The MRCC’s four USB 2.0 host ports are designed to support USB MIDI Class Compliant Devices. That is, USB MIDI devices that do not require a special driver to function. The USB host ports are designed to work best with USB MIDI controllers.

The host ports can also accommodate a standard USB keyboard for entering port labels.

At this time, the USB Host ports do not support a USB hub for expanding the number of ports. We plan to investigate adding hub support. Keep an eye on the MRCC user forum for announcements of firmware updates.

Check out the MRCC USB Host Port Compatibility Tracker for reported compatibility with specific devices.

One way to tell if the device is USB MIDI Class compliant or not; if you have to install a driver on Windows or Apple OS to use the device, then it’s probably not class compliant. However, there are exceptions. For instance, some Korg devices, like the nanoKontrol will use a driver that is required to configure the device, but also works fine as a USB MIDI device without the driver.

If you are having trouble with a device, please check with the vendor of the device to find out if it is supposed to be USB MIDI Class Compliant.

USB is a complex and timing sensitive interface. Some USB MIDI devices may pose problems for the MRCC USB host ports. Please report your experiences on the MRCC user forum. We will do our best to address compatibility issues, but cannot guarantee success with every device. Using the 5 pin DIN is always a good option if your device has it. Performance is the same whether using 5 pin DIN or USB on MRCC.