Lexicon MRC

I've got software V3.01 -- the presets are mostly for control of Lexicon effects units so i've never used them. Patch editing is fairly intuitive, but it helps to have a manual, because some menus are accessed by subtle means. i usually have to look in the manual every time i program a new midi setup, but that's just because i have poor retention i suppose. gave it a five, because in my opinion, gear should be able to be used without a manual (i buy a lot of stuff used, with, suprise -- no manuals.)

The unit itself features four "real" sliders and buttons -- by hitting a "page" key, the setup for another four sliders is available. thus every patch has eight slider settings and four button settings (i think one can have up to a total of ten or so patches. possibly more). button settings are of the pushbutton ON/OFF type -- ie, holding a button down will send the ON message, when the button is released, OFF message will be sent -- i'd prefer more of a light switch setting, so if i say, want to use them for a MIDI mute i don't have to constantly hold them down. the sliders can be programmed to send a continous range of values on any midi channel you like, using any midi control code, or even fill in a couple of bytes of a pre-defined SYSEX message for you. two midi ins, two midi outs, TONS of options in MIDI filtering, mixing, and even live-response to midi messages -- ie, you send it message X, and it sends message Y -- pretty cool. all in all, a nice set of possibilities. i don't like the fact that it only has four real sliders, but this does keep it real small. Most importantly, editing is done on a backlit (cool blue) LCD screen, and you can define labels and readout for each slider -- something i think it has going for it over the peavey programmer. and, of course, it should be available cheaper. good value for what i paid for it.

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I've got a problem with a non-original power supply, so it keeps giving me a "POWERFAIL" error message if the box gets jiggled. i don't imaginge this is the fault of the MRC -- i've played live with it many times with no problems (though during POWERFAIL your midi will -- obviously -- get cut.)

i've dealt with lexicon several times regarding another piece of equipment. they're very nice and respond quickly.

Cool piece of gear -- worth checking out for playing live with, etc. Very versatile, if you can get one under $100 it's well worth it.