We take pride in making the device one of the easiest-to-use programmable MIDI controllers in the market. If there is any questions you have using the device, please do not hesitate to drop us an email at help@morningstarfx.com.
FRONT PANEL: The MC8 has 8 switches A to H, each corresponding to the text shown closest to it on the LCD screen. By default all switches are empty and not programmed to send any MIDI messages.
Some information is always displayed on the MC8 screen, allowing you to perform better.
They are your Bank name
, Preset Name
, Expression pedal position
and Page
.
There is an icon at the top right of this page. Clicking on it will bring out a menu with an option to export the page as a PDF document.
Video tutorial available here: https://youtu.be/NEl0EievXd0 |
Make sure you are in Editor mode. Press Switch D+E
to enter editor mode or click the ‘Connect Device’ button on the editor.
Press Switch E+H
in the Edit Page
. The Last Used Preset
, Expression Pedal Input
and Bank
will be displayed in the menu.
Make sure to exit Editor mode to have the full functionality available before you use it with your devices. |
The MC8 is a fully programmable MIDI controller, capable of controlling up to 16 MIDI devices per switch.
There are 30 banks. Each bank has 22 presets and 4 expression presets. Each preset can be programmed to send out 16 different messages.
Each bank can display up to 8 presets, of which all are accessible from the 8 switches. The other 8 presets can be engaged via dual switch presses or external aux controllers. A Page Toggle function is also available via Switch B+C
to switch between the first 8 presets and the last 8 presets.
Besides these 16 presets, the OmniPort 1
and OmniPort 2
can control Presets Q-S
and Presets T-V
respectively with an external 3 switch aux controller attached.
Your MC8 device can be powered via the multiple methods. |
Please ensure that your power supply can supply at least 250mA at 9VDC. |
9VDC Centre Negative power supply
Connect a 9VDC centre negative power supply to the power input of the MC8.
Phantom Power (9-12v AC or DC)
Connect a 7-pin Midi cable to the MIDI OUT port of the MC8. Phantom power is supplied through pins 6 and 7. Phantom power is chained to pins 6 & 7 on the MIDI IN port as well, allowing you to power other devices.
If sending DC power via the pins, the polarity does not matter.
USB power
Connect a USB cable to the MC8. The MC8 is capable of being fully powered by USB.
Information on all the inputs and outputs on the MC8.
On the rear panel, you will find 4 Omni Ports (1/4 inch TRS) that can be independently configured to be Expression Pedal inputs, Aux Switch inputs or MIDI outputs.
This is where the MC8 receives MIDI messages from other MIDI devices.
The MC8 passes incoming MIDI messages via the MIDI In/Receive port out to the USB port, and vice versa.
This is where MIDI data is sent from the MC8 to other devices. You can use a standard 5-pin MIDI cable, or a 7-pin one if you want to power the MC8 with phantom power. The MC8 also has MIDI THRU, which allows incoming MIDI messages to be relayed to other MIDI-capable devices.
The MC8 can also send and receive MIDI data via USB, allowing you to have control over your DAWs and music software. It is class compliant and compatible with Windows, macOS, Android and iOS.
The MC8 passes incoming MIDI messages via the MIDI In/Receive port out to the USB port, and vice versa.
The OmniPorts
has the ability to
Send MIDI messages via TRS,
Be used with an Expression Pedal
Be used with an Aux Switch (up to 3 switches)
IMPORTANT! This issue only affects units with Serial Numbers between MC8-10200 and MC8-10287. |
You can connect your expression pedals to these ports to control the expression presets, or connect aux switches to add more programmable switches to the MC8.
Please note that these ports are INPUT
only, and cannot be using to control functions like amp switching or sending Control Voltage messages. You should only be connecting an expression pedal or TRS passive Aux Switches to these ports.
You should only use STEREO CABLES. Using Mono cables will cause the device not to work as intended.
Applying power to the OMNIPORT inputs might damage your device. |
You can connect an external Aux switch to your MC8 to control extra presets:
OMNIPORT 1: Preset Q
R
S
OMNIPORT 2: Preset T
U
V
OMNIPORT 3: Preset I
J
K
OMNIPORT 4: Preset L
M
N
The MC8 requires an aux switch that is wired like the schematic below. It has to be connected to the device with a stereo cable, where the Tip is connected to the ground via a SPST Footswitch
, and similar to the Ring as well. Another switch can be added to connect both Tip and Ring to ground to engage an additional preset/setting. Please refer to the schematic below.
There are a few pedal builders that sell such devices: Please note that we are in no way affiliated with these companies. |
If you would like to build one yourself, you can refer to the following schematic:
Video tutorial available - https://youtu.be/-TNTkqh-gEE |
Before using the expression pedal, check to make sure that your Omniport input settings are set to ExprnPedal
. You can access this menu by going to the Global Configuration Menu
>> OmniPort
.
The MC6 work with TRS expression pedals. It works best with expression pedals fitted with 10k - 25k Linear
potentiometers. The potentiometer wiper should be connected to the Tip of the stereo cable, while the Ring and Sleeve should be connected to the outer lugs on the potentiometer.
When connecting a new Expression pedal, be sure to calibrate it first by going into the Edit menu (Switch E+H
), selecting Exp1
| Exp2
| Exp3
| Exp4
and then Calibrate
.
You can also use the Omniports to send TRS MIDI. To do so, you simply need to go into the Global Config Menu
>> Omniport
and then change the desired Omniport to MIDI OUT
. Upon the device restarting, the Omniport will be configured to send MIDI out.
By default, the MIDI out is configured to send MIDI via TRS, where the MIDI signal is sent on the Tip
. However, devices such as Chase Bliss
uses a different configuration, where the MIDI signal is received at the Ring
and the Tip
is left floating. The MC8 can accommodate this, but this requires removing the back plate of the MC8 and
Removing the bottom jumper
Shifting the top jumper to the left
In the image above, Port 1
and Port 4
are configured to send MIDI to Chase Bliss devices.
Remove the backplate screws carefully to avoid damage. If you find that the screws are too tight, you should try to loosen the 4 Omniport nuts first before removing the screws. |
To access the Controller Settings Menu, hold down Switch E
before powering up the MC8. This menu allows you to edit the global settings for the device.
The Main Configuration Menu can also be accessed by going into the Edit Settings page (Switch E+H
) and selecting ConfigPg
.
Please note that the controller will restart after exiting the Global Configuration Menu. |
The display will indicate that it is booting into the configuration page, and the menu below will be displayed:
You can select NextPage to view more options in the menu.
Reset
To do a factory reset, hold down for 2 seconds. The MC8 will show that it is performing a factory reset.
All user presets and settings will be reset to factory default when a reset is done.
LcdAlign
When LcdAlign is turned on, your Preset Short Names will be aligned, depending on its position on the LCD. For example, Preset A name will aligned to the left, while Preset D name will be aligned to the right.
BankArn
Your banks can be re-arranged in this menu. More info here.
MidiChnl
Set the MIDI receive channel for the MC8. The MC8 can receive and respond to messages from external midi controllers.
Press Switch H
or Switch D
to increase or decrease the MIDI channel respectively.
Press Save
to save your settings and Exit
to exit.
OmniPort
Change the device Expression Input Type and select between Aux Switch
, Expression
, MIDI Out
, Fixed Sw 1
or Fixed Sw 2
Setting.
Aux Switch
Use a stereo cable to connect to an external aux switch to control more presets.
Expression
Connect an expression pedal via a stereo cable (Tip connected to wiper) to engage the expression preset.
MIDI Out
Sends MIDI out via TRS. The MIDI signal is sent via the TIP
by default. There are jumpers in the circuit board which allows you to change to RING
to control devices from Chase Bliss Audio.
Fixed Sw 1
Similar to the aux switch, but the functions are hard-coded to control the Bank Up, Bank Down and Toggle Page functions without sacrificing any presets.
Tip
= Bank Up
Ring
= Bank Down
Tip
+ Ring
= Toggle Page
Fixed Sw 2
Similar to Fixed Sw 1
but the Bank Up and Bank Down are reversed.
SwthSens
Set switch sensitivity. Choose from 1
(least sensitive) to 5
(most sensitive). Pressing Switch B+C
will select 3.
By default, this is set to 3 and should be comfortable for most users. Depending on personal taste, you may adjust sensitivity to help you bank up/down (by stepping on 2 switches at once) more accurately. |
More sensitive means that the lag between the time when a message is sent out and when the switch is pressed it at its minimum.
DualLock
When the dual lock setting is turned on, dual switch press functions like Bank Down, Bank Up and Toggle Page will be disabled.
BankTime
This setting adjusts the amount of time the bank details will show when the bank is changed.
The value displayed is in milliseconds.
BnkChgDl
This setting adjusts the time it takes to load the next bank when the bank is changed.
The value displayed is in milliseconds.
MidiClck
The MIDI clock setting toggles the persistent MIDI clock function ON and OFF. This setting is related to the MIDI Clock message under MIDI Types. If persistent MIDI is ON, the MIDI Clock message will continue sending a MIDI clock signal when engaged, even when engaging other presets or scrolling through banks. However, if persistent MIDI is OFF, the MIDI clock signals will shut off when an event (like a switch press or expression pedal move) is triggered.
When MIDI Clock Persistence is on, you might encounter some timing changes for a short period when engaging functions on the MC8, like changing banks and invoking presets. If you do not need the MIDI Clock after your devices have synced to the tempo, we would recommend that you turn off MIDI Clock Persistence. |
SvePstTg
Determine whether preset toggle states are remembered when you change banks. If set to ON
, your preset toggle states will be preserved when you change banks. When set to OFF
, your preset toggle states will be reset when you change banks.
LngPrsTm
Sets the amount of time (in milliseconds) you need to hold down the switch in order to trigger a Long Press action.
Step on Switches A+B
together to bank down and Switches C+D
to bank up. There are a total of 30 banks on the MC8.
Bank Changes can also be executed by programming a Bank Change function to a preset, or by using an External Aux Switch.
Each switch corresponds to the display name closest to it.
Pressing Switch A
activates Preset A, Switch B
activates Preset B and so forth.
The MC8 allows you to map actions taken on the switches to MIDI Types and functions. For example, you can map a CC#1
message to a Press action, and a CC#2
message to a Release action. When the switch is pressed, a CC#1
message will be sent, and when the switch is released, a CC#2
messages will be sent. There is a list of actions available to you.
Press
Release
Long Press
Long Press Release
Double Tap
Double Tap Release
Long Double Tap
Long Double Tap Release
Release All
More information can be found in the Action Glossary .
The MC8 can be programmed to pass incoming MIDI signals from the MIDI IN
port to the MIDI OUT
port. It can also pass CC
, PC
and Note
messages thru to the USB port. The MC8 will also pass incoming CC
, PC
and Note
MIDI signals from the USB MIDI port to the MIDI OUT port.
You can toggle this setting on and off by pressing Switches A+H
together.
Both the Switch Presets and Expression Presets on the device can be edited via the on-board editing functions or the Web/Desktop Editor.
The device allows copying and pasting of presets into different presets. These options are available in the device itself (E+F
>> Preset
>> Copy
, Paste
, Swap
).Dual Switch Functions
The MC8 makes use of dual switch combination to carry out certain functions.
Function | Switch |
---|---|
Bank Down | A+B |
Bank Up | C+D |
Edit Menu | E+H |
Toggle Editor Mode | D+E |
Toggle MIDI Thru | A+H |
Besides this, you can also use dual switch presses to call the extra presets.
In Page-1
:
Preset | Switch |
---|---|
Q | E+F |
R | F+G |
S | G+H |
In Page-2
:
Preset | Switch |
---|---|
T | E+F |
U | F+G |
V | G+H |
The MC8 can be programmed on the device itself, or by using the Web/Desktop Editor.
On a new controller, all switches are initially labelled as EMPTY
. It is up to you to decide exactly what each one will do.
Press the switch you wish to program
Press Switch E+H
together. This will take you the the Edit Menu shown below.
After pressing Switches E+H
, the Edit menu will be displayed. The preset and expression you last used will be displayed, as well as the bank you are currently on.
Press Switch F
to edit the preset, Switch G
to edit the expression preset, or Switch H
to edit the bank.
Upon pressing Preset in the Edit Menu, you will be directed to the Preset Edit page. |
(EditMsgs)
- Edits the 16 Midi Messages available in the preset.
(ClrPrest)
- Clear the preset settings.
( Copy )
- Copy the preset settings
( Paste )
- Paste the copied preset settings to the currently selected switch. Holding down ‘Paste’ will paste the copied preset settings to all banks.
( Pg 1/3 )
- Shows the current page in the menu. Press to go the next page.
( Exit )
- Exits the menu.
(ShrtName)
- Edits the preset short name. Look at Editing Names for more information on how to edit any names in the MC8.
(TgleName)
- Edits the preset toggle name. Look at Editing Names for more information on how to edit any names in the MC8.
(FullName)
- Edits the preset full name. Look at Editing Names for more information on how to edit any names in the MC8.
( Pg 2/3 )
- Shows the current page in the menu. Press to go to the next page.
( Exit )
- Exits the menu.
(TglePrst)
- Toggles between On and Off for the preset toggle setting. If On, each time the preset is engaged, the toggle position of the preset will change. The Midi Messages in the preset will rely on the toggle position of the preset to determine if it should be invoked.
(BlnkName)
- Toggles between On and Off for the preset blink setting. If On, the preset short name will blink when the preset toggle is in the engaged position. This is useful to visually determine the toggle state of your preset.
( Pg 3/3 )
- Shows the current page in the menu. Press to go to the next page.
( Exit )
- Exits the menu.
The MC8 has 16 Messages in each Preset. |
When you enter the Edit Msg interface, the screen above will show. In this screen, you can view the current Midi Type that is assigned to that message. It also indicates the current message that is selected for editing. Pressing Next
will allow you to edit the selected message. Selecting ^
or v
will allow you to scroll through the list of 16 messages to edit.
The next menu allows you to select the action to assign to the message. Once selected, each time that action is carried out on the corresponding preset switch, only the messages assigned to that action will be invoked.
The next menu allows you to edit the message toggle position. Select between 1
, 2
and Both
. This allows only the messages that match the current preset toggle position to be invoked.
The next menu allows you to edit the Message Type. Scroll up and down to select the Midi Type that you want to be associated with the message. You can read about the full list of Midi Types available in the Glossary.
Depending the Midi Type that is selected in the previous menu, unique parameter edit menus will be loaded. Edit your parameters and then press Save on the last page to save your settings.
How to toggle between two different MIDI messages on your MC8 with the same switch |
Setting up a toggle message is easy. On the editor, there is a toggle option labelled Preset Toggle Off
on the top left of the interface. Switch it to On to enable toggling for the preset.
How it works
Each preset on the MC8 allows you to toggle between two positions: 1
and 2
. By default, the presets are on toggle position 1
. If you switch the toggle position to ON
, each time the preset is engaged, it will toggle to the other position (between 1
and 2
).
Each message also has a position option, where it will be sent out only when the position of the message matches that of the preset. Hence, if you set Msg1
to be a PC
message in Pos 1
, and Msg2
to be a PC
Message in Pos 2
, and you have your toggle on for the preset, each press will toggle between Msg 1
and Msg 2
.
When the preset is in position 1, the Short Name will be displayed. When the preset is in position 2, the Toggle Name will be displayed.
To indicate that the preset is in position 2, you can also use the blink option, where if the blink option is set to On, the Toggle Name on the main page will blink when the preset is in position 2.
After going into the preset edit menu, go to Page 3 of the menu.
The Toggle button toggles between Toggle On
and Toggle Off
position for the preset, which the Blink button toggles between Blink On
and Blink Off
position for the preset.
When editing individual messages, there will be an option to select the toggle position for the message you are editing. Choose between position 1
or 2
accordingly.
To edit expression messages, press switch D + F first, which will bring you to the edit page, and then select the expression option.
The first page of the menu for editing Expression Messages are the same as that for editing Preset Messages.
On the second page, you have the option to edit the Full Name
, Sensitivity
or calibrate
your expression pedal. You’ll also have the option to Copy
or Paste
Expression presets, or clear
out your expression preset.
When the expression pedal is being used, you have the option of displaying a Name for your expression preset. Simply edit and save the name to your expression preset. See Editing Names for more information after entering the FullName option in the Expression Edit Menu.
It is best to calibrate your expression pedal before use to get the optimum performance. Simply go into the Calibrate setting in your Expression Edit Menu. Once there, follow the instructions in the LCD. First set your expression pedal to a heel down position. Ideally, the value should be displayed as 0. Press Next. Next, set your expression pedal to a toe down position. Ideally, the value should be displayed as 127. Press Save to save your settings. Do not worry if you can get a value of 0 and 127 in both positions. Once your setting is saved, the MC8 will optimise the settings to get the most out of your expression pedal.
The MC8 works with an expression pedal with a Linear potentiometer only. Log potentiometers will not work well. |
Depending on the potentiometer value used in your expression pedal, you may have to edit the sensitivity to get optimum performance. We recommend using expression pedals with 10k potentiometers. The sensitivity setting is used mainly to remove jitters, where the value sent by the MC8 might bounce between 2 values very quickly.
To enter the bank settings, press Switch D + F, which will bring you to the edit page, and then select the Bank option.
In the edit bank interface, you can edit the Bank Name as well as copy and paste banks.
Bank Name - Edits the Bank Name.
Copy - Copies the current bank.
Paste - Paste the previously copied bank to the current bank.
ClearTgs - Toggles the Bank Clear Toggle
feature between On
and Off
. This feature allows you to disengage the rest of the preset toggle positions except for the preset that is just engaged. This is useful when you want the last-engaged preset to blink.
When editing any of the MC8 names like Preset Short Name, Toggle Name, Long Name, or Bank Name, this interface will be display on the screen.
It is possible to display the PC Scroll number in the Preset name by using a placeholder %E0
to %E16
. Since there are 16 slots in the PC Scroll function, %E0
will display the number in the first slot, while %E15
will display the number in the 16th slot. %E1
will display the number in the second slot.
( Left ) - Move the curser to the left.
( Right ) - Move the cursor to the right
( Up ) - Select the next character
( Down ) - Select the previous character
(Save) - Saves the name into memory.
(Exit) - Exits the interface.
Besides using the on-board MIDI editing features on the MC8, you can also edit your settings via the Web/Desktop editor. The Web Editor will always contain the latest developments, while the Desktop editor will be updated less frequently.Using the Web/Desktop Editor with your MC8 |
The links are available on our website here: https://www.morningstarfx.com/editor
NOTE: A number of functions are disabled when the device is in Editor mode. When using or testing the MC8 with other devices, please remember to toggle out of editor mode. |
Connect the device via USB to your computer and launch the editor in the latest version of Google Chrome (the Web Editor works on Google Chrome only).
The editor should detect your device and load the editing dashboard as shown below.
Your device will have to be in Editor Mode for it to communicate with the editor. You can toggle into editor mode by pressing Switch [D + E]
or by pressing the button below the logo on the editor Toggle Editor Mode]
.
Once your controller is in editor mode, the Model
button will turn Blue
, indicating that it is communicating with your controller. You can then press any switch on your device to edit the corresponding preset.
To exit Editor Mode
, press the blue button again.
To edit your expression pedal, move the pedal and the settings will be loaded on the editor.
The editing parameters are similar to the on-board editing parameters.
There are various controls on the top right panel of the editor (below the Bank and Preset number display) as well. You can toggle the page on the MC8, Bank up or down or copy and paste presets. You can also clear your preset settings by double clicking the Clear button. This also applies to the Clear button on the individual Messages, where the Clear button has to be double clicked.
Tg Preset: Toggles the Preset between Position 1 and Position 2
Tg Page: Toggles the device page between 1
and 2
to load Preset A - H
or Preset I - P
Bank Up / Bank Down: Bank up and down on the device
Copy: Copy the Preset
Paste: Paste the copied preset to a different selected preset
Clear: Clear the Preset settings. This button has to be double-clicked
Save Preset: Save the settings on the Editor to the device
Toggle On/Off: Determines whether the preset should toggle its toggle position each time it is engaged.
Blink On/Off: Determines whether the preset name should blink when the preset is in toggle position 2.
Pos button: Determines if the message should be in Position 1, Position 2 or Both. For example, if Msg 1 is set to Pos 1, it will only engage when the Preset is in Position 1.
Clear: Clears the message. This has to be doubled clicked.
Copy: Copy the message
Paste: Paste the earlier copied message to another message..
The editor allows you to back up your data into a .syx
file which you can later reload into your controller.
On the editor, click on the Controller Backup
tab. Make sure your device is in Editor Mode
.
Click on Current Bank
to save the current bank data, or All Banks
to save all the banks. This will start the download of your controller data in the editor.
Once the download is complete, a Save Dialog
box will appear, and you can select the folder to save your file in your computer.
To load the .syx
file back into your controller, click on Browse
to locate the file in your computer. If the file is valid, a green button will appear.
Click on the green button to start uploading the data into your controller.
If this process hangs halfway, please refresh the page and try again. |
From firmware v3.6 onwards, you can name each MIDI channel. This feature is available in the Controller Settings
tab, under Edit MIDI Channel Names
.
After naming the channels, press Save
and the settings will be saved to your device. Now, when you edit your Presets, the names will appear in the MIDI Channel dropdown box.
We are constantly updating the firmware to include new features and bug fixes. Video tutorial - How to update your firmware: https://youtu.be/wtvX8Y9LzXo |
You'll need to use the Firmware Uploader software to upload the firmware to your device.
Download the latest Firmware Uploader software here.
Download the latest firmware here
Open the Firmware Uploader
If your device is connected, it will appear in the Firmware Uploader software.
Click on Upload and select the firmware .hex file.
The firmware should then begin uploading and should take only a couple of seconds. Once it is completed, your device will restart with the new firmware.
In the rare event where your device upload is not successful, the device might appear to be bricked with blocks showing across the LCD screen. Do not worry and follow these steps:
Download the latest firmware from our website.
Remove the back cover for your device and locate the reset button.
While the device is connected to your computer via USB, and with the Firmware Uploader open, press the reset button location on the PCB.
Once pressed, the Firmware Uploader should detect the device. Thereafter, repeat the above upload procedure.
MIDI implementation chart for the MC8. |
The MC8 can respond to CC
and PC
messages from the USB MIDI port and MIDI IN port to execute specific functions. You can send PC
or CC
messages via an external MIDI controller or software to control the MC8 functions specified below.
PC messages will change the banks on the MC8, where a PC#0
message will engage Bank 1
, and PC#1
message will engage Bank 2
, and so on.
Function | CC# | Value |
---|---|---|
Bank Up | 0 | any |
Bank Down | 1 | any |
Set Toggle (All) | 2 | 127 |
Set Toggle (Individual) | 2 | 0 - 21
|
Clear Toggle (All) | 3 | 127 |
Clear Toggle (Individual) | 3 | 0 - 21
|
Page Toggle | 4 | any |
Engage Preset | 10 - 31
| 0 = Do Nothing |
1 = On Press | ||
2 = On Release | ||
3 = On Long Press | ||
4 = On Long Press Release | ||
5 = On Double Tap | ||
6 = On Double Tap Release | ||
7 = On Double Tap Hold | ||
8 = On Double Tap Hold Release |