So I have a nice Yamaha Reface DX - kind of a mini DX7. It has 4 operators plus feedback on each (so like 8 really). Its relatively easy to set up patches using the touch controllers but it's a bugger to change anything live.
So I bought a DTronics DT-RDX2. I managed to get one at reduced price. It gives you hands on operations using knobs of pretty much every parameter.
Makes it much easier to change when playing live.