Wow, thank you for this insight into using VSTs, Jason! I'm still struggling with just compiling the banks, in terms of simply understanding the construct of those bank files. I'm probably being a bit thick, but for some reason the tutorial here:
https://reaticulate.com/reabank.html
is not conveying the whole picture.
I'm hoping that studying your work should help me get that "A-Ha!" moment.
My funds are limited, so your suggestion: "Something you learn very early on with orchestral mockups - layering is the secret. Two cheapies combined often sound better than one library that cost you a kidney..." is total gold. No question I have a long way to getting the sound I'm after... still, your post has given me much more hope!