Networking MIDI is no problem as I am already running 5 network MIDI connections (80 MIDI channels) using Audio-MIDI setup in Mac OS. The audio is the problem.

I was able to use Sonobus to create a stereo audio send and return between the two computers, but I am not sold on the audio quality as of yet. 

Switching graphs via parameter change in Elements might work. 

I will keep experimenting.

Brilliant! Thanks!  I will try this out for the two instances of Reaktor I have going on in my FX rack.  I think there may only one, possibly two other FX plugin I use that responds to preset changes and they are both NI products that possibly could be embedded within Reaktor.   As you pointed out, many FX plugins do not support preset changes of which I may only wish to include one or two for on stage automation. So in those cases I am wondering if these individual presets could be embedded in a series of graphs that could be called up via MIDI presets.  

Kushview also reminds me of MAXmsp which was something I was considering as a solution. The learning curve seemed a bit steep so I was holding off. Kushview is less expensive and seems more focused to the task at hand. I am curious if you chose the single subscription or the ongoing $2-$5 subscription for Kushview. 

Pardon, but did you test that IAC connection to see if it passed MIDI into VEP? No matter what I do, I can't seem to get the Kushview IAC Input Device to work inside VEP. I put a MIDI monitor on my IAC port outside VEP and it is working there, but the MIDI Monitor inside VEP shows no MIDI data.  

Thanks again. I have not bought Bidule yet, but I have read something on their forum that a user was concerned about audio latency inside VEP. I was going to download a trial version but they only offer trials of standalone, and even that is not available presently. 

Out of the 5 FX loops I have integrated in my rig, two are Reaktor based. I had previously set these up with fixed multiFX processors. I have yet to get into selecting snapshots via MIDI and I am not quite sure how that is done. Selecting though parameter change may very well be the only way. Because Reaktor has numerous FX to choose from and they all seem to use snapshots, I wonder if snapshots from a variety of FX can be placed in a folder and treated more or less like a bank, so that when a snapshot is called, it loads said FX instance.  Maybe that is a stretch and something best left for a Reaktor forum, , but you seem knowledgable in this topic.

In any case, I also placed Guitar Rig and Reflektor XT in two of the other loops as well as an Arturia replication of the classic Mutron Bi-Phase as that was an instrument I had years ago that I was fond of. Using Kushman Elements I began building a  BiPhase preset list and was preparing to experiments to see if I could select those via VEP parameters while the plugin was inserted in an audio bus. Guitar Rig loaded within Elements fine and I have discovered it is a versatile multi FX processor that needn't just be used for guitar FX. So I am not just using Reaktor FX is my main point here. 

So here's another possible way to work to consider...

You could use a separate VePro instance for each "specific" FX instance..  And then in the main DAW you are using you switch which VePro plugin instance depend on however you want to do it.

For example...

let's say you have Kushview sitting as a plugin in Your DAW. (not in Vepro)  Inside that plugin you have 5 instances of VePro plugin.  Y

ou could have those in one big graph or they could each have their own graph.  Let's take the latter situation.  Inside Kushview you have 5 graphs, and each one has a single VePro Plugin, which is connected to its own devoted instance on VePro server.

Now Kushview can respond to PC messages in your DAW and that will cause the appropriate graph to be loaded, which will point to the particular VePro instance you want...

Just generally moving the ProgramChange switching out of VePro and into your DAW may open some options, so long as you don't need to a actually get more midi into the FX plugin..beyond switching the preset.  For example a few rare FX plugins use midi to manipulate their effect in real time, such as Stutter Edit.  That's a different problem.  But if you just need to be able to somehow use PC message to choose which FX preset...then perhaps by using the DAW to switch which VePro instance its routing through..you can accomplish that.

just thinking out of the box...

An interesting approach to be sure. I do run each FX in different instances already. I will contemplate your idea and I am not against letting go of structure that I have already created if it works better. Switching graphs does offer some possibilities. In one of the images I posted earlier, you can see that the FX mixer allows me to chain FX loops in a variety of ways, although this is overkill given that I am using multiFX processing on most of these loops, I may have to relinquish that benefit if I took the graph switching approach.  Distributing the processing to maintain stability is crucial to my plan. Presently I am using two desktops and a laptop. My plan is to eventually replace the two desktops with a pair of Mac Minis mounted in a Sonnet rack mount for a more compact live rig. The marriage of all this software has to be very stable so there are no crashes on stage.  

Robert, have you tried the demo or at least investigated the specifications of Blue Cat Audio's PatchWork plugin?

It appears to be very relevant to what you've said you're trying to do. I've used it for years for a variety of odd tasks, including hosting a MIDI-controlled MultiFx rack. I've found it to be tremendously flexible and it's always done what I've wanted it to do.

I reiterate, Robert, I suggest you try or at least investigate Patchwork for yourself.

Most unfortunately, there seems to have been a lot of 'crying wolf' in this forum about this or that technical solution, and too often it looks suspiciously like deliberate smearing just in order to get some other provided solution favoured.

Hence, regretfully, I strongly suggest you rely on your own investigations and judgments in this particular minefield that you're currently struggling with. (Btw I am in no way affiliated with Blue Cat Audio.)

I did look at the Blue Cat website and was very interested in Patchworks. It seemed to me, given the reported GUI issue within VEPro, that a standalone version of Patchworks with another network audio solution would be ideal. Dante audio networking would also be ideal, but the price of admission is prohibitive to me at this point. Here is a crazy thought, I noticed VEP input and event plugins were available within Kushview, but Elements does not allow audio to pass through the VEPro firewall (I suppose it the ports are simply not connected). Thinking outside the box, what about using VEPro plugins within Bidule as a means to create audio nodes for FX loops?

In the meantime I will look into coaxing Plogue to allow a trial version of Bidule and also see about a trial version of Patchworks.

Here is a short video I made of me playing my rig for your amusement. 😊

Peter Gunn

Great video!  Loved it.

I am sure there is a trial version of BlueCatAudio's Patchworks.  

I will play around with Kushview and the Audio Input plugin specifically today if I get some time.  

I downloaded the Blue Cat trial and am trying it out. Since the machine I am running it on is a 12 core with 98 gig of RAM, perhaps I may not need to be so hasty in hosting it on a VEPro server. I will check the processing load as I go to see. I did read your previous forum posts on that matter and found them illuminating! 

I am glad you enjoyed the video. You probably heard how I was automating FX so can see my need for such capabilities. 😊

Blue Cat Patchworks is rocking my world. One of the reasons I was moving FX to VEPro was because I could not access MIDI preset changes in V-Racks on Digital Performer. Of course the other reason was because of the savings in processing power. Patchworks does something I have not seen before by adding working MIDI ports internally to my DAW, even though they are in that virtual rack. I have tested it and I can automate patch changes and Patchwork configuration changes in that configuration. Plus the load on my processor seems to be in the acceptable range even with five instances of Patchworks running. Badass! Thanks for the tip!!!  I will check later to see if perhaps it works within VEPro without crashing. As it stands now, I am buying!