I created a Venom Bypass module that in theory should be able to do what you propose. But I don’t think it is scalable to the level you need. Unfortunately even bypassed modules can have a significant CPU overhead.
I created a crude demo patch you can experiment with to see if there is any promise. I used a patch derived from Ken Chaffin’s “A Sign In Space”.
A while ago I substituted a bunch of Venom modules into Ken’s patch to see how they would fair. This was the first moderately complex patch I chanced upon in my VCV library. On my Windows machine running 4 threads at 48 kHz sample rate the maximum CPU usage hovers between 35-40%.
I made 4 copies of it in the same patch, one under another with a gap, each with its own Bypass module. I use Venom Bay Modules to remotely transmit each instance’s audio to a shared Audio 2 module. With 3 of the 4 instances bypassed, the max CPU usage hovers between 80-90% on my machine.
Here is the patch:
multi-patch demo.vcv (30.0 KB)
The patch starts at the top with the top instance enabled, and the others bypassed. You can press the Bypass Trig button to bypass the top instance, scroll down to the next instance and press that Bypass Trig button to enable it. Etcetera . . .
There is a lot more that can be done to streamline operation. For instance the Bypass modules can be under CV control. Stoermelder modules could be used to conveniently scroll from one patch to another, etc. But it isn’t worth pursuing if the bypass technique does not scale for you.