Knobs and display are close enough to the front so you can use them espeially on something like an "A" frame stand with other synths. The light colored case provides good contrast to the black knobs which makes using the knobs easier to find. You will however need to have your pdf copy of the manual handy as there are some functions that aren't obvious. I recommend buying a bank or two of the commercial sounds for this as you will take some time to start rolling your own sounds. No aftertouch but I don't find myself missing it. Korg provides a free librarian but no editor. I think you can still get the full featured editor librarian from Soundtower. I don't find the synth sound particularly rich while playing it solo but it layers well with other synths,
Also the resonance and cutoff knobs can be used to control the filter on your Korg Triton Rack including the MOSS board if you have it.