I tested two configurations on Logic Pro 8 using each software on Mac: Vienna Ensemble and Vienna Instrument. I found out that the Vienna Ensemble behaves better with the host sequencer.
- Loading a project with multiple instances of the Vienna Instrument will load much slower than using one instance of Vienna Ensemble (which can hold up to 16 instruments).
- The Vienna Instrument plug-in is a small window that does not contain the instrument interface, but only a button that opens a separate application when you click on it. It requires thus more clicks before you can see or edit the content of your instrument. If you choose to leave all instances of your Vienna Instrument plug-ins open, you have to keep all the corresponding plug-in windows open: closing a little plug-in window (the one with the button that opens a separate application) will also close the separate application window. All those little windows in the host sequencer take a lot op space on screen, which is unhandy.
- If you forgot your Vienna Key, you simply cannot open your project if you have Vienna Instruments in it: it will block the host sequencer permanently. With Vienna Ensemble instead, you can still open the project and work on other tracks: the host sequencer will hang only if you try to double-click the Vienna Ensemble plug-in.
Please note that Vienna Ensemble 2 is free for all registered users, and the only difference with Vienna Ensemble 3 is that it can only run on the same computer, not on a network computer.