Enhanced Morningstar Fractal Integration

I love my Morningstar MC-8. They are are top notch on keeping up with updates and have their finger on the pulse of their customers needs, just like fractal is.
 
I posted this over at the Morningstar Thread:
Thanks for the update. it is good to not take up a button with “exit”

I still cant really use the Fractal Integration as much as I really want to.
Right now I have the FM3 setup to send changes to the MC6 to change bank.
FM3 Button 1 tap goes to scenes bank on MC6
FM3 Button 2 tap goes to effects bank on MC6
FM3 Button 3 tap goes to presets bank on MC6
FM3 Button 3 hold goes to looper control bank on MC6

When I use fractal integration, I lost the ability for the FM3 to control which bank is displayed on the MC6. I do really like that the MC6 can read preset names and scene names though. Any way we could have it respond to the FM3 like it does in the non Fractal integration mode, and read the names and scroll through presets like it does in Fractal Integration mode?



I am trying to go for OMG9-like functionality without the bulk of the FC6.
 
Intoodeep1113 said:
I posted this over at the Morningstar Thread:
Thanks for the update. it is good to not take up a button with “exit”

I still cant really use the Fractal Integration as much as I really want to.
Right now I have the FM3 setup to send changes to the MC6 to change bank.
FM3 Button 1 tap goes to scenes bank on MC6
FM3 Button 2 tap goes to effects bank on MC6
FM3 Button 3 tap goes to presets bank on MC6
FM3 Button 3 hold goes to looper control bank on MC6

When I use fractal integration, I lost the ability for the FM3 to control which bank is displayed on the MC6. I do really like that the MC6 can read preset names and scene names though. Any way we could have it respond to the FM3 like it does in the non Fractal integration mode, and read the names and scroll through presets like it does in Fractal Integration mode?



I am trying to go for OMG9-like functionality without the bulk of the FC6.
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I think the biggest improvement would be if we could get the MC switches to work like stand in switches. That way an MC switch to do anything an FC switch could do.
 
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Id love to see FC and FM views/layout pages being accessable by midi commands - that way the MC6 could replace the external switches I use for views/layout changes and also have increased functionality for presets,etc.
 
FYI:
james
4h

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intoodeep1113:
Any way we could have it respond to the FM3 like it does in the non Fractal integration mode, and read the names and scroll through presets like it does in Fractal Integration mode?
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Thanks for the feedback. I don’t think that will be feasible in the short term unfortunately - that require too much integration for a general MIDI controller.
 
can someone offer an opinion on the relative merits of the morningstar products verses the voes products: ease of use, dependability etc.
 
northwood11 said:
can someone offer an opinion on the relative merits of the morningstar products verses the voes products: ease of use, dependability etc.
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I won’t give a one versus the other opinion as I only have a Morningstar MC6. That said I would say that on all counts I am more than satisfied with the Morningstar. So long as you understand the basics of MIDI the devices are highly programmable and the editor is straightforward to use.

The editor runs in the Chrome browser which to my mind is quite novel as you don’t have to worry about installing updates - the editor can be installed and run locally if that’s your preference. An iOS editor was released a month ago and from the small amount of playing I've done with it connected over Bluetooth it seems fully functional.

As far as support goes my experience has been top notch. I had one of the switches go wonky and was shipped some replacements right away. I’m generally a hardware klutz but was able to open the device up and replace the switches myself. The experience also gave me an appreciation for the cleanness of the physical design.

The other aspect of support is software fixes, updates, enhancements, and innovation. And again I think they exemplify best practices on every count. In my opinion one of the best measures of a company is its attention to their users concerns and their level of activity and engagement on their user forum. In that respect you can be the judge - Morningstar User Forum

If there was one thing I was concerned about when considering the MC6 it was territorial - Morningstar is located in Singapore. And it’s certainly preferable from a support perspective to have the vendor be located in the same general geographical locale as oneself. Which is in part why I mentioned the switch issue. As the device was under warranty I was given the opportunity to ship the device back for repair but elected to have them send me the parts and install them myself. And all the device series now use the new switches which they believe a more reliable design.

When I was deciding on what controller to go with I had a hard look at alternatives and finally settled on Morningstar. It’s not a decision I’ve regretted.

Again, my opinion is no reflection on Voes. It’s merely a reflection of my experience with Morningstar.
 
stdout said:
I won’t give a one versus the other opinion as I only have a Morningstar MC6. That said I would say that on all counts I am more than satisfied with the Morningstar. So long as you understand the basics of MIDI the devices are highly programmable and the editor is straightforward to use.

The editor runs in the Chrome browser which to my mind is quite novel as you don’t have to worry about installing updates - the editor can be installed and run locally if that’s your preference. An iOS editor was released a month ago and from the small amount of playing I've done with it connected over Bluetooth it seems fully functional.

As far as support goes my experience has been top notch. I had one of the switches go wonky and was shipped some replacements right away. I’m generally a hardware klutz but was able to open the device up and replace the switches myself. The experience also gave me an appreciation for the cleanness of the physical design.

The other aspect of support is software fixes, updates, enhancements, and innovation. And again I think they exemplify best practices on every count. In my opinion one of the best measures of a company is its attention to their users concerns and their level of activity and engagement on their user forum. In that respect you can be the judge - Morningstar User Forum

If there was one thing I was concerned about when considering the MC6 it was territorial - Morningstar is located in Singapore. And it’s certainly preferable from a support perspective to have the vendor be located in the same general geographical locale as oneself. Which is in part why I mentioned the switch issue. As the device was under warranty I was given the opportunity to ship the device back for repair but elected to have them send me the parts and install them myself. And all the device series now use the new switches which they believe a more reliable design.

When I was deciding on what controller to go with I had a hard look at alternatives and finally settled on Morningstar. It’s not a decision I’ve regretted.

Again, my opinion is no reflection on Voes. It’s merely a reflection of my experience with Morningstar.
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sorry to bother you again, but, how do you power it? it comes with a 9 volt, right?
 
northwood11 said:
sorry to bother you again, but, how do you power it? it comes with a 9 volt, right?
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It doesn’t come with its own power supply. I have it on a pedalboard have powered it over USB using a small rechargeable power bank that I bought at a $-store for about $2.00. It runs on a charge for about 30 hours. The power specs:

9-12V DC Center Negative (min 250mA)
USB Power
9-12 AC/DC Phantom Power via MIDI output pins 6 & 7

Just a note about the 250mA - I also power the MC6 and an HX Stomp off a 10,000mA power bank. The power bank has a feature where it will power off if the draw is below a certain level : If devices are connected which only need a small current which is below the current of the charger used to detect the end of charge, then the current will also turn off after a short time and the device unfortunately cannot be loaded or operated with this power bank.

I can’t run the MC6 by itself from this power bank. The battery turns off after a few seconds.
 
stdout said:
If there was one thing I was concerned about when considering the MC6 it was territorial - Morningstar is located in Singapore. And it’s certainly preferable from a support perspective to have the vendor be located in the same general geographical locale as oneself. Which is in part why I mentioned the switch issue. As the device was under warranty I was given the opportunity to ship the device back for repair but elected to have them send me the parts and install them myself. And all the device series now use the new switches which they believe a more reliable design.
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That's actually very cool of them. Most manufacturers won't ship you parts these days.

I tried getting a simple to replace battery replaced on a Razer laptop (PSA: Don't buy anything from that brand) and they wanted me to ship the whole laptop from Finland to Germany and be without a laptop for weeks/months just for a part that is easy to replace. Instead I opted to buy a OEM battery from eBay, install it myself and it has worked just fine.

In any case I'd definitely consider Morningstar for my next MIDI controller if they happen to release a product I want (fully wireless and rechargable battery powered MIDI controller) in the future. I have a Morningstar ML5 loop switcher under my board and it has worked nicely.
 
well, I finally have the MC 8 and, for the life of me, I can't get it to talk to the fm3....the cableing is correct, the midi channel is correct, and I have followed the manual and the youtube stuff...the fm3 is indicating that the midi status is on.....has anyone got a step by step instruction.....
sorry for how stupid this must look.....jack
 
northwood11 said:
well, I finally have the MC 8 and, for the life of me, I can't get it to talk to the fm3....the cableing is correct, the midi channel is correct, and I have followed the manual and the youtube stuff...the fm3 is indicating that the midi status is on.....has anyone got a step by step instruction.....
sorry for how stupid this must look.....jack
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No worries, we all have difficulties at times.

I would double-check that you have the scene/preset changes mapped how you want in the MIDI section of the setup page of the FM3. If you are confident that is set up how you want, you could try using the learn mode described in the user manual. Hopefully that is helpful and can help you get going.
 
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If I recall from memory, make sure that the FM-3 midi transmit channel is different than the MC-8 channel & midi thru off if you trying to do the integration.
 
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