Steinberg Groove Agent 4 Manual

							Beat Agent
Sound Editing91
NOTE
If you adjust the gain of the sample, the amplitude of the waveform in the  Sample 
editor changes. This might be confounded with an adjustment to the vertical zoom 
of the waveform. To get a better visual feedback, set the vertical zoom to the 
minimum before you adjust the gain.
To play back the sample at its original level, set the  Gain parameter to 0.0 dB.
Trimming Samples
In the  Sample  editor, you can trim samples to the start and end markers, or to the 
selection.
• To trim the sample to the start and end markers, adjust the markers and click  the Trim  button on 

the toolbar.
• To trim the sample to a selectio n, make a sele
 ction and click the Trim button 
on the toolbar.
NOTE
The trim functions are also availa ble on the context menu of the Sample editor.
All trim operations can be undone.
• To undo a trim operation, click the  Rev
 ert to Full Sample button on the 
toolbar, or right-click  the sample and select Revert to Full Sample  from the 
context menu.
NOTE
After undoing the trim functions, make su re to set the start/end markers to their 
original positions, otherwise these parts are not included in the playback.
Slice Tab
On the Slice tab, you can slice audio loops and automatically map the slices to 
instrument pads. During this process, a MIDI  track is created and is associated with 
the first empty pattern pad.
After slicing a loop, you can play back the entire loop via the pattern pad or trigger 
individual slices with  t

he instrument pads.
Toolbar
The toolbar contains several tools that are also available on the  Sample tab. In 
addition, the followin g tools are available:
Play Slice Activate this button to play back  
 slices when clicking on them. 
						

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Lock SlicesActivate this button to prevent slice ma rkers from being moved. Locked slices 
are
  shown with red markers.
Jump to Previous/Next Slice Click these buttons to jump to the next/previous slice.
BPM Displays the tempo of the loop, as read from the sample file or calculated from 
the sam
 ple length.
You can adjust this value manually.
Bars/Beats Shows the length of the sample found by the automatic tempo detection, in 
bar
s and beats. You can adjust this value manually, which has an effect on the 
grid and the tempo.
Parameter Section
Create/Remove Slices
Click this button to create slices for the se
 lected loop. If slices exist, click this 
button to remove them.
Slice Detection Mode The slice detection automatically sets  slice
  markers in the sample waveform. 
The following modes for slice detection are available:
• Transient  
 mode allows you to specify the minimum peak level that a 
transient needs to become a slice marker.
• Grid mode sets the slice markers according to a beat grid.
You can combine the  Transient and Grid modes to detect slices that 
match both conditions.
•In  Manual mode, no automatic slice detection is performed. Instead, 
you can add and remove slices manually by [Alt]/[Option]-clicking in the 
waveform.
Threshold Determines the minimum leve l t
 hat a transient must have to be detected as 
the start of a new slice.
Min Length Determines the minimum length of a slice. Use this to avoid creating 
u
nwanted short slices.
Grid Catch In Transie
nt+Grid  mode, you can use this control to specify how close to the 
grid a transient marker must be.
Fade In/Out Sets the length of the fade in and the fade out for all slices of the loop. 
						

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Sound Editing93
MIDI Export FieldYou can export the MIDI phrase by dra gging the MIDI 
 export field on a MIDI 
track in your host application.
Slicing a loop
PREREQUISITE 
To slice a loop, it is best to start with an empty kit.
NOTE
The maximum number of slices is 128. Therefore, it is recommended to start on a 
pad that is assigned to a lower note, so  that enough empty pads are available.
PROCEDURE
1. Drop the audio loop on the instrument pad that you want to start with.
2. Open the Slice tab and click  Create Slices .
If the number of slices exceeds the number of available pads, some slices cannot be 
mapped to instrument pads. These slices ar e shown in red in the waveform display. 
In this case, the loop plays only with  the length of the mapped slices.
3. Adjust the parameters on the Slice tab to create the best set of slices.
Any changes that lead to more or less slices  will create slices on or remove slices 
from pads.
Automatically Classifying Drum Sounds
The Slice  page offers a sophisticated  Classify Slices feature to analyze sliced 
drum loops. This function analyzes the slices and assigns them automatically to one 
of five basic classes: kick, snare, hihat, tom, and percussion.
Each slice is assigned to the class it comes the closest to. For example, a kick drum 
with some hihat on top will still be assign ed to the “kick” class. The name of the 
class and its predefined color is displayed in the classifier section in the lower part 
of the waveform display. You can also define your own default class colors. Class 
colors and class names are transferred to the instrument pads as soon as you 
classify the slices. This helps you to get a better overview when working with sliced 
loops.
NOTE
Some slices are hard to analyze. For example, a kick drum with a crash cymbal on 
top could be recognized as a snare drum, or a very deep tom could be recognized 
as kick drum. You can assign these slices manually to classes.
PROCEDURE
1. Open a kit and load a drum loop onto an instrument pad.
2. On the  Slice page, click  Create Slices . 
						

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Sound Editing94
3. Optional: Adjust the Threshold and Min Length parameters.
4. Activate  Classify Slices .
RESULT 
The slices are analyzed and automatically assigned to one of the five classes. The 
color and the names of the instrument pads change accordingly.
NOTE
Very short slices cannot be recognized correctly and are not assigned to classes. 
In this case, the color and the name of the slices do not change. You can assign 
these slices manually to classes.
NOTE
Claps and sidestick are recognized as snare class. Cymbals, shaker, and 
tambourine are part of the hihat class.
Manually Classifying Slices
If the automatic classifying did not work because the slices are too short or if slices 
were classified wrongly, you can manually set the class for a slice.
• To manually set the class for a slice, click the classifier section of the slice that  yo
 u want to modify, and select the correct class from the menu.
• To discard you modifications, right-click the classifier section and select  Re
 set Classes .
Selecting all Slice Pads  of the Same Class
You can select all pads that contain slices of  the same drum class. This is useful if 
you want to apply the same editing on all slices of a drum class.
P
REREQUISITE 
Use the  Classify  function for a sliced loop.
This function is available on the pad cont ext menu and on the context menu for the 
slice classes in the classifier section.
• Right-click a pad in th e pad 
 section and select Select Pads of Same Class  
on the context menu.
• On the  Slice tab, 
 right-click the classifier section of a slice that has the right 
drum class and select  Select Pads of Same Class  on the context menu.
R
ESULT 
All pads of the current sliced loop that co ntain slices of the same class are selected. 
Pads containing slices from other loops are not taken into account. 
						

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Sound Editing95
Replacing Slices With Slices of the Same Drum Class
In the Pattern  editor, you can set all notes that be long to slices of the same drum 
class to a specific key out of that drum class. This way, all notes of a drum class play 
with the same slice. If some of the kick slices play in combination with a hihat and 
other kick slices play alone, you can set all notes of the kick class to a slice that plays 
alone. This allows for a more consistent sound.
PROCEDURE
1. Load a sliced drum loop.
2. Classify the slices.
3. Open the  Patter
 n editor, right-click the slice that you want to use for playing 
all note events of that drum class, and select  Set Notes of Same Class to 
[key].
RESULT 
The notes of the other slices of the same  class are set to the key of the slice that 
you selected.
Drum Class Colors
• To modify a class color, right-click the classifier section of a slice and select  a new color from the  Set Class Color submenu. All slices that belong to the 
same class change to this color.
• To return to the default class colors, right-click the classifier section of a slice  and select
  Apply Default Class Colors .
• To save your class colors as default, ri g
 ht-click the classifier section of a slice 
and select  Save Class Colors as Default . From now on, the classes use your 
class color settings.
• To reset the colors to the factory settin gs, righ
 t-click the classifier section of 
a slice and select  Reset Class Colors to Factory .
Adding and Removing Slices
• To add a slice marker, [Alt]/[O ption]-click in the editor.
• To remove a slice marker, [Alt]/[Option]-click it.
NOTE
The number of slices that can be created is limited to the number of available empty 
instrument pads. 
						

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Pattern Editing96
Pattern Editing
On the Edit page for pattern pads, you can make settings for the MIDI patterns.
• To open the Edit  page, click 
 the Edit  button in the upper right section of the 
plug-in panel.
The  Edit 
page contains the  Agent, Overview , and Pattern tabs.
The pattern editing functions for the Beat Agent are all described in the chapter 
“Working with Pads”.
R
ELATED LINKS
Working With Pads on  page 35
Mixing
Each agent comes with a dedicated  Agent mixer that contains agent-specific 
options and settings.
The  AUX  mixer,  Kit mixer, and  Master mixer
  are available for all agents, and are 
described in a separate chapter.
R
ELATED LINKS
Mixing and Effect Handling on  page 126 
						

							Beat Agent
Mixing97
Agent Mixer
The Beat Agent Agent Mixer offers 16 busses. You can assign the output of the 
individual samples to one of these busses. By default, the output of the Agent  mixer 
busses is routed to the  Kit mixer, but you can also assign the busses to one of the 
plug-in outputs and to the AUX FX 1 to 4.
In the top right corner of the  Agent 
 mixer, you can find the global Mute and Solo 
buttons.
•To reset all Mute  buttons 
 of the Agent mixer, click the global  Mute button.
•To reset all Solo  buttons of 
 the Agent  mixer, click the global  Solo button.
You can access the busses via the numbered buttons at the top.
• Click the buttons  1, 2 , 3 , or
  4  to display the busses 1 to 4, 5 to 8, 9 to 12, and 
13 to 16, respectively.
• To assign a sample to an  Agent mixer bus, 
 open the Edit page for the 
Instrument  page. Then open the  Main tab, select the pad that you want to 
edit, and select the bus from the  Output pop-up menu.
Parameters
Level
The level fader allows you to adjust the volume of the bus.
Pan Sets the position of the bus in the stereo panorama.
Mute Activate this to mute the bus.
Meter The meters of the mixer channel show the output level of the bus.
Peak Level Meter The meter indicates the highest level on the bus in dB. To reset the peak 
met
er, click on the value field. 
						

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Importing and Exporting Files98
Insert Effect SlotsYou can use the 4 slots on the right of the channel strip to add insert effects 
to t
he bus.
Sends 1–4 Use these sliders to send the channe l 
 signal to the corresponding AUX 
busses.
Bus Name At the bottom of a channel strip,  the name of 
 the bus is displayed.
• To rename a bus, double-click its name and enter a new name.
Importing and Exporting Files
Importing MPC and GAK Files
You can import AKAI MPC 500 and MPC  1000 files and GAK files created in 
Groove Agent ONE into Groove Agent.
You can import the files in the following ways:
• Drag a file from the Windows Explorer/Mac OS Finder onto the slot in the kit  slot sect
 ion or on the kit name in the kit rack.
• On the context menu for the kit, select  Impo
 rt, select the file in the dialog, and 
click  OK.
NOTE
When importing GAK files, you will be asked to specify the folder in which to save 
the included files.
Importing REX Files and Sliced Loops
You can import REX files and sliced audi o parts from Cubase/Nuendo into Groove 
Agent.
• To import a REX file or a sliced audio pa rt
  into Groove Agent, drop it onto an 
empty pad.
The slices are automatically distributed  across the pads, 
 and a MIDI phrase is 
created and assigned to th e first empty pattern pad.
Once the file is imported, you can trigger th e slices with the instrument pads, or play 
back th
 e entire loop by tr iggering the pattern pad.
Imported REX files and sliced audio part s are treated like audio loops that were 
sliced in Groove Agent. 
						

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Importing and Exporting Files99
Pads that are part of the sliced loop display a loop icon. The pad that contains the 
first slice displays a larger loop icon.
NOTE
If the number of available pads is not hi gh enough to map all slices to pads, the 
slices that could not be added are shown in red on the slice edit page. You can 
move pads using drag and drop to free  the necessary pads. As soon as enough 
pads are available, the slices that could not be mapped are automatically added.
NOTE
If you import a REX file, the Slice Mode in the slice editor is automatically set to 
Manual , to preserve the slice markers specified in the REX file. Note, however, that 
in some cases, the slices saved in a REX file may not represent a useful audio loop.
Exporting Kits with Samples
Groove Agent kits can be exported together with the associated samples.
PROCEDURE
1. Right-click the kit in the kit bar and select Export Kit with Samples  from the 
context menu.
2. In the dialog, specify a name and a location for the file.
RESULT 
The kit file is created together with a folder containing the samples.
NOTE
Samples that are part of  the protected factory content cannot be exported.
Finding Missing Samples
There might be situations where loaded programs cannot find the samples they use. 
This can happen if the referenced sample s are located on a different drive and the 
drive name has changed, or because the program was created on a different 
computer system.
When this happens, the  Find Missing Sample dialog opens, showing a list of all 
samples that are missing, with additional information about the format, size, and 
creation date. The list groups all sample s that are located in the same subfolder.
Entering a Search Path
In the Find Missing Sample  dialog, below the list of missing samples, you can enter 
the search path to fi nd the missing samples. 
						

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Importing and Exporting Files100
NOTE
All subdirectories are searched before the results are displayed, therefore the 
search takes longer if you specify entire drives.
Starting the Search
Once you have specified the search path, click the Start Search button to start the 
search process.
If the search only finds a single result  for each missing sample, the sample path is 
automatically corrected in the progra m and the sample disappears from the 
Missing Files  list. If all samples are found, the dialog is closed.
Multiple Results
If sample files with the same name are foun d in more than one location, an additional 
Found File  list appears below the  Missing File list. This shows the available 
samples and their file locations.
• To select a sample or a complete folder that is to be used to resolve the  mi
 ssing samples, double-click it in the  Found Files list.
Each sample or folder that is re solved this 
 way disappears from the Missing 
File  list.
Once all samples  are
  resolved the dialog closes.
Favorite Paths
If a path might be helpful for future searches, you can add it to the search path list. 
The next time the dialog opens, it allows  you to select one or multiple predefined 
paths to specify which places to include in the search.
• To add a path, click the +  sign.
Search Options
By default, Groove Agent searches for samp les that do not only have the same file 
name, but also correspond in terms of time , size, and format information. A sample 
is considered “found” only if all of the  information is identical. However, you can 
exclude this information by activating the  Ignore File Time and Size and Ignore 
Audio Format  options.