Not sure that I got exactly what you are trying to achieve, but for me, things are rather simple and I use them because :
- They have allowed me to create my own patches list for each of the three external instruments I have.
- Using MIDI tracks is more logical for me than using instrument tracks for them, especially when they are multitimbral, which is the case for all the ones I own.
And no, I do NOT use them with instrument tracks. Basically :
- I have created a MIDI device for each of them and created the necessary banks/patches for them. I save/retrieve them with the Export Setup and Import Setup options. They are saved as simple .xml files.
- I added each external instrument in the Studio > Audio Connections > External Instruments panel, associating it with the relevent MIDI device previously created.
- In the VSTi panel of the Arrangement right zone, and using the Instrument rack menu, I choose the Add rack instrument option and select in the list the involved external instrument which appears as this, in the Steinberg > External Plug-ins category :
Adding an instrument rack allows you to directly create an associated MIDI track connected to it. After this, I can activate as much busses (and eventually create the corresponding MIDI tracks) as outputs available on your external instrument, using this option :
Overall, I use the external instruments feature since Cubase 4 : been rock stable here, since more than 15 years…