Digital Music Corp MX-8 MIDI Patchbay/Processor

you know the adaptor voltage and polarity?

tanks
Giuseppe

?'

The firmware revision number for mine is v1.41.

The manual is really written for someone who is already familiar with the unit. Once you have a good understanding of how to program it, the manual is fine. But many people will find it bewildering gobbledegook at first.

HINT: Redraw the Function Screens diagram on page 3, annotating which button on the front panel takes you to which next screen [normally, you use either the "FUNCTION KEY" button or the "Y/+1" button to move to the next screen]. Once you have done this, you will be familiar with the screens, what they do and navigating around them. You'll still use the diagram as reference, especially if you have not programmed it for some months.

Using it is straightforward - once you are familiar with which screen is which and how to naviagate the screens.

If you don't have a manual, Google on "music mx-8 cr2032 elapsed" and you should find it.

What goes in (midi) is what comes out - subject to any changes you have programmed. So the sound quality is 100%.

Mine has never had any problems. I changed its memory backup battery after I bought it.

I opened it up to change the mains transformer so it would run on European electricity without needing an external 230:110 transformer. It seems to be robust and well constructed inside.

Not had any reason to contact the makers.

I mainly use its companding facility to match the dynamics of various dumb midi keyboards to various piano modules. I use it exclusively for playing piano.

I bought it from a seller in USA for around $100 in April 2003.

I also have a Yamaha MEP4, which does the same sort of things as the MX-8.

I made a small mod - I swapped its 110 volt mains transformer with a similar transformer with a 230 volt primary, to use it direct on Euro electricity. I used a toroidal transformer from Maplin (UK).

Batteries are readily available. Radio Shack should have them. Open the unit up and look for a round thing that looks like a nickle. Get the numbers off it and replace it with a new one. It'll slide right in and make it work like new.
There is a diagnosis routine that can be initiated by pressing one or two buttons and powering the unit up but the manual doesn't say what buttons to hold and I've forgotten them. It goes through a routine and it will let you know if there are any problems including bad midi jacks.

N/A

The unit will work fine but the batteries do go dead after they have been around as many years as the MX8 has been around. A dead battery will cause more problems than just losing setups when powered down.

I've dealt with customer support when I bought the unit used and just recently when I got sysex corrupt problems. The tech guy told me the data was being corrupted by a dead battery and he was right as a fresh battery solved the problem.

Wouldn't leave home without it.

This is an 6 in/8 out MIDI Patchbay, great for those with piles of MIDI Gear. Plug in your MIDI Devices, Power up, route your IN's, Merge 2 IN's through the unit's "Processing" options, play play play!

I was first confused how to set up the patches, but so simple after you're doing it: Set your IN's to be routed out of any, or all 8 outs

Manual is a little cryptic, but helpful when general operation knowledge is required.

I setup using a MMT-8, Casio CZ-1000, DX-7, Proteus FX, Roland TD-7, Alesis DM5, and an ol' Prophet 2002. I use the last output/input for sysex Communications.

I was having a confusing time during initial setup. Manual recommends you kind of Number your devices, and attach the corresponding IN's and OUT's to the relative I/O on the MX8. Simple, but I think My #1 input is freaking out, so I just shifted My IN's on the MX8 down by one to rectify the problem for now...

There is a MIDI "Compander" option, you can set the ratio like a regular ol' Compressor/Expander to even out your too-velocity sensitive notes.

There's also a Delay option, you can exho your MIDI Notes up to 7xm and set the delay

As mentioned before, Seems my #1 injput is on the Fritz. After I come back from vacation I will see what's up, disconnect everything and then re-connect. The studio is up on the Rearranging block anyways.

I wouldn't necessarily need this on a show right now, but If I plan on using more than 3 MIDI Devices, I might toss it in the Performance Rack.

Never dealt with the Company, seems those before me tried, to no avail.

Indispensable device, I would have to get another if swiped. Thanks for reading.

http://www.besonic.com/BeSonic/User/0,4675,g0r0l0t0o0i799789,FF.html

It's easy if you have it hooked up to something that makes good sound.
It's a patch bay not a synth.

I use it with a PC, JV-1080 and several controllers.

Always worked fine until recently. I backed up the setups to an Alesis Data dump fortunately but when the battery got old the setups were lost and I can't find a way to send the sysex back to the MX-8. I've replaced the battery but sure you be happy if I could dump my old setup instead of going thourgh and doing it manually.

When I bought it used back in the '80's the company sent a new processor chip free of charge. It had the latest updates and I was glad to get them.
I'd like to have my question answer on recieving sysex dumps but I don't think the company supports it anymore.

It's been a great unit for linking all my midi gear and 15 years later it's still functioning. The only problem I had was the dead battery.

I had very little experience with MIDI devices when I bought this unit back in 1991. It's extremely easy to use, although I did have some friends who also had the MX-8 to help me out. The manual is pretty good.

I use this with two keyboards (Roland D-50 and U-20) and various rack units (Korg, Alesis, Roland, Lexicon). It allows me great flexibility over various setups. You can only process two incoming devices, so it might not be ideal for setups with 3 or more controllers.

I'va actaully had some problems with the device when there are less than optimum power conditions. If there's bad power, the unit has a tendency to crash. You have to restart it. I don't use a power conditioner but this might solve the problem. Otherwise, it's been dependable; I have gigged with it for 12 years and wouldn't go anywhere without it.

Believe it or not, I was able to get customer support, FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE COMPANY. The unit started displaying spurious characters after about 7 years. I contacted customer support at http://www.voodoolab.com and they sent me detailed instructions on fdiagnosing and repairing the unit (turns out it just needed a new battery). I copied these steps below:

josh@voodoolab.com wrote:
>

> > Eddie,
> >
> > there should be two screws on either side which hold on the top cover. if you remove them the cover should lift off. this is assuming that your unit is approx 8 years old as you said. this unit would have an internal power supply.
> >
> > if the unit has an external "wall wart" type power supply, then it is more like 11+ years old. these units had 6 screws on the bottom. you want to remove the two pairs which are along the sides, not the pair across the front. then slide the cover back.
> >
> > any questions, let me know.
> >
> > thanks!
> >
> > Josh Fiden
> > President
> > Digital Music Corp.
> > http://www.voodoolab.com
> >
> > ednlaura@impop.bellatlantic.net wrote:
> >

> > > Josh,
> > >
> > > thanks for the advice! I will try to replace the battery. As I have never opened the unit, do you have any input on how best to perform the 'operation'? I only see 2 screws on the bottom; are there others or does the panel slide out once these are removed? Any advice on the procedure is highly appreciated.
> > >
> > > Eddie
> > >
> > > josh@voodoolab.com wrote:
> > >

> > > > Hi Eddie,
> > > >
> > > > after 8 years, it is highly likely that the battery needs to be replaced. this is a 3V lithium coin cell usually part# DL2032 (duracell), BR2032 or CR2032. i would replace the battery and then reinitialize the unit as follows:
> > > >
> > > > 1. hold function+reset and power on.
> > > > 2. "test mode y/n?" press yes.
> > > > 3. rom version -- press function
> > > > 4. "route test" press function
> > > > 5. it says "fail" that's okay. press function.
> > > > 6. "destructive test y/n" press yes.
> > > > 7. "ram test/ram good" press function.
> > > >
> > > > you should see an elapsed timer. turn the power off. wait a few seconds. turn it back on. it should be at "#1 INIT". if this doesn't rectify the problem, you can send it in for repair. we charge $65 + parts + shipping for non-warranty repairs. please call first to get an RA# (return authorization) and shipping instructions.
> > > >
> > > > thanks!
> > > >
> > > > Josh Fiden
> > > > President
> > > > Digital Music Corp.
> > > > http://www.voodoolab.com
> > > >
> > > > ednlaura@impop.bellatlantic.net wrote:
> > > >

> > > > > Hello Digital Music,
> > > > >
> > > > > I am having some serious problems with my MX-8 (which is 8 years old and has served me loyally until recently). The MX-8 is 'crashing' after a few minutes of operation. Usually, some combination of the following symptoms occur: display shows "spurious characters", stuck notes, unit does not respond to foot switch patch changes, unit does not directly MIDI data appropriately. Powering the unit off and on temporarily solves the problem, but as I say they usually recur shortly thereafter.


> > > > > Regards,
> > > > >
> > > > > Eddie Konczal

The MX-8 is the heart of my MIDI setup. I'm replacing it for home studio use only because I need something more compatible with my PC, but I will co0ntinue to use it for live shows.

Once you have a mental, or paper map of the screens its fine. Patch editing takes a little time initially, but after that , and you've got a template, copy and tweak is the easiest way to come up with a full set of patches for a show.

As the device is in no way responcible for the sounds (timbres) that you hear (it only sends and routs musical information such as pitch, volume, and duration to your sound modules) its fine. Latency is minimal, as that is the whole point of using the device.

Quite reliable, yet as I speak the unit has just thrown a 'wobbly'. I think its time to open it up and look for a memory battery... I use it without dramas to control two computers, one drum machine , a guitar to midi interface , drum pads, synthe, and real time filtering and timed FX (lights too).

None. It (the unit) is very secondhand, and runs on a US transformer. (I'm an Australian). It'd be nice to know about the battery, of the flash memmory status. The manual doesn't mention anything.

I'm a studio opperator and teacher. It works fine and has usefull filtering capabillities. Watch relying on the Midi style delays and expression FX as they suck the speed out of your data transfers. They are still usefull for that 'one off' effect though. The only other unit I consistantly work with is a Kawai 4 in 8 out with sliders. This MX-8 is far more flexable

Honestly it's not the most user friendly piece of gear. Fortunately most users would not need to make changes to patches very often unless the one merger isn't enough for everyday use, in which case you can store several patches which are easily recalled.

Sound, delay, noise, etc don't seem to be issues with this unit - no appreciable deficiencies here.

Absolutely not! Mine has crapped out several times now. As a matter of fact, it hasn't worked in over a week. It powers up but it stays on patch #50, which is useless to me, and the buttons do nothing.

I'm not sure they could help since it's pretty old, but they haven't even responded to my emails.

It has just the features it needs for my application and probably for a lot of people with small midi studios. It would be even more useful with additional merge circuits, but then I'm sure the price would be a lot higher.

I found the manual not straight forward...had to read a couple of time to get what they were trying to say, but once I finally understood this old unit blew my mind!

The Sound Quality is the same as to whatever you patch in...no noise at all..love it!!!

I purchased off ebay and the seller never told me that there was possilby a internal battery...If i turn the thing off I have to reprogram all over...I made a form sheet and this makes it easy...this unit is discontinued and not sure if I can get a replacement backup battery...sent company email 2 weeks ago...no word from them

poor customer service, again sent them email 2 weeks ago...if they could not get backup battery the could atleast respond and let me know.

Although I gave different ratings in the different catagories this product is a must have...I absolute could not operate without it and you will not find one this powerful even today....for this reason I still give it the highest marks!!!

I'm pretty new to midi, so what may be cake and "old hat" for many users took a little while with me.
I needed a midi patchbay that would allow me to go from one keyboard to multiple modules, as well as switch programs on each module. The MX-8 does this perfectly. Using a Tech21 midi mouse on one of the inputs allows me to change programs on the MX-8, and thus through the rest of my rig without problem. I don't have to worry about sending program changes with the keyboard, just a tap of a pedal.

There is no loss of signal or coloring, so I will say the sound is perfect. Effects reside in the MX-8 that allow users to set delay, transpose, set volume, etc... etc....
My keyboard goes into the MX-8 and the out to two sound modules and numerous effects, into a mixer-poer amp-speakers.

It's a rock. Unless I start stabbing it with a pitchfork, it'll be fine.

I emailed customer support once. They never got back. I'm definitely not a fan of that cr*p. There is little to no information on the web site as to the equipment's usability or capabilities. No manual is posted.
The only reason I purchase this was due to the reviews from the few web sites of users.
It does not seem to be an incredibly popular product, therefore, getting information from others may be difficult. On the other hand, it was a pain for me to find one, so perhaps there is a loyal cult following.
I don't know if there is an upgrade, no information is posted on previous versions on Digital Music's (voodoo lab's) site.

It you need a midi patchbay and the ability to change configurations with the push of a button (or tap of a pedal), this is for you. It is worth the price new or used. As far as I know, I haven't seen anything else on the market that does what this unit does (patchbay with program change ability).
If you need a controllor to master all of your midi-capable effects, this is NOT the product for you (look at the Digital Music Ground Control or something else).