Questions about the Bluetooth MC8 Pro

Morningstar Gear MC Pro Series MIDI Controller
1

I am trying to use bluetooth with the MC8 Pro, but am constantly running into problems. I don’t find any real information in the manual either, as this is the only sentence about it: “MC8 PRO is equipped with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) MIDI that allows you to connect wirelessly to the Morningstar Editor, WIDI Jacks, DAWs and other music performance software.”

So here are a few that would help me to troubleshoot and understand it better in general:

  1. How do I activate / deactivate bluetooth?

  2. How do I activate pairing mode?

  3. How do I see if bluetooth and/or pairing mode is active or not?

  4. How many devices can the MC8 Pro connect simultaneously?

  5. What devices does it auto-connect to when multiple are nearby? Does it auto connect at all?

  6. Can you connect it via USB-C to one device and via bluetooth to another simultaneously?

  7. Does bluetooth require more power? If yes, how much more?

2

Hey there!

  1. You don’t need to activate bluetooth. It will automatically be discoverable when you power it up.
  2. It is automatically discoverable.
  3. There is no indicator on the device itself, but you will be able to see it a a device for connection within the application you are using.
  4. MC8 PRO will only to connect to one device. Once connection is established, nothing else will be able to connect to it.
  5. There is no auto-connect feature at the moment. This is something we are working on and more information will be available when it is released.
  6. Yes, you can.
  7. Bluetooth usage does not significantly increase power draw. The power requirements stated in the manual assume that Bluetooth is active.

Not sure if you’ve seen the video below before. It explains step-by-step how to wirelessly connect to the Editor for desktop and mobile, and to control music software on iOS and mac.

1 Like
3

Thanks for the reply.

None of my devices see the MC8 Pro though. So I can’t connect it to anything, except to the Editor sometimes. Which is weird, because that means that my PC has to see it, right? But it doesn’t and I also can’t send any MIDI to my DAW.

If I can’t put it into pairing mode, what option do I then have to troubleshoot?

4

Can you get into the controller’s onboard settings (press E + H together) and in the leftmost screen, the Bluetooth module firmware version is displayed. Which version number is it? The format will be x.x.x

5

Also check this setting in controller settings/general. Shouldn’t be OFF.

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6

It says BT Firmware 1.1.1

7

It was. I changed that to both 0s and 40s, but it doesn’t make any difference.

I don’t even get it. What is the difference between 0s Startup and OFF? Shouldn’t that be the same?

Also, if I set it to 40s, I can still connect via Bluetooth to the Editor right after the MC8 Pro starts. Which is way less then 40s.

8

Now nothing works anymore… can’t even close the Editor.

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9

Are you using Windows or Mac? If it’s Windows, try below:

Restart the Windows Bluetooth Support Service

  1. Press the Windows Key + R together, type ‘services.msc’ in the dialog box that appears, and then press Enter.
  2. In the Services window, find the ‘Bluetooth Support Service’ entry, right-click it, and choose Restart.
  3. Make sure the Bluetooth Support Service startup type is set to ‘Automatic’ (right-click on ‘Bluetooth Support Service’, select ‘Properties’ and in the Startup type dropdown menu, select ‘Automatic’.
10

Mac. Disconnecting the MC8 Pro did it. I can now reconnect it via USB-C, but not via Bluetooth.

11

Ok, that’s a bit odd but not unheard of i.e. Macs are a LOT more reliable with BLE MIDI than PCs.

  1. Which version of macOS are you running?
  2. Which browser are you using for the editor i.e. Chrome or Brave?
  3. Have you tried the other browser?
  4. Have you tried the standalone editor app? Release Desktop Editor v3.13.2 · Morningstar-Engineering/Desktop-Editor-MKII · GitHub
  5. Try deleting the MC8 Pro BT device from macOS Bluetooth prefs, restart your Mac and then pair again using the editor.
  6. If all else fails, you can manually connect the MC8P BT via macOS MIDI Studio and then connect to that port in the editor.
12

Running the latest MacOS on Mac Mini M4. (But also trying with other devices like laptops, phones, iPad).

Using exclusively the Editor Apps, no browser versions.

I can’t delete it, because I don’t see it. None of my devices show the MC8 pro as a Bluetooth device (as I described above).

13

You actually mentioned that you’d connected to the editor “sometimes”; was this on an iOS device or the Mac?

Does MIDI Studio on the Mac see it? This is the definitive test.

14

By the way, the browser version of the editor will always be more up to date than standalone editor app on Mac. I strongly recommend that you try the browser editor on Mac

15

It was on the Mac.

Not sure what MIDI Studio is?

16

I would need to use chrome for that and I don’t wanna use chrome. Also I think that the App should be up to date. Otherwise, what is it for?

17

The browser editor can have updates pushed out to it instantly whereas the standalone app has to be compiled for each update, and therefore is only updated periodically. If you don’t want to use Chrome, use Brave.

MIDI Studio is part of the Audio MIDI Setup application in macOS and is located in the Utilities folder. Open Audio MIDI Setup, go to the Window menu and select “Show MIDI Studio”. In MIDI Studio, find and click on the Bluetooth icon; in the Bluetooth pane that appears, let me know if the MC8P BT is there when it’s powered up.

18

Don’t wanna use chrome, don’t wanna use brave. Just wanna use the App. As you do with pretty much any software of any device.

It does show there. It doesn’t under the “normal” bluetooth menu though.

19

If your Mac can see the MC8 Pro BT in MIDI Studio, the issue isn’t the MC8 Pro and unless you troubleshoot with other options, you’re not going to get to the reason. It’s up to you :man_shrugging:t2:

Regardless, connect to the MC8 Pro in MIDI Studio and you should be able to connect to this port in the editor.

20

Your Mac (or any iOS device) WON’T see the MC8P BT in the regular Bluetooth menu because BLE MIDI devices don’t appear like regular Bluetooth devices.