> Boxes like the Digitakt look like a lot of fun, but then I watch a youTube video of it and it's like 80% knob-scrolling through menus on a tiny LCD screen and that doesn't look like fun.

Totally with you there. Menu diving on a 20x2 char display is no fun at all.

> Any thoughts on how to dip my toes in the water with hardware to see if that's a better fit?

It wouldn't get you a full setup, but a keystep + a behringer neutron wouldn't break the bank, and looks like a lot of fun. (I don't have a neutron. Maybe on my list once I sell a couple pieces of equipment that I don't use.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfD8RmALHwQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJTl_ntNTgo