diff --git a/libs/ardour/session.cc b/libs/ardour/session.cc
index 3c7e894559..fdf847c5bc 100644
--- a/libs/ardour/session.cc
+++ b/libs/ardour/session.cc
@@ -2557,8 +2557,6 @@ Session::new_midi_route (RouteGroup* route_group, uint32_t how_many, string name
 
 	failure:
 	if (!ret.empty()) {
-		add_routes (ret, false, false, order);
-
 		if (instrument) {
 			for (RouteList::iterator r = ret.begin(); r != ret.end(); ++r) {
 				PluginPtr plugin = instrument->load (*this);
@@ -2581,6 +2579,8 @@ Session::new_midi_route (RouteGroup* route_group, uint32_t how_many, string name
 				}
 			}
 		}
+
+		add_routes (ret, false, true, order);
 	}
 
 	return ret;