Conductive Labs MRCC User manual

CONDUCYIVE LABS
Electronic Music Instruments
MIDI ROUTER CONTROL CENTER
User Manual as of FW v1.1.020
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Specifications are Subject to Change:
The information contained in this manual is believed to be correct at the time of printing. However,
Conductive Labs LLC reserves the right to change or modify any of the specifications without notice or
obligation to update the hardware that has been purchased.
Warning:
The product may be able to produce sound levels that could cause permanent hearing loss when used in
combination with synthesizers, headphones and/or speakers. It may be able to produce sound levels
that could cause permanent hearing loss. DO NOT operate at high volume levels.
Please Note:
Conductive Labs LLC is not responsible for, and is not covered by, the manufacturer’s warranty. Any fees
incurred due to a lack of knowledge relating to how a function or feature works are therefore the
owner's responsibility. Please read this manual completely before requesting service.
Precautions, not limited to:
1. Read and follow all instructions.
2. Unplug before cleaning and only use only a soft dry cloth. Do not use any cleaners.
3. Do not use the instrument near water or moisture, such as a bathtub, sink, swimming pool or
similar place.
4. Do not expose the instrument to hot sunlight.
5. Do not spill any kind of liquid onto the instrument.
6. Do not place the instrument in an unstable position where it might accidentally fall. Do not
place heavy objects on the instrument.
7. Do not open or insert anything into the instrument that may cause a fire or electrical shock.
8. Always contact Conductive Labs LLC if you have an issue. You will invalidate your warranty if
you open and remove the cover.
9. Do not use the instrument when there is a gas leak nearby.
10. Conductive Labs LLC is not responsible for any damage or data loss caused by improper
operation of the instrument.
11. Do not TAUNT The MRCC!
Not following the above Precautions will void the manufacturer’s warranty.

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Special Thanks
To the Kickstarter project supporters –we would have never continued without you!
To the friends and family for enduring countless hours of insanely boring details
of The MRCC’s trials and tribulations.
To the Team:
Darryl McGee - The MRCC Design, PCB Layout and Hardware Design, Procurement, and Web Site Dev
Steve Barile - The MRCC Design, Firmware and Hardware Design, Video Production, Graphic Design, and
Manual
Jesse Johannesen –Customer Support & Product Testing
Volunteer Consultants…
Paul Bergmann - The MRCC Circuit Design and Review
Blake Bender - Software Dev and Dev Environment Guru
Ben Fleskes - Mechanical Design
Nick Oakley - Graphics / Product Design
Kelly McKiernan - Enclosure Prototype Extraordinaire
Shashi Jain - 3D printing and laser cutting ruler of the world
Lisa Scarpelli - Manual Proofing
and The MRCC Beta Testers!
To the McGee family…
for their generous use of their spacious and temperature-controlled basement
also known as “The Lab”
And to our significant others for their support and understanding!

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COPYRIGHT @ CONDUCTIVE LABS LLC 2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
All documentation, images, software, firmware, user interface, industrial design and hardware design is
protected by copyright law and international treaties. The firmware is licensed (not sold), and its use is
subject to a License Agreement. Unauthorized use, copying or distribution of any of the above material
or any of its components may result in severe criminal or civil penalties, and will be prosecuted to the
maximum extent under the law.
All trademarks and registered trademarks used in this documentation are the property of their owners.
Our lawyers are now ecstatic, try to have a nice day. 

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Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 8
Quick Start .............................................................................................................................................. 9
Product Features...................................................................................................................................... 10
Things you should know about MIDI….................................................................................................. 11
MIDI over USB cables............................................................................................................................ 11
THE BASICS - PORT ROUTING.................................................................................................................... 13
5 Pin Port Routing ................................................................................................................................. 13
USB Port Routing .................................................................................................................................. 13
Remote Routing.................................................................................................................................... 14
MIDI Routing Cache .............................................................................................................................. 15
MIDI Merging –it just happens… but be advised! ................................................................................ 15
THE MRCC BUTTONS................................................................................................................................. 18
Routing Buttons .................................................................................................................................... 18
Menu & Navigation Buttons ................................................................................................................. 18
Encoder Button..................................................................................................................................... 18
Shift Button........................................................................................................................................... 19
Stand-By Button.................................................................................................................................... 19
MRCC Remote Routing Button “Y”........................................................................................................ 19
MRCC SIDE PANEL BUTTONS..................................................................................................................... 20
Power Switch ........................................................................................................................................ 20
Firmware (FW) Button .......................................................................................................................... 20
USB HOST AND PC PORT STATUS LEDS ..................................................................................................... 21
USB Type B PC Port ............................................................................................................................... 21
USB Type A Host Ports .......................................................................................................................... 21
MRCC Screen Pages .................................................................................................................................. 22
The Screen Page Overview.................................................................................................................... 22
The Activity Screen Page....................................................................................................................... 23
The Routing Screen Page ...................................................................................................................... 25
Port Filters Screen Page ........................................................................................................................ 28
Modifiers (MODS) Screen Page............................................................................................................. 29
Channel Map (Chan Map) [Ch1-6] Sub-Page......................................................................................... 29
Velocity Scaling [Vel1-6] Sub-Page........................................................................................................ 30

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CC Scaling and Mapping [CC1-6] Sub-Page ........................................................................................... 31
Channel Layers (Splits and Layers) [Lyr1-6] Sub-Page........................................................................... 32
Alter [Alt1-6] Sub-Page ......................................................................................................................... 33
Transpose [TP1-6] Sub-Page ................................................................................................................. 34
Note Map [NMp] Sub Page ................................................................................................................... 34
Channel to Port Mapping [C-P1] Sub Page............................................................................................ 34
Extras Screen Page................................................................................................................................ 36
MRCC Clock Sub-Page........................................................................................................................... 36
Program Change Sub-Page.................................................................................................................... 37
MRCC Arpeggiator Sub-Page................................................................................................................. 37
Tools Screen Page ................................................................................................................................. 39
Load/Save Sub-Page.............................................................................................................................. 39
Assign Labels Sub-Page ......................................................................................................................... 39
Edit Labels Sub-Page ............................................................................................................................. 40
MIDI Monitor Sub-Page ........................................................................................................................ 42
Play Notes Sub-Page ............................................................................................................................. 43
Gear Search Sub-Page........................................................................................................................... 43
Settings Screen Page............................................................................................................................. 44
MRCC Setup Examples ............................................................................................................................. 47
Hardware Connections ......................................................................................................................... 47
Tips and Tricks.......................................................................................................................................... 48
Appendix .................................................................................................................................................. 49
A. Optional MIDI Remote Devices (THIS IS NOT ETHERNET!) ............................................................ 49
B. MIDI Implementation: CC (Control Change) & Program Change................................................... 51
C. MIDI Message Filtering Details...................................................................................................... 52
D. MRCC Specifications...................................................................................................................... 53

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Thank you for purchasing the MRCC from Conductive Labs!
Introduction
With your MRCC from Conductive Labs you can route your controllers to your synths with a touch of a
button; the MRCC never needs to be connected to a PC for configuration. The four USB host ports enable
you to use all those cool USB only (USB MIDI Class Compliant) MIDI controllers that previously needed to
be plugged into a PC to work. Imagine triggering your favorite drum machines with button pads or
tweaking synth parameters from the knobs on your keyboard controllers with no PC in sight!
On the following pages are all the nuts and bolts of the MRCC. In addition to the simple button press
routing there is USB virtual cable routing and some extras and tools that will be explained in this manual.
For support please use our forum at: https://www.conductivelabs.com/forum.
The MRCC (MIDI Router Control Center) is a front panel configurable MIDI router which means no PC is
required to configure the routings, message filters, or message modifiers.
The MRCC can be used in a variety of ways. For example:
•Connection between MIDI controllers and synths.
•A complex studio setup with MRCC as the hub, routing MIDI messages to several synths while
transposing inbound keyboard notes, and driven by multiple MIDI controllers.
•With the “MRCC Remote 7” accessory, 5 MIDI out ports can be accessed via a single CAT5 shielded
cable of up to 50’ away.

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Quick Start
1. Attach the power adapter plug prongs for your country. Plug your MRCC power adapter into an
electrical socket. Plug the USB-C end of the power supply cable into the MRCC USB-C socket on
the side of the unit. Turn on the MRCC. The OLED splash screen should show and the LEDs
should light with a brief prismatic light show.
2. Plug your MIDI controller into any of the in-ports and press the button for that in-port. It should
light green. If you are plugging it into a USB Host port be sure that the virtual in-port cable is set
to #1:
a. You should see the MIDI out-port 1 light green
b. Hold down the USB Host in-port button to see out-ports 2-4 light a dim white. When you
release the in-port button the in-port LED should remain lit green and out-ports 1-4
should not be lit.
3. Plug your synth into any of the out-ports and press the button for that out-port. It lights blue
when selected, and becomes dimmer when it is routed and another output is selected.
If the out-port is the USB PC port be sure that the virtual out-port cable is set to #1 (see step 2).
4. The route is made. Make sure your controller and synth are set to the same MIDI channel. The
ROUTING screen will show you the inbound MIDI messages and channel if you’re not sure. Of
course, you can map the channel but you’ll need to read a bit more to learn how to do that! ☺
Happy ROUTING!!!

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Product Features
•Desktop or 2U rack configurations
•11 in x 17 out physical routable ports (39 in x 34 out total ports)
•Front panel button-per-port routing (no PC required)
•USB host ports x4, USB device port x1, MIDI 5-Pin and MIDI 3.5mm A and B ports (MIDI 1.0 spec
5V outputs)
•Virtual-cable ports on USB Host (In x4) and USB Device (In x12 & Out x12)
•USB class compliant MIDI interface
•Automatic port splitting and merging based on routings
•OLED Display shows MIDI message monitoring and easy menu system
•Port and/or routing filters (Clock, Note, CC, Prog Change, Stop/Start/Continue)
•Six routing modifier types (Channel, Velocity, CC, KB Range, Random & Transpose)
•Extras: MRCC Clock, and Arpeggiators
•Routing Presets (128), Extras Presets (30), & Sys Settings Presets (5)
•Firmware updates via USB