The UIs for pre-laptop digital gear were generally much worse! A small number of buttons that you would use to enter many different things, minimal to no ability for visualization, many many modes. Ex: http://www.synthfool.com/docs/Yamaha/DX_Series/Yamaha%20DX7%...

Even analog gear, with no modes and everything all in front of you, can be a lot more awkward. For example, compare setting EQ with only rotating knobs for parameters versus a laptop where you can see the output frequency function as you manipulate it.