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Add a MIDI effect

Select an instrument track that has an instrument loaded. Run Command Palette → Add MIDI Effect…, or right-click the instrument card in the Inspector and choose Add MIDI Effect…, then pick one. It appears in a MIDI Effects section above the instrument, and the next notes you play come out through it.

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Adjust a MIDI effect

Click its card in the MIDI Effects section to open the effect in its own window. Or hold ⌘ and drag a control on the card to change it in place, as on the Plugin Strip.

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Reorder, bypass or remove

Right-click a card and choose Move Up, Move Down or Remove. To let the notes past an effect without removing it, run Command Palette → Bypass MIDI Effect On/Off and pick it.

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Good to know

  • MIDI effects only run on instrument tracks, in front of an instrument. Load the instrument first; the built-in Sampler counts. Without one, Add MIDI Effect… says Choose an Instrument First.
  • Every note goes through them: clips, the computer keyboard (Play With the Keyboard) and a MIDI controller. The clips keep the notes as written, and the effect works on them each time they play.
  • They run in order, top to bottom. Each effect sees the notes the one above it put out. The section’s + button adds another one at the end.
  • A bounce plays them too. A bypassed MIDI effect is skipped in the bounce, as it is live.
  • An instrument preset keeps the MIDI effects in front of its instrument, and loading the preset brings them back.
  • The list shows the Audio Unit MIDI processors installed on this Mac, grouped by category. With none installed, Add MIDI Effect… says No MIDI Effects Available.
  • The MIDI Effects section shows once the track has one. Until then, the palette and the instrument card’s menu are the ways in.
  • Adding and removing are one step each for ⌘Z. Undo brings a removed effect back with its settings.
  • Move MIDI Effect Earlier and Move MIDI Effect Later reorder from the palette; Remove MIDI Effect… removes one.
  • A MIDI effect that is not installed on this Mac shows as a missing card with a button to remove it. The rest of the track plays.
  • Converting the track to a sample track removes its MIDI effects. Gridshift lists them before it converts: Convert Tracks.
Last modified on October 22, 2026