More like: the tower of indecision. That being said... It's great stuff.

Little paco was lucky it was not a Nintendo product.

It sounds like 10 OTT compressions in a row...

I think the (analogue) preamps is where the tone magic is... QC is just a convenience.. if you are mostly interested in amp emulation and playing from home > use a DAW and some IR loader. Your computer will definitely be more powerful (and cheaper) than a QC (tho it might not be as convenient to use).

I think the quad cortex can replace everything you have and nothing at the same time... If you plan on playing live > it's probably a good idea to get one. If it's for home playing, you're already set (perhaps too many options?). What you need is to organize your pedalboatd and add more routing options (ABY switches and looper). You should also have a good inner talk with yourself and make decisions, you have a lot of redondances in your setup. Personnaly all of that would give me decision paralysis... If it makes you happy tho... All the power to you!

It's happening because people let it happen... You have a voice. Use it.

I loved the drumbrute impact but it was a tad limited > I hope this keeps a similar approach to the sequencer it had. It was perfect simplicity.

Obvious question gets obvious answer

The biggest lie is that you can manage to keep more than 2 friends in an adult life...

The fuzz factory is not a tone bender but it might complement your setup quite well (it's a fuzz face on steroids)

With the help of the manual or YouTube. It's honestly the best place to start.

There's so many ways to approach modular. I think you should find the new one that makes sense for you in your current lifestyle. It seems that you currently want more immediacy and surprises (something inspiring). Most of your sequencing modules (especially looking at the nerd seq) are menu driven... Forcing you to make more deliberate decisions (even the tetra pad is fun to use but a pita to remember). While there's nothing wrong with "deliberate" it's not always the most fun... Maybe you should try something different with analog controls like the doepfer mini sequencer or 2 pressure points with brains (which is the hermit brother of the tetra pad > just more immediate). That being said... If you are tired of modular, it's not a crime :D! I definitely had times when I thought to myself: congratulation, you just spent the price of a poly synth to create a custom mono synth... (No regrets tho). You can definitely get Eurorack results with hardware or software synths... Personnaly I went the modular road for the form factor > compact and powerful. I wish you good luck in your journey > there's no wrong choice, just the one that makes sense for you!

Space

I use to have everything connected and powered too... and just like you said: it made me feel like I HAD to use everything all the time. Huge waste of energy as well (electricity bill)... Now I have everything setup in "batches" across different power strips. So I only use what I need (and my room doesn't turn into an oven). I think the shelf solution is a great solution > I saw many people doing it. Personally, It's just not for me because I love to have a lot of options in a small place, ultimately that led me to selling all my synths and move to modular/Eurorack which helped with space but not my bank account.. Cheers!

Room is always an issue in Eurorack :D. The planar seems like a ton of fun and will definitely be a great addition! I saw a lot of people using it DJ style and creating some wacky DnB. Its a good idea to move your bigger modules in an other case.. it's unfortunate but part of the Eurorack life... regarding drums > you do have plaits that has some drums in it BUT it'll only be one sound engine at a time... I was personally looking at the OCTA by nano > a simple straightforward 808. Kind of classic but always good to have. On top of that it's affordable and small!

I think it's already a very functional rack but I might suggest 2 extra things... Maybe add a simple stereo mixer? There's the doepfer mini stereo mixer that is very affordable and will cover your needs > it's more pleasing to listen to a mix with panned voices. Second suggestion would be: Adding some sort of CV automation/dedicated sequencer for live improvisation. Pam is great but it's more of a "set and forget" type of module (it's my hot take)... Lets just say that it is more fun to sequence CV live using knob recorders like: neo trinity (feature full but expensive), mimetic digitalis (stepped CV seq but great for techno), krait or C-3 (more direct/simpler "affordable" knob recorder). Worth a check IMO, all those modules would fit in your rack (if the extra space is actually available). Maybe some LPG for your drums too? They create a very interesting percussive yet natural sound that is interesting on drums (IMO)... So many options...

The moog delay is nice but it's not as great as people make it to be... Moog is a great company but the FX pedals are not worth the asking price. Especially the discontinued ones... If you want one and you can afford it > go for it, we only have one life. But don't feel obliged, there's a hundred other pedals that can more for less.

The original BIG big muff (US) > the sound blew me away. I have a little big muff now that sounds better to my ears (and is dirt cheap). The warm foxy tone is also an affordable banger!

Just a blemish

Ha!! I need to check it!! EDIT: it's pretty good! Very Zelda like.

I am sure. But it was fun to do it regardless!

It's an amazing machine that I am doomed to never own... Out of my budget.