Lexicon MPX 1 - MIDI program change issue - Need help

HellraiserJohnny

HellraiserJohnny

Member
I'm asking for help if some one knows how to resolve this issue programming MIDI patch changes.
I just got a Lexicon MPX 1 (Ver. 1.10) and I love it but have an issue with MIDI Program change.
I have built and modified several of my own FX but they willl only store in pre-sets 200-250.
My MIDI controller can only send program changes for pre-sets 1-99.
I have several other FX units in the MIDI chain but each of them have internal program mapping to overcome this issue.
It is clearly not as strait forward or as easy on the MPX 1

I have read the manual several times (No this is NOT an RTFM issue) and unfortunately, it might as well be written in Sanskrit
The manual tells you WHERE to do things but not HOW to do it!
I have tried every option to offset, maps and set the program databases to match my MIDI controller but each choice seems to have some limitation or adverse effect on how I call up patches 200-250.

Put simply, I need The Lexicon MPX to equate MIDI program changes from my foot controller (1-99) to match MPX presets (200-250) and have it stay set this way (default) each time I turn on the rig.

I'm hoping in the last 30 years or so some one else has run into this issue and can help find a solution.
:doh: :confused: :aww: :no:
Thanks For reading
 
OK LOL... Programming the MPX-1 is quite convoluted but the tonal rewards are great. Here's how to do what you want :

First go to the "System/Midi/Midi Maps" menu. Create a midi map starting at program 201 by pressing "options", selecting "Start at n", "n" being 201 (user programs start at 201, not 200 BTW).

Once this is done, get out of the System menu, press "Program" then "Options", then select option "Show members of midi map". That will activate your midi map.

That's it. Off you go ! See page 5-10 of the manual for future reference.

Another option with an advanced midi controller would be to transmit CC #32 with value 3 (which translates to "bank select #3" for the MPX-1, bank #3 being the user bank starting at 201) before sending a program change. that would work too. :thumbsup:
 
Jack - Thank you! I will try this tonight and let you know. I tried something close to this but the manual had me so confused I do even know how I got to that section when I was in it. Knowing the key presses in the correct order is very helpful.
 
Jack, OK great it's working . . . again many thanks!
New Issue. . . Now that I am stepping through the user patch #'s. I'm going back to the system patches and making edits. When I did this before setting up the map, any edited program would be saved to the next available user patch. So far so good, but when it asks me to save (say at 207) and I press "yes" it says "memory protected". So can I NOT save to the user patches anymore because I created a MAP?

Please let me know if I have to change something to allow it to save to user patches. This thing is really more complex than I bargained for but since it sounds so incredible, I'll doo the homework and research.
 
Ok go to "System/Modes/MemProtect" and the param to "off". This will allow you to save without problem. Not related to the midi maps. Refer to page 5-5 of the manual. I used the thing for 20 years, I know it inside out. It sounds really great, despite the programming complexity. :yes:
 
Jack Luminous":21qncfx1 said:
Ok go to "System/Modes/MemProtect" and the param to "off". This will allow you to save without problem. Not related to the midi maps. Refer to page 5-5 of the manual. I used the thing for 20 years, I know it inside out. It sounds really great, despite the programming complexity. :yes:
Click to expand...

Thanks again! I'm getting the hang of this thing! Although I'm a a newb to the MPX, it's starting to make sense to the point where I can find what I want and program the controller to pull it up.

Now if I can start understanding how to customize the stock patches or create my own (Yes I know, Start at 200!) I'll really get to hear what this thing can do. I'm working on it.

Your a credit to this site Jack.
 
Hey Jack.
Thanks for posting this.
The programming on this unit is SO convoluted!

You helped a LOT.

I still have an issue with the main screen always returning to the advertising screen, for lack of a more precise term, seconds after doing any work on it that says, "Dual processor effects, 250 programs to choose from..." that scrolls continuously across the screen and I must press a button or turn the knob to get it to go away to get back to a usable screen, only to have it return in seconds if I don't enter anything.

It's very annoying.
I wrote to Lexicon and got no response.

Any idea how to get rid of that?

Thank you, in advance, for your help.

B
 
Yes indeed the mpx-1 is a dual engine machine in disguise. One engine is for the reverb alone, and the other for everything else. I don't find the routing map that hard to understand. There's an upper path and a lower path and it's quite similar to many other machines.
 
I need a bit of help. Ten years ago I knew how to save the user programs from an MPX-1 to my old Peavey MIDI filer.

I can send a file that I saved years ago to an MPX-1. Did that in my shop today

I tried saving the user Programs (bank 3). But had no luck I tried to dump All Programs but the file was very small. Little over 800 bytes. The old files I saved some years ago are around 44,000 bytes


Any help appreciated
 
Maybe try changing the transmit speed (press "options" at the same screen as data dump) and see if it enhance things ? Normally it should work easily. What software are you using to receive the sysex ? Also some midi interfaces don't like big sysex because thay have too small an internal buffer. It can be a problem. What midi interface are you using ? I advise Roland UM-1, it works great.
 
Thanks for the quick reply, Jack

I use Peavey MIDI Filers in my shop. Transmitted data to them from a Lexicon about years ago. Was able to transmit that back into one of two I’m working on


I’ll try a slower transmit speed and let you know
 
CLUBTURBO said:
The Lexicon Custom Shop existed briefly before the Harmon Music Group acquired the brand, and operations moved from Bedford, Massachusetts to Sandy, Utah. It appears to have centered around the creation of the MPX G2, and to have involved several famous guitarists in development according the the G2 User Guide. It seems to have ended after the release of the G2/R1 combination and the Signature 284 preamp, as nothing more was ever released with the Custom Shop designation. So the MPX R1 is a MIDI controller that was designed to work in tandem with the Lexicon MPX 1 and the MPX G2. Additionally, it can function as a standalone controller for *any* MIDI application. When used with the aforementioned MPX duo, some unique capabilities are available via SysEx messages, MIDI Maps, and "simultaneous transmission of up to 8 MIDI Program Change Messages on separate channels, 16 MIDI Controller On/Off messages on 16 separate channels, one Song Select message, and one relay state" with a single button push. The MIDI implementation in the two MPX processors remains uniquely powerful some 20 plus years later, and the R1 provides stompbox style control over effects switching. Paired with a G2, the R1 becomes a virtual pedalboard. Users can turn effects on and off individually or in groups as they choose. The MPX processors and the R1 were very much ahead of their time, and built well enough that they still move into and out of players' rigs more than 2 decades later, with instances appearing on auction sites fairly often, and at a fraction of the price from when first released. Nothing is perfect, however, and the R1 has a flaw that's nearly fatal: the cost-saving use of tact switches instead of real SPST switches under each button on the pedal. As shipped, the buttons worked fine, but succumb to failure after years of use. This occurs for 2 reasons. First, when you step on a button, it compresses a tiny ball point pen style spring onto the surface of the tact switch, causing the switch to actuate and turn the related effect on/off. Years of stomping can cause this spring to lose its strength to provide sufficient pressure to actuate the switch, which will in a worst case cause the related effect to flicker back and forth between on/off states undesirably. Secondly, the internals of the tact switch eventually succumb to oxidation, also resulting in the switch alternating between on/off states undesirably. When combined, these two issues can make the pedal too frustrating to deal with, and reliability was compromised. This pedal sold for something around $700 new, and many reviewers argued that for that price real, mechanical switches should have been implemented. While I can only guess at how much more expensive that would have made the R1, currently specimens in good physical shape can be found on various auction sites for around $200 or so. For the DIY players, replacement switches of similar specs are readily & cheaply available through online electronic parts suppliers like Mouser and Digikey. A bag of 50 costs around $30 in April 2019, and if you're handy with a soldering iron, you can resurrect one of these in an afternoon. There are 16 of these switches mounted on the PCB, 4 lugs each; just use caution that you don't lose the tiny springs under each button when disassembling. I've used mine since 1997, and found I needed to replace the switches about once every 10 years. Those not inclined to DIY should know that Lexicon no longer repair these devices, but in March 2019 supplied phone numbers to 3 authorized service centers located in the U.S. I did not call to get a price, as I was able to handle the job myself. As the pedal uses standard MIDI protocol to send CC messages, I've used it with an Uno MIDI sport to connect it to a PC, and used it to control amp sims in Amplitube 4 and Ableton Live. Final caveat: There is a proprietary power adaptor used with the G2/R1 combo that allows a single 7-pin MIDI cable to handle both the MIDI messages and juice the R1 needs to function, so a clean setup can be achieved with a single cable running to the R1. I can't speak to how readily available a substitute power supply might be, and if you're considering picking one of these up, try to get one with the power supply included. Switch issues notwithstanding, this thing is built like a tank, weighs over 9 lbs, and should provide years of MIDI based fun
Click to expand...
I have a brand new R1 in a box somewhere that I never used used with my G2. I should dig it out and use it.
 
I found the issue was a setting on my Midi-Filer. It was set to end receiving data on EOX. It thought is was getting an end of transmission signal way to early. I changed to setting to receiving data only with the stop switch

Worked perfect!!

Thanks again
 
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