Sorry, I replied without reading your prior post.

Yep, that is pretty much how I configured my MIDI network (sort of a laugh of a network, but that's what you call it.)

I think that you are right that in comparison to the old Cakewalk HS, Reaper is built around the notion of virtual instruments. It's true that CWHS had support for virtual instruments, but the computer hardware of 2004 wasn't much like the hardware these days, so the real focus was on physical sound modules, and not so much on soft synths.

Reaper has to be more complicated because there is more complication out there, and I suspect that was my problem.

You sure are a wealth of information, Tony. You are probably one of those people that wrecked the curves in college classes, making life rough on the rest of us.

Thanks for the help and the suggestion to look at Reaper.