You'll get much better advice from others on this forum, but I'm on a similar path with the ES9 + Ableton + Piston Honda
My suggestion would be to start slow. Get ES9 and Plaits then figure out where you want to go
Honda paired with a Zadar or Kermit for modulation is an amazing standalone drone machine
Authentic Mutable Instruments modules quality and ergonomics are worth the expense and HP.
I was headed to this rack, but got sidetracked
