How to connect VST MIDI Effect

I just tested it, it works fine for me if I use a VST2.0 (aka VST) MIDI instrument, but it seems Max 8 does not support VST3 MIDI out at this time.

Example: I tried Audio Realism's ABL3 and the VST(not VST3) version of Plugin Boutique's Scaler 2, both output MIDI from vst~ as expected (once I opened them and configure them to output MIDI per each plugin's individual settings).

I am not surprised by this, as the VST3 format did not initially support MIDI output to the same extent that VST2.0 did. Some plugin makers and DAW-providers have been able to get MIDI output fully functional from VST3 plugins, but there was a good stretch where things were unclear and support was not perfect. It seems Cycling is still working on their solution to getting MIDI output working with VST3 plugins.

Google "VST3 MIDI" for more info on this topic if you're curious.

In the example above, just make sure you:

1. Load a VST (not VST3) plugin that is capable of sending MIDI notes.

2. Use vst~ inline view settings (per the Help documentation) to get access to the plugin's GUI and check all necessary settings to ensure the plugin you chose is in the right mode to output MIDI. Some plugins output MIDI by default, some don't, obviously.

3. Connect vst~ audio outputs to a DAC that is active to ensure plugin is turned on. I'm sure you know this, but I noticed there was no DAC connected in the upper part of your example.