Pro,
I can see what you mean about button pushing on a separate unit, but if I remember correctly don't some (really good) midi controllers have assignable buttons and switches. Could start, stop, and other various functions be assigned to those buttons as well? When I midi my drum machine up to my keyboard I can control the start, stop, and tempo from the keyboard. I would think it can work the other way when using a dedicated midi controller with assignable switches.

Squeak