I use Nuendo, which is basically the Big Brother of Cubase. My machine has very similar specs to yours, except that I'm running Windows. However to answer your questions:

1. I have around 130 Vienna Instruments, of which about 80 will play at the same time.
2. I use Altiverb and a Bricasti for reverb. The Altiverb is use mostly as an insert and the Bricasti as a send (used as an insert on a Group channel).
3. I am currently using VE Pro

However, please note that as you don't use Windows, you won't get as good results as I do.

DG

Hi, DG, thanks for replying!

Nuendo looks great, I am really longing for the "Edit mode" function for video, but the upgrade is too expensive atm.

I was having problems using 30 VI instances, as standalone instrument tracks, without VE. The ASIO driver would go to 100% although Activity Monitor showed about 50% dived on all cores.

Thanks again!

Fred

The ASIO meter will depend on many things, but the CPU usage means nothing regarding performance, I'm afraid.

I use no effects in VE Pro at all.

I don't use any effects when programming, and always mix with audio tracks.

I use one Altiverb as inserts (mostly for stage positioning) for most groups such as Violin 1, Violin 2, Cello etc., making about 18-19 Altiverbs.

I use two or three Altiverbs for tail, using sends.

I use the Bricasti for tail using sends.

I hope that this information is useful to you.

DG

Indeed it is, thank you.

I have never thought about mixing down to audio before actually mixing (processing). But that would probably be a good idea, yes.

How do you route between VE Pro and cubase? Do you create group busses inside VE Pro? I can't seem to figure out how to access the other busses (other than the NET1/NET2 bus which is automaticly routed to the instrument track).

I do not have altiverb, so I have no way of placing each instrument on a stage or so. But I believe I will buy it soon. It sounds awesome.

Do you pan much in VE Pro?

Sorry for the 20 questions!

And thanks again:)
Fred 

@Another User said:

I do not have altiverb, so I have no way of placing each instrument on a stage or so. But I believe I will buy it soon. It sounds awesome.

Do you pan much in VE Pro?

You should also check out the reverb in Vienna Suite.

Regarding panning, I use it as much or as little as necessary. it sounds obvious.  but use your ears rather than your eyes. if it sounds right, it is right, Also remember that one of the most common mistakes in panning is to make it too extreme. in the real world you don't hear the trumpets from the right and  the horns from the left. It is much less distinct.

DG

@Fred said:

[...] I do not have altiverb, so I have no way of placing each instrument on a stage or so. But I believe I will buy it soon. It sounds awesome.

Do you pan much in VE Pro?

[...]

I think that's a good moment to mention Vienna MIR, too. This application does all of this (stage positioning, panning, reverb - individualized for most instruments - and much more) in a very convenient and straight-forward way, with an hitherto unparalleled technical approach.

-> [URL]http://vsl.co.at/en/211/497/1687/455/1287.htm[/URL]

😊

@Fred said:

[...] I do not have altiverb, so I have no way of placing each instrument on a stage or so. But I believe I will buy it soon. It sounds awesome.

Do you pan much in VE Pro?

[...]

I think that's a good moment to mention Vienna MIR, too. This application does all of this (stage positioning, panning, reverb - individualized for most instruments - and much more) in a very convenient and straight-forward way, with an hitherto unparalleled technical approach.

-> http://vsl.co.at/en/211/497/1687/455/1287.htm

😊

 Dietz, I would have mentioned MIR but for two rather important points:

1. There is no Mac version.
2. The OP's machine is nowhere near powerful enough to run both Cubase and MIR, even if he was to switch to Windows.

DG

@Another User said:

1. There is no Mac version.

See above! ;-D

Kind regards,

@Fred said:

I have never thought about mixing down to audio before actually mixing (processing). But that would probably be a good idea, yes.

How do you route between VE Pro and cubase? Do you create group busses inside VE Pro? I can't seem to figure out how to access the other busses (other than the NET1/NET2 bus which is automaticly routed to the instrument track).

And there's your mistake. You shouldn't touch Instrument tracks with a barge pole. Use the VSTi rack (F11) and MIDI tracks. In that way you can use all your MIDI tracks per instance and also use loads of VSTi Outputs for  your audio.

I do use VSTi. The instrument track I am refering to is the output from VE Pro. How do you configure several VSTi outputs?

@Fred said:

I do use VSTi. The instrument track I am refering to is the output from VE Pro. How do you configure several VSTi outputs?

Aha......! So when you route the various Instruments in VE to NET 1/2 NET 3/4 etc, don't you see them in your Cubase project? If not, you need to enable the VSTi outputs by clicking the little black icon in the Instruments Rack in Cubase.

DG

ah, nice thank you!  :) 

@Fred said:

... I am wondering how cubase users use vienna?

Do you use VE Pro? If so, how many instruments per VE instance do you use?

How do you apply reverberation?

Thanks

Fred

Hi Fred

Let me jump in. I'm using Cubase 5 as well.

Beside MIR, Bricasti and others I can offer you an Orchestra Template which shows you one possible way how to mix a small orchestra

within Cubase. It is a pur Cubase-Project with a prepared Audio mixer. It only contains Cubase 5 effects...

Click on... http://www.beat-kaufmann.com/cubase/free-orch-template/index.php

You will be able to download a pdf which is explaining all the matters and circumstances as well...

May I ask you for a feedback whether you were able to load it or not - because I saved it within Windows and you are a MAC-user...

Have fun

Beat Kaufmann

@Fred said:

Hi,

I am wondering how cubase users use vienna?

Do you use VE Pro? If so, how many instruments per VE instance do you use?

How do you apply reverberation?

Thanks

Fred

If you've just started on Cubase on the OSX platform, you may want to rethink the thing. Cubase uses ASIO. OSX does not, it uses Core Audio. Cubase runs sudio via 'CoreAudio2ASIO.bundle'. IE: it's slow. The latency is higher than it will be on windows. Also, if you have AU versions installed that Cubase sees, when you instantiate .vst, it actually fetches the AU and wraps it. It really isn't coded for OSX properly IMO.

Anyway, I have been going for 3-6 instances on the slave machine... as much 64-bit as will work so I don't have to measure memory, and where Play uses a memory manager, I have to use Kontakt 4.1 as both MS's will not coexist here. I have 23" display monitors, and basically I'll instantiate a new viframe when the screen is filled L-R with channels. I like around 8 or 9 stereo outs to Cubase per instance, so submixes are coming into Cubase. I've found that balancing the load per instance is generally a good idea.

I'm not taxing the octocore in terms of CPU hardly at all with most of what I do, but Cubase, and I think the network of VE Pro itself, is a bottleneck. Up to a point, the latency comp. of VE Pro allows me latency I can live with, but in a mix scenario I may have to really go for high latency at the Cubase end. I use the x2 buffer setting in VE Pro for the most part. I use as little as possible on the Cubase end now as far as fx plugins, but I have older projects pretty loaded - Vienna Suite, IK Multimedia mostly. Generally I use the convo 'verb in Vienna Suite unless I'm looking for a special effect.