Multiple Instnaces of VIs vs. multiple MIDI tracks targeting a single instance?
 

My typical process is to create an Instrument track with Omnisphere (for example) and then create 8 MIDI tracks to send to the MIDI channels 1-8 of Omnisphere. i.e. 8 different sounds playing 8 different parts from a single instance of Omnisphere.

Is this the best practice in terms of computer resources or is it better to create 8 separate instrument tracks, each with an instance of Omnisphere, and have just a single sound in each one.

I ask because a friend said if they're all stacked in a single instance, they can only use one CPU thread.

Re: Multiple Instnaces of VIs vs. multiple MIDI tracks targeting a single instance?
 

The DAW manages multcore processing for plugins.

Omnisphere (as a multitimbral instrument) will run in more limited threads than if you had more than one instance of Omnisphere. That's because the DAW has no idea what you are doing so dependencies are serial -- ie if you trigger notes on 3 MIDI tracks going to the same Omnisphere, and if you were using the Omnisphere mixer/sends/aux (which the DAW has no clue on if you are or aren't), it needs to output those together at the same time. So they can't be processed completely independently.

Technically incorrect to say Omnisphere will run in one thread (because the plugin could be multi-threaded) but it is limited when only running one instance vs many. However, Omnisphere is not that intensive.

Re: Multiple Instnaces of VIs vs. multiple MIDI tracks targeting a single instance?
 

Thanks for the response. I'm still unclear on the bottom line. If you personally had 8 sounds in Omnisphere doing different parts, would you create eight separate instrument tracks, each with an instance of Omnisphere with one sound, or one instrument track with one instance of Omnisphere and 8 MIDI tracks sending to it?

I do appreciate the (in my view) better organization of having 8 instrument tracks... it's easier when mixing, I just thought each separate instance of a VI automatically starts eating away at resources, even if it's doing nothing.

Re: Multiple Instnaces of VIs vs. multiple MIDI tracks targeting a single instance?
 

Unless you are having problems running 1 omnisphere with 8 MIDI, I would leave it that way. Omnisphere doesn't really tax a computer's resources in the first place. Spreading to multiple omnisphere instances is only beneficial if only one core is spiking and the rest are not. Then making multiple instances allows that load to be shared across more cores.

Re: Multiple Instnaces of VIs vs. multiple MIDI tracks targeting a single instance?
 

In general and not just for Omnisphere but any multi-timbral vi it would spread the load better amongst cpu cores to have multiple instances of a vi rather than stacking all eight or whatever number of instruments into one vi. There are exceptions though.

Say I'm doing something orchestral where I have several instruments each sometimes playing both staccato and long notes. A trumpet line playing both staccato & longer notes would have one instance of a vi (Kontakt or EW Play in my case) with two trumpet instances with one MIDI line that play staccato notes going to the trumpet instance that has staccato samples. The other MIDI line that plays longer notes would go to that same instance of Kontakt or EW Play to the instrument that has longer samples. Now include a tuba with staccato and longer notes - that would go to another separate instance of Kontakt or EW Play. I would not stack every brass instrument in one instance of Kontakt or Play.