Do you still use MIDI with Instrument Definitions?

Pretty sure you'll find a lot of MIDI users on this forum - 
Sequencing soft synths and plugin automation wouldn't work very well without it. 
 
Sonar has quite a few instrument definitions built in - 
Post what you're looking for  - it might already be available.

To MIDI or not to MIDI, that is the question
 
I have a few hardware synths in the closet, and MIDI Quest on the shelf.  Still have a fondness for the hardware.
 
Every once in a while I get the urge to drag out the MIDI cables and hook them up.  I really don't have enough space to leave it all hooked up.  Be nice to have a real studio space.
 
But then I remember having to deal with instrument definitions, dealing with loading banks and patches via MIDI sysex, saving them after edits, etc.  Plus fiddling with the front panel buttons to get the MIDI system options in the right mode on each synth.  Good times!!!
 
So I get lazy, plug the USB cable into the PC and load a half dozen or so VST's, make some cool sounds. Then when I'm done, or want to take a break, click save on the Sonar project.
 
The next time I open the project, my "studio" is exactly the way I left it.  "In the box" is somewhat liberating
 
Technically it's still MIDI, due to MIDI controllers, channels, .mid files, etc but without cables, instrument definitions, and sysex backups ...
 
I also used to think it was really cool to network with RS-232

Yes.

My main controller is an ancient Roland A-80 which does MIDI only. So I use MIDI every time I fire up my system. However since I don't own or use any hardware synths, everything the A-80 drives is software based. So I never use MIDI instrument definitions. 

That being said, I first started using cakewalk way back when both soft synths and the A-80 were nothing more than a twinkle in some engineers eye. Everything I used Cakewalk for back then involved some kind of hardware in order to make sound. Back then, MIDI instrument definitions were a hit and mostly miss wonky affair at best so I never had much time or patience for them. Today, I fail to see the attraction at all. 

Tyros 5
 

Longtime MIDI user here. Soft synths are convenient - I use plenty - but still can't replace a Moog. Not yet anyways.

And when it comes to controllers, I'm still using MIDI gear from the 80s while so many modern USB equivalents have been junked prematurely, simply because their manufacturers didn't want to supply updated drivers anymore. NI Kore and NI Rig Kontrol jump to mind but aren't alone. We need MIDI 2.0 fast.

Yes. I'm using a 16 year-old Yamaha and I've had the ID for it since upgrading () to SONAR Home Studio 6 XL 10 years ago.

when you use MIDI also to control external FX, video show control, digi mixer scenes & snippets, lights, etc. there is no way around instrument definition files otherwise the setup will either drive you nuts or never work (or both)