Lexicon MRC

This is an article culled from archive material, circa 1997.

This unassuming little box is several products in one. It is a MIDI fader box, with four physical faders (eight virtual ones) and four buttons which can generate a variety of MIDI messages including system exclusive. It contains patch storage and editing modules for a variety of Lexicon products, including the LXP-1 and LXP-5. It can drive multiple modules (up to sixteen). It can function as a MIDI patchbay/processor, routing and filtering data in various ways from its two MIDI inputs to two outputs. It can multitask several MIDI patches, which can generate and feed data among themselves. It has an onboard MIDI monitor for its two inputs. And it takes two footswitches/pedals.

The MRC is pretty essential for owners of the LXP-1 and LXP-5 who wish to program their own sounds. It is also extremely useful for general MIDI processing. The faders are solid, and do not glitch. The buttons (rubber membrane) seem to be properly debounced as well. I have had very few problems with it: a faulty LCD display was replaced last year, and the only software problem (incorrect display of some numerical values) occurred in 1991 and I've never managed to reproduce it.

I strongly recommend this box to anyone seriously involved with MIDI, even at inflated UK prices. My only minor criticism is that the rear panel components (specifically, the MIDI ports) are PCB-mounted and might develop problems with the continual plugging and unplugging associated with live work. Also, my usual warnings about software bloat and maintenance apply: my unit is quite old and runs an obsolete software version. I have no idea how the latest versions compare in terms of reliability, or whether they still support editors for older devices.