Steinberg Groove Agent 2 Manual

							 
Groove Agent
 
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System requirements (Mac version)
 
To run Groove Agent you’ll need: 
•A Power Mac G4 867 MHz computer (Power Mac G4 Dual and 1.25 GHz or 
faster recommended).
•384 MB of RAM (512 MB recommended).
•450 MB of hard disk space.
•Mac OS X version 10.3 or higher.
•CoreAudio compatible audio hardware.
•If you want to use Groove Agent as a plug-in, you’ll need Cubase or Nuendo 
(version 1.5 or higher) or another VST 2.0 or AU compatible host application. 
Please note that some features may not be supported in other host applications.
•A Steinberg Key and a free USB port.
•Monitor and graphics card supporting 1024 x 768 resolution (a dual monitor 
setup and a display resolution of 1152 x 864 are recommended).
 
❐
 
Please also observe the system requirements of your host application.
 
Installing Groove Agent (Mac version)
 
To install Groove Agent on your Mac: 
1. 
Switch on your computer and insert the Groove Agent CD ROM. 
2. 
If the CD window doesn’t open automatically, double-click on the 
Groove Agent icon. 
3. 
Double-click on the Groove Agent Installer icon to run the installation 
program, and follow the on-screen instructions. 
						

							 
Groove Agent
 
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Activating the Steinberg Key
 
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Whether you bought a new key when you bought Groove Agent, or if you 
want to use one you previously bought with a different Steinberg product: 
your Steinberg Key does not yet contain a valid license for Groove Agent. 
 
You must download a license to it before you can launch Groove Agent!
 
Use the activation code supplied with the program in order to down-
load a valid Groove Agent license to your Steinberg Key. This process 
is the same both for existing and new keys. Proceed as follows: 
1. 
After installation and restarting the computer, plug the Steinberg Key 
into the USB port. 
If you are unsure of which port this is, consult the computer’s documentation.
 
2. 
If this is the first time a copy protection device is plugged in, it will be 
registered as a new hardware device, and a dialog will appear asking 
you whether you would like to find drivers for the device manually or 
automatically.  
Choose to find drivers automatically. The dialog closes, and you may have to reboot 
your computer.
 
3. 
Make sure that your computer has a working internet connection. 
License download is made “online”. If your Groove Agent computer isn’t connected to 
the internet, it’s possible to use another computer for the online connection – proceed 
with the steps below and see the help for the License Control Center application.
 
4. 
Launch the “License Control Center” application (found in the Win-
dows Start menu under “Syncrosoft” or in the Macintosh Applications 
folder). 
This application allows you to view your Steinberg Keys and load or transfer licenses.
 
5. 
Use the License Control Center “Wizard” function and the activation 
code supplied with Groove Agent to download the license to your 
Key. Simply follow the on-screen instructions. 
If you are uncertain about how to proceed, consult the help for LCC.
 
When the activation process has completed, you are ready to launch 
Groove Agent! 
						

							 
Groove Agent
 
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Setting up Groove Agent as a VST instrument 
in your host application
 
This section describes how to set up Groove Agent with Cubase SX 
as your host application. However, the same procedure applies to 
most host applications, and you should consult your host’s documen-
tation if you need further help.
Make sure the host program has been correctly installed and set up to 
work with your MIDI and audio hardware (e.g. MIDI keyboard and an 
audio card).
To set up Groove Agent: 
1. 
Open the VST Instruments window. 
2. 
Click the “No Instruments” label and select Groove Agent from the 
pop-up menu. 
3. 
Wait for a few seconds while Groove Agent loads its default style 
samples. The Groove Agent window opens automatically. 
4. 
In the VST host application, select Groove Agent as the output for a 
MIDI track. 
						

							 
Groove Agent
 
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Setting up Groove Agent as a DXi2 instrument
 
❐
 
The information in this section refers to using Groove Agent within Cake-
walk SONAR. We assume that you have correctly set up both SONAR 
and your available MIDI and audio hardware. Should you wish to use 
Groove Agent within another DXi2 compatible host application, please 
 
refer to its documentation.
 
Proceed as follows to activate Groove Agent: 
1. 
Make sure that SONAR receives MIDI data that you generate with 
your external MIDI master keyboard. You can check this visually with 
the “MIDI In/Out Activity” tray icon. 
2. 
In SONAR, open the “Synth Rack” window from the View menu. 
3. 
Click the Insert button (or select the Insert option on the main menu). 
4. 
Open the DXi Synth submenu and select “Groove Agent” from the 
pop-up menu. 
5. 
By default the “Insert DXi Options” dialog appears. To create one MIDI 
track and connect an audio track to Groove Agent’s 1+2 outputs, ac-
tivate the options “Midi Source Track” and “First Synth Output”. To 
create all available Groove Agent outputs activate “All Synth Outputs”. 
Refer to your host application’s documentation for further details. 
6. 
Clicking the “Connection State” button in the Synth Rack will acti-
vate/deactivate Groove Agent. By default this is automatically acti-
vated when DXi SoftSynths are loaded. 
7. Double-click on the “Groove Agent” entry or click the “Synth Proper-
ties” button in the tool bar of the Synth Rack to open the Groove Agent 
window.  
8. 
In SONAR, select the previously created MIDI track “Groove Agent”. 
Groove Agent will now receive MIDI data from the selected track. 
Groove Agent receives MIDI data in 16 channel multi-mode. It is therefore not neces-
sary to assign a specific MIDI receive channel in Groove Agent. However, you should 
make sure that the MIDI channel of the currently selected SONAR track is set to the 
channel on which Groove Agent is to receive MIDI data.  
						

							 
Groove Agent
 
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Using Groove Agent in an AU compatible 
application
 
You can use Groove Agent in an AU host application (e. g. Logic).
The Groove Agent AU version is installed in the folder “Library/Audio/
Plug-ins/Components” and lets Groove Agent work in an AU environ-
ment – without any performance loss or incompatibilities.
For Logic Pro 7 proceed as follows: 
1. 
Open the Track Mixer and choose the desired Instrument channel. 
2. 
[Command]-click the I/O field and, in the pop-up menu that appears, 
choose either Multi-Channel or Stereo. 
3. 
In the sub-menu that appears, select All Instruments and then Groove 
Agent. 
Groove Agent is now loaded as an AU instrument.
 
When set, you are ready to load some samples and start using 
Groove Agent! 
						

							 
Groove Agent
 
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Groove Agent stand-alone and ReWire
 
Groove Agent can be used as a stand-alone application, indepen-
dently of any host application. This makes it possible to use Groove 
Agent in sequencer applications that do not support one of the pro-
vided plug-in formats of Groove Agent (i. e. VST, DXi, AU), but allow 
for data exchange using ReWire.
ReWire2 is a special protocol for streaming audio and MIDI data be-
tween two computer applications. When using ReWire, the order in 
which you launch and quit the two programs is very important, as the 
first audio application launched will capture the sound card resources. 
Proceed as follows: 
1. 
First, launch the sequencer application you wish to use (e. g. Ableton 
Live, ProTools). 
If your sequencer supports ReWire, it will provide a way to assign audio and MIDI 
channels for the exchange of data. See the documentation of your sequencer applica-
tion for details.
 
2. 
Now, launch Groove Agent as a stand-alone application. 
If you chose to create desktop and Start menu items during installation of Groove 
Agent, you can launch the program just like any other application on your computer. 
You can also double-click the Groove Agent program file in the installation folder.
 
When you now play a style with Groove Agent, the sound is streamed 
via ReWire to the assigned mixer channels in your host. You can route 
the separate instrument outputs to individual mixer channels (up to 8).
Note that you are now running two completely separate applications. 
When you save your sequencer project, this will include the overall 
channel and bus configuration, but none of the settings in Groove 
Agent! To retain your Groove Agent settings, choose the Save Bank 
command from the Groove Agent File menu. You may want to choose 
a file name that indicates that the file contains settings created for a 
particular sequencer project.
Similarly, when you re-open a project in your sequencer application 
and have launched Groove Agent, use the Load Bank command in 
Groove Agent to reload the Groove Agent settings pertaining to this 
particular project. 
						

							 
Groove Agent
 
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First test
 
Let’s make sure Groove Agent is properly set up and ready to play: 
1. 
If you load Groove Agent as a VST instrument, make sure Groove 
Agent is selected as the output for a MIDI track and that the MIDI 
channel chosen is any other than channel 10. If required, make sure 
your MIDI controller is routed to this track. 
2. 
Open the Groove Agent panel. Move the Style slider to a style of your 
choice. Be prepared to wait for a second or two while Groove Agent 
loads its samples for this style. The green LCD window is helpful here 
with its Loading and Ready messages. 
3. 
Adjust the tempo of your host application to suit each style’s favorite 
tempo range as displayed in the “range” field in the green LCD window. 
4. 
Click Run in the Groove Agent window. Now you should see the red 
LCD meters on the Groove Agent interface flash and the beat light in-
dicate 1-2-3-4. You should also hear cool rhythms streaming from 
your speakers! 
						

							 
Groove Agent
 
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Groove Agent terminology
 
LCD window 
 – The big, green window tells you, at all times, what’s 
going on inside Groove Agent. This is your main source for information. 
LCD meters 
 – These are the cool, red level meters that start flashing 
when Groove Agent is playing. They indicate that sound is being out-
put from Groove Agent, but for more detailed control you should use 
the level meters in your host sequencer. 
Style 
 – A certain musical style, normally linked to a unique drum and 
percussion kit. 
Kit 
 – A special set of drums and percussion associated with each 
style. Style and kit can be chosen separately. 
Complexity 
 – The level of advancement in a style. In Groove Agent 
the complexity levels go from left (simple) to right (advanced). Music 
in general benefits from variations in a song, and in Groove Agent 
they’re easy to reach.
Fill – A live drummer usually plays a fill every eight bars or so, empha-
sizing the song’s structure and movement. A fill may be regarded as 
“an improvised exclamation mark”. Going from the verse into the cho-
rus? Time for a fill!
Half tempo feel – Typically, slowing down the kick and snare pattern 
to half speed, while keeping the rest of the pattern going in the other 
instruments, creates a dramatic effect. This is very typical live drummer 
behavior! Real drummers do this all the time, if you don’t stop them.
Accent – Before drum machines became popular, an accent was a 
marked hit, typically played on the crash cymbal and kick drum. When 
played off beat, like e.g. on the 8th note preceding a bar line, it be-
comes a syncope.
Shuffle – Sometimes referred to as “swing factor”. These terms indi-
cate the relationship between the 8th notes (sometimes 16th notes), 
as these can either be perfect 8ths (“straight 8ths”) or swung (“triplet 
8ths”). 
						

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Limiter – This is probably the first device a recording engineer reaches 
out for when recording drums. Limiting (or compression, the difference 
is not always easily defined) controls the overall output level and can 
also be used as an effect.
Ambience – Groove Agent comes with a complete set of ambience 
recordings for all drums and percussion instruments. The acoustic 
sounds have been recorded with distant microphones and the elec-
tronic sounds have been processed through various reverb and effects 
units.
Dry/Wet – These are terms that describe the two extremes of a sound. 
Either it’s recorded very closely in a damped environment – dry – or 
we’re dealing with the sound recorded from a distance or bathed in 
reverb – wet.
•New in Groove Agent 2 is the right-click menu. We’ve added some 
new features that can be reached by pressing the right mouse button 
or by left-clicking in the logo area. 
Via this menu you can reach the About screen or go to the Groove Agent and Stein-
berg websites. You can also reach new functions like changing the number of mixer 
outputs, edit MIDI output behavior, change the MIDI mute key mode or instruct Groove 
Agent 2 what to do when the host stops. 
						

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About the sounds in this VST instrument
Before we started producing the musical content for this instrument, 
we scanned the market for existing drum libraries we could use. Using 
ready made samples would save us oceans of time (Per “Worra” Lars-
son/SampleTekk is the first person to agree here), but unfortunately 
we could not find anything suitable. Either those libraries were incom-
plete in terms of drum sounds (have you ever seen a sample archive 
that includes “hihat gliss” or “spoons”?) or inconsistent in the way 
they were recorded.
We wanted (1) a complete selection of kits and sounds and (2) ambi-
ent recordings of everything. So we started recording…
The wonderful Studio Kuling in Örebro, Sweden, has the most dramatic 
recording room we’ve ever seen! The room itself is large and mostly 
covered with wood panels, and engineer Jens Bogren certainly knows 
his way around the equipment. With Mats-Erik Björklund playing all in-
struments, sound designers Per “Worra” Larsson/SampleTekk and 
Sven Bornemark started recording multiple velocity levels of each 
sound.
There was an initial agreement that this archive should cover most 
grounds – as many musical landscapes as possible. Therefore we 
decided upon recording all these instruments:
A 50s jazz kit. Not very 
damped, sounds a bit 
loose, sloppy.