As good as modern virtual synthesizers are I keep thinking how nice it would be to use hardware.
 
I have just recovered my old Korg Poly-800 from the loft, and amazingly it works, but what a pain when you are used to virtual instruments. Programming one parameter at a time with just a 4 digit LED display is pain when you are used to having all the controls laid out on the screen and adjusting them with a mouse or the knobs on the controller keyboard.
And it does not sound that good either.  Mind you the Poly-800 was a bit of a dog, let’s face it you don’t see many VST emulations of sample sets, and there probably is a good reason for that.
 
Of course if I could get my hands on a knob laden modular synth with lots of patch cords.

I just look at my hardware synths and thing, "those were the days..."
 
Mind you, they're only VA hardware synths... my old SH-101, Juno 6 and Multi Moog are distant memories. I might have a photograph somewhere...

When I had all of my "real" hardware synths, I still preferred to work with them from the PC and for exactly the same reason you mentioned.

I never owned (or worked on) an actual hardware synth, but I imagine it would be nice to be able to manually turn/twist/pull the knobs unlike it's VST counterpart. On the other hand, I like the fact that I can have the sounds of a 5, 10, or even 30k dollar piece of hardware for under a 100 quid. However, it feels like it does take away some of that 'organic' feel of having the hardware.......(still, it's the sounds that matter the most).
 
Glyn, do you have Korg's Legacy collection? (I believe the Poly is included in that).  
   

I had one of the very first ARP 2600s.  We used to cart it to jobs and attempt to use it.  It actually occasionally worked as it was supposed to.  I wouldn't trade any of my new virtual instruments for my old hardware stuff evah nevah.  Did love my Mellotron...but it too was a complete PITA.  

I've never had to tune a software synth before using it either. 

Mesh
I never owned (or worked on) an actual hardware synth, but I imagine it would be nice to be able to manually turn/twist/pull the knobs unlike it's VST counterpart. On the other hand, I like the fact that I can have the sounds of a 5, 10, or even 30k dollar piece of hardware for under a 100 quid. However, it feels like it does take away some of that 'organic' feel of having the hardware.......(still, it's the sounds that matter the most).
 
Glyn, do you have Korg's Legacy collection? (I believe the Poly is included in that).  
   

The legacy collection includes the Mono/poly which is a vey different beast with 4 VCOs. I really like it.
The Poly-800 is an early DCO synth. The waveforms were just square waves, sawtooth was approximated by mixing sever squarewaves a octave intervals.
 
There is a single filter which can result in weridness playing anything but lead lines or block chords.
 

I still have a Korg DS8 FM synth. When it first came out I had also bought a Korg DDD1 drum machine and an SQD1 hardware sequencer. Which I sold a few years back. That was my first personal foray into MIDI. It was so straight forward all linked up like that. I couldn't have even dreamt of the power available to us today in software.

I have the Korg legacy collection but don't even have it installed on this computer.

I still have my Korg M1, but the internal battery died years ago and I've not got around to changing it, so no internal presets...  (the raw ROM samples are still there)
 
I was thinking it might be easier to get the Korg legacy collection than try to change the battery.  Then I could use a real M1 as a controller for the software M1.. 

Haha. I got my DS8 and only a short while later the M1 came out. I really regretted getting the ds8 then but couldn't afford both. That was back in 1986