp modules and Erica's Pico series are great space-fillers that allow you to add functionality into a tiny bit of leftover space...but I'd rather pull my own head off than try and use a modular made up purely of these, at least on a daily basis. Sure, going with bigger modules means bigger cases and so on...but it also means that when you need that crazy filter sweep at JUST the right time, your hand can go right for that VCF cutoff knob with no trepidation. You know where it is, and you know you can grab it with ease.