[goodmachine]

This is a pretty solid list, props to OP for putting his observations all in one place!

I definitely agree with 2,3 that clippy hard transients are cool (clipping is in general a bit underrated as a creative synthesis tool).

From my general experience playing and designing with the 'classical' synth approaches (additive, subtractive, FM/PM) nice results are the cumulative result of many tiny hacks of the kind listed, well-judged micro-aberrations.

The spice makes the dish, that is.

This makes design and testing patches a somewhat infinite, fiddly task. Or endless fun, depending on your point of view.

Obviously, if you want to productise your thing - ie you'd like other people to use it - this you now have a control problem: bake in dozens of parameters such that 'it just works' or make them all available and let the user figure it out themselves.