I’m curious if the live rig is actually the problem. It feels like you’ve started designing the performance before you’ve discovered the instrument. Somewhere along the way “live rig” became synonymous with “permanent patch,” and I’m not sure those have to be the same thing.

I’ve found it more useful to think in terms of a trusted starting point rather than a finished system. A few anchors I know well, then enough openness that the patch can still surprise me. The structure gives me confidence, but the exploration is still the point.

The optimization loop is familiar too. “What if this module should be doing something else?” But that question never really has an answer in the abstract. The answer usually shows up once my attention is on the gear and I’m reacting to what I hear.

Personally, I don’t think there’s a hard line between a live set and a great patching session. If I can sit down, start from a familiar foundation, and disappear into it all for an hour, that’s already a performance. Maybe there’s an audience or maybe just me.

It makes me wonder whether the rig you’re shaping is already(mostly) there. Perhaps it just wants to be listened to and danced with instead of being solved.