Can an FX in a chain 'steal' the MIDI input.

I currently have EnergyXT inserted as an arpeggiator in an FX chain before another synth. i.e., so I can hold down a chord and have an arpeggiated sequence sent to the next synth in the chain. However, the next synth is getting the arpeggiated sequence and the original chord. Is there a way to make sure that the MIDI is getting sucked into EnergyXT only and the original MIDI input not being passed alongside it?

Right click the plugin IO button (the one that says "X in / Y out") and deselect "allow VST to modify MIDI".

... load the synth inside EnergyXT ? And you can use energyXT's Param Mapper to name and expose (MIDI CC) parameters to Reaper. {this is eXT v1]

Nope, sorry, having absolutely no joy with this whatsoever. Seems that VSTs in the chain are getting the manipulated MIDI from XT (at the top of the chain)... AND MIDI from the MIDI track/hardware on an individual basis. It's not possible to completely steal the MIDI going through the chain and manipulate it without a seperate MIDI thru happening in parallel? i.e,. it's not a proper chain? i.e., if you have 20 synths (silly, just for a point) in a chain, I'd expect the first one to get the MIDI input, and the rest to be silent because a VSTi synth usually doesn't allow MIDI to pass through it like a VST effect (that supported it) would. It would just let the audio through. What's happening is that I'm holding down a chord, expecting it to arpeggiate, but I'm getting the arpeggiation and the full chord playing as though the synth further down the chain is getting it's MIDI input independantly. Plus the fact that this is almost impossible to explain in writing without drawing diagrams etc. *rips out hair*

I can't afford to rip out my hair, so I tried a few things :) : oops, you're using XT2, aren't you - I'll go try it out there This configuration seems to work here - only the Arpeggiated notes reach the AlphaCM synth. Also I turned off AlphaCM and recorded the MIDI output by eXT. Big pic: -- the first 4 notes are from my MIDI keyboard, with energyXT VSTi bypassed -- the remaining notes are those received when energyXT was enabled. Attached is the project for you to have a look at. [Remember that eXT theme?] HTH

... nope, no luck with XT2's Arp :(

Hehe, I'll just do my arps manually in the PRV I think. :D