Steinberg Groove Agent 3 Operation Manual

Groove Agent 3
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When recording a typical Special Agent style, Rasmus proceeded as 
follows. Of all those 25 levels in a style (A-B-C-D-E-1-2-3-…-20) he 
usually started at complexity level 8. He worked his way up to the 
rather extravagant level 20 and then started from level A. At the end of 
the session he would reach level 7, the one next to level 8 where he 
started 20 minutes ago. Now, levels 7 and 8 are supposed to contain 
the same logical progression as between all other consecutive...

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Using Groove Agent in Classic Mode
Here’s an extremely compact version for the impatient amongst you:
With Groove Agent in Classic Mode, choose a musical genre by 
dragging the upper slider and select a style from the pull-down menu. 
Make sure the lower slider is somewhere in the middle third of its total 
travel and that the tempo is inside the tempo range of the chosen 
style. Start your sequencer, and when you want the drums to start 
playing, hit Run in Groove...

Groove Agent 3
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The LCD window
The information given in this window 
is mostly self explanatory, but let us 
give you the most useful tip of all: 
When navigating the Style and Com-
plexity sliders, the big LCD window 
always tells you the current status of 
your selections. 
We’ve crammed a total of 108 styles 
under the 15 genres selectable from 
the top slider. If you think it’s difficult to find the style you’re after, the 
LCD window also offers an alternative method of making selections....

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Dual Mode button
This button takes you to the brand new Dual Mode, 
where many exciting new features await you. Click-
ing on “To Classic” takes you back to the “old style” 
Groove Agent Classic Mode.
The Style slider
The top slider is probably the most important gadget in the entire in-
strument. Those of you old enough to remember earlier versions of 
Groove Agent will notice an immediate change here. We’ve changed 
the way styles are handled, because their total...

Groove Agent 3
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Every style has its own carefully crafted drum kit assigned to it. Many 
of the early styles sound vintage by today’s standards – both musi-
cally and soundwise – and that’s exactly the point!
When first selecting a style, the plug-in will take a few seconds to 
load the samples. When you move to another style, there are a few 
seconds of loading time again. But if you go back to the first style 
again, loading time will be much shorter, because the samples are still 
in your...

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The Complexity slider
This tool is also very important, since it makes the drumming built into 
Groove Agent come alive. Getting acquainted with this slider 
shouldn’t be too problematic, since its behavior is very predictable. 
If you move this slider to the left, you’ll reach the simpler levels of com-
plexity. As a matter of fact, the first levels – named A, B, C, D, and E – 
are usually not even complete patterns. Something is missing here, be 
it a kick drum or a...

Groove Agent 3
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The Complexity Link button
The 25 levels of complexity each have their own unique 
fill. By moving the slider to a certain level and then hit-
ting the Fill button, you’ll hear that level’s fill.
You can also separate the two halves of the slider. When you click the 
Link button, the two halves can be dragged individually. In this mode, 
it’s perfectly possible to use a very simple rhythm and activate a rather 
complex fill. Or vice versa.
You may also find the Link button...

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Accent
This button triggers a kick + crash cymbal hit. You 
may use it as an accent in your song. When hit at an 
offbeat, the accent hit becomes a syncope. The cur-
rent drum pattern stops for as long as you keep the 
button pressed. Holding down the Accent button for 
approximately one quarter note after you hit it on an 
off-beat creates a very realistic syncope. 
Fill
This is one of the most rewarding buttons of Groove 
Agent! A drum machine that plays its patterns...

Groove Agent 3
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Half Tempo Feel
One trick many live drummers use is to change their 
playing to “half tempo feel”. It usually involves slowing 
down the kick and snare pattern to half tempo while 
keeping the hihat/ride pattern going. Figge, one of the 
musicians involved in this project, suggested that we 
include this feature in Groove Agent. After some serious thought, we 
decided it would definitely be a big bonus; there aren’t too many drum 
machines out there with a “Half Tempo Feel”...

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Auto Fill
Here’s a handy little knob. It can automate the way fills are 
triggered:
•On – When you move from one complexity level to another with Auto 
Fill activated, Groove Agent automatically plays a fill before the next 
level.
•2, 4, 8, 12 or 16 – A fill is triggered automatically every second, fourth, 
8th, 12th or 16th bar, but NOT when you change complexity level. 
This is perfect for those moments when you’re jamming along with 
Groove Agent and your hands are...