Route output from one VST to another depending on channel

[game_over]

I've got a pretty good soundfont working in OpenMPT through a VST (SFZ+ Professional) and now I'm really happy!

But not perfectly.

I want channel-based panning back. Instrument-based panning (offered in SFZ+ Professional) is fine, but I really like channel-based panning. Like, really-really. It makes stuff fast and easy for me.

So I can apply a stereo-panning plugin to a channel... and since it's ridiculously light, I can even open 32 copies of it just fine and the memory load is 7 MB only. Not that I need that much. But without VST input rerouting it doesn't work of course.

How to make it so that one copy of SFZ can direct its input into the FIRST copy of Stereopan for channel 1, SECOND copy of Stereopan for channel 2, THIRD copy of Stereopan for channel 3 and so on and so forth? By channels I don't mean VST channels which will make it instrument-based panning all over again, but the actual OpenMPT channels.

That would make it possible for me to do channel-based panning easily and it would be totally ridiculously awesome.

But how? I have no idea where to even start with input rerouting, much less do anything this complicated.

(Unless there's a VST chainer with memory load that's very light, then you could have 32 chainers applied to each channel and 32 stereopan copies for each chainer. Not that I need that much, but just in case.)

[Saga Musix]

I think what you rather want is to make use of MIDI CC 10 (Panposition). Simply assign one of the Zxx macros to that MIDI CC, then you can use Z00-Z7F for panning.

[game_over]

Thanks for explaining me note-based panning -- which is what I'll probably use so far. It provides pretty much all the "interface" benefits of channel-based panning as far as I can understand. I'll just have to read about properly using Zxx macros then.

However, Stereopan has some neat as hell features that would've been nice to use, so the question itself is still open... but faaaaaar less urgent than before.

Thanks for providing useful advice and thanks for bearing with idiotic questions like mine.

[Saga Musix]

The question isn't idiotic at all, it actually points out how much a simplified mechanism for VST panning/volume is needed.
Concerning your original question, you have to set the appropriate entry in the "Output to" dropdown combo. Simply select to which plugin the output should be routed.

[game_over]

Wait, so OpenMPT has a built-in way to chain stuff like that? And it actually can do it differently depending on the channel? Awesome!

[Saga Musix]

Yes, there are just no virtual buses, so you can't split audio signals and such (which is essential for sidechain compression and related things). But simply chaining VSTs is no problem at all.