Steinberg Groove Agent 4 Manual

							Acoustic Agent
Pattern Editing111
• Double-click in the Intensity value field below the display and enter a new value.
Half Time On/Off
Activates halftime rhythmic feel for the  pl
 ayback of the main pattern. This is 
reached by extending the normal rhythm over two bars rather than by halving 
the tempo. If a style does not contain halftime patterns, this parameter is not 
available.
NOTE
This parameter affects only the main pa tterns. Intros, endings, and fills do not 
support halftime playing.
Auto Complexity
This parameter varies the set  Complexity 
 randomly, creating a less static 
playback of the styles.
To set up the  Auto Com
 plexity parameter, click the Auto Complexity  button 
and select an option from the menu:
• 1/1 bar  
 – The complexity varies randomly after a full bar.
• 1/2 bar  – The complexity varies randomly after half of a bar.
• 1 – The complexity is increased on the  first beat of a bar. All other beats 
of the bar have the same or a lower complexity.
• 1+3 – The complexity is increased on  the first and the third beat of a 
bar. The other beats have the same or a lower complexity.
• 2+4 – The complexity is increased on beat 2 and 4 of the bar. All other 
beats of the bar have the same or a lower complexity.
• 1+4 – The complexity is increased on beat 1 and 4 of the bar. All other 
beats of the bar have the same or a lower complexity.
• To deactivate Auto Complexity , select Off.
If  A
uto Complexity  is activated, the dot in  the background of the 
complexity/intensity display indicates which complexity is currently played.
Break The fills from the style player do not have to cover an entire bar. For example, 
a 
fill might cover only the last two beats of a bar.
• If you want the previous pattern to play up to the start of the fill,  de
 activate the  Break button. This way, no gaps occur.
If no pattern is playing when you trigge r a fill, the main pattern of the style 
that is used by the pad is played until the fill starts. The  Complexity 
setting of the pad is  taken into account.
• If you want a pause before the fill starts, activate the  Break button.
Auto Fill With the  Auto F
 ill function, the main pattern can play back a fill after a 
specified interval of bars. This is us eful for jamming with Groove Agent. For 
example, with a setting of  4, you get a fill every 4 bars. Each time, the fill is 
randomly chosen from the eight available fills. 
						

							Acoustic Agent
Pattern Editing112
If Auto Fill is activated, the number of the fill that is playing lights up in yellow.
NOTE
This setting affects only  the main pattern. Intros, endings, and fills are not 
affected. They play back as usual, that  is, they do not change into a fill after 
the set interval.
Quantize Amount
Adjusts the timing of the pattern, from  live-played 
 to hard-quantized timing.
• At a setting of 0 %, the pattern plays with the original timing.
• At a setting of 100 %, the timing is hard-quantized.
NOTE
Flams and rolls are not affected by this parameter.
Swing
Allows you to shift the timing of notes on even numbered beats to give the 
pattern 
 a swing feeling. Ne gative values shift the timing backward, and the 
notes are played earlier. Positive values shift the timing forward, and the notes 
are played later.
Crash Mode Determines whether main pattern, intro, fill, and ending play with crash 
cymba
 ls.
•If  Alw
ays  is selected, the style player plays the crash cymbals of the 
main pattern and a crash cymbal on  the first beat after the fill.
•If  Fill is selected, the style player plays all crash cymbals of the fill and 
one crash cymbal on the first beat after the fill. The crash cymbals of the 
main pattern are not played.
•If  Main is selected, the style player plays only the crash cymbals of the 
main pattern.
•If  Off is selected, the style player leaves out all crash cymbals.
Hihat Mode Specifies whether a pattern plays the hihat with all articulations, or only with 
the tip or the sh a

nk articulation.
NOTE
• This setting is taken into account when  you export a pattern by dragging the 
MIDI export field to a MIDI track in your host application.
• External MIDI input is not affected by this setting, that is, you can play all 
articulations.
Ride Mode Specifies whether a pattern plays the ride cymbal with or without bell 
articula
 tion. 
						

							Acoustic Agent
Mixing113
NOTE
• This setting is taken into account when you export a pattern by dragging the 
MIDI export field to a MIDI track in your host application.
• External MIDI input is not affected by this setting, that is, you can play all 
articulations.
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
Agent Mixer
The  Agent  mixer is where you perform your mi xing for kits that come with the 
Acoustic Agent.
The drum kits for the Acoustic Agent were recorded with multiple microphones. The 
Agent  mixe

r contains a channel strip for each microphone, as well as dedicated 
group channels for kick, snare, hihat, toms, cymbals, and percussion. 
						

							Acoustic Agent
Mixing114
Agent Mixer Overview
The left section of the mixer gives you access to all recorded microphones for the 
different drums, as well as to group channels that are applied to the sum of all 
microphone channels of a particular drum instrument.
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.
Groups
If the Groups  tab is active, the  Agent mixer shows one channel strip each for all kick 
drums, snare drums, hihats, toms, pe rcussion instruments, and cymbals.
• To make settings for all instruments  of a group 
 simultaneously, select the 
Group  tab.
Close Microphone Channels
If the Kick/Sn/HH (kick, snare, hihat),  Toms, Cymbals , or Percussion  tabs are 
active, the mixer displays separate channe l strips for the close microphone channels 
for the selected instrument.
Kick and snare drum were recorded with two microphones: kick main and 
additional, and snare top and bottom. The  other instruments were recorded with 
only one close microphone.
Room and Overhead Microphones
The  Room/OH  tab contains channels for the room and the overhead microphones. 
						

							Acoustic Agent
Mixing115
Kit Mix Channel
The Kit Mix  tab contains the channel strip for the  Kit Mix output.
For the  Kit Mix output channel, you can add a  Tube Saturator effect.
• To activate the  Tub
 e Saturator effect, click its  On/Off button.
•  To change the effect sound, adjust the  Dri
 ve parameter.
Channel Parameters
The channels have the following parameters:
Level
Adjusts the volume of the channel.
Pan Defines the position of the sound in the stereo panorama.
Mute Mutes the channel.
Solo Soloes the channel and mutes all other channels. Several channels can be 
solo
ed at the same time.
Peak Level Indicates the highest level on the bus.
• To reset the peak level, click the text field.
Output Each channel can be routed to the main output of Groove Agent or to one of 
the individual outputs.
• Click the  Output 
 field to open the pop-up menu with the available 
outputs.
AUX Sends 1-4 Use these controls to send the signal  to t
 he corresponding AUX busses of the 
agent.
Width (Room and Overhead Channel Strips Only) Adjusts the stereo width of the signal from mono to stereo. 
						

							Acoustic Agent
Mixing116
Agent Mixer Equalizer and Effects
In the lower section of the Agent mixer, you can make equalizer and effect settings 
for the channels and groups.
• To make settings for an entire group, open the  Groups tab and click the label 
of the channel strip for the group.
• To make settings for a single microphone channel, select the tab for the  in
 strument that you want to edit, and click the label of the channel strip for that 
channel.
If a channel strip is selected, the section below the mixer channels shows the insert 
e
 ffects for this channel. The order of the  effects can be modified by dragging the 
tabs. To show the parameters of an insert effect, select the corresponding tab.
• To activate an insert effect, click the corresponding  On/Off bu
 tton.
Each channel offers an equalizer, a vintage compressor, a tape saturator, and an 
en
 velope shaper for the insert effects. These effects correspond to the included 
effect plug-ins of the same name.
R
ELATED LINKS
Studio EQ on  page 136
VintageCompressor on  page 156
Tape Saturator on  page 144
Envelope Shaper on  page 163
Mixer Presets
You can create mixer presets for the Acoustic Agent. These presets contain all 
Agent  mixer,  AUX mixer, and  Kit mixer settings for the loaded kit.
Mixer presets can only be applied to the kit they were saved for, because the 
number of used instruments and mixer channels varies between the kits. Each kit 
comes with its own set of presets.
The controls for loading, saving, and deleti ng mixer presets can be found to the left 
of the  ROOM/OH  tab. 
						

							117
Percussion Agent
Percussion Agent specializes in instruments, grooves, and styles that feature 
percussive elements.
Not only does this agent play perfect acco mpaniments to many of Acoustic Agent’s 
gr
 ooves, but it offers an ideal way to create your own percussion tracks from scratch 
in just a few clicks using the integrated style player. Over 20 percussion 
instruments, such as bongos, congas, shakers, tambourines, and many more, have 
been recorded in minute detail using multiple microphones. Percussion Agent also 
offers a dedicated  Agent mixer for full control of your sound.
Sound Editing
On the  Edit page for instrument  pads, you set up the sound of the kits.
• To open the Edit  page, click 
 the Edit  button in the upper right section of the 
plug-in panel.
• To show the parameters for a particular percussion instrument, click on it.
• If a percussion instrument is triggered,  th
 is is shown by the instrument turning 
dark. 
						

							Percussion Agent
Sound Editing118
About the 24 Bit and 16 Bit Sample Versions
All Acoustic Agent and Percussion Agent kits come with dedicated samples in 16 
and 24 bit. The 24  bit versions have the better audi o qualit
 y at the cost of longer 
loading times and higher RAM usage. The 16  bit versions load faster and utilize less 
RAM at the cost of a lower audio quality.
You can set up which samples are loaded by default with the  Load Preference 
setting on 
 the Options  page.
However, you can also switch between the 16 and 24 bit versions without changing 
the  Load Preference setting and reloading the pres et. This can be done on the Edit 
page.
• In the upper right corner of  th
 e Instrument page, click the 16 Bit or the  24 Bit 
button.
NOTE
Not all agents come with 16 and 24  bit versions of the samples. The  16 Bit an d 24 
Bit  buttons are only available if the agent supports this function.
Instrument Preview
On the  Edit page, you can specify whether you want to preview and select an 
instrument when clicking on it, or whether you only want to select it and show its 
sound parameters.
• To preview an instrument when clicking on it, deactivate the  Mute Instrument 
Trigger on Editor  button in the upper right corner of the  Edit page.
Instruments that have multiple 
 articulations play the standard articulation. For 
example, a conga can be played with th e palm, open, or slapped. For preview, 
the open articulation is used. To tri gger the other articulations, use the 
instrument pads.
• To select an instrument and show its settings when clicking on it, activate  M
 ute Instrument Trigger on Editor . 
						

							Percussion Agent
Sound Editing119
Sound Parameters
If you select an instrument in the picture on the right, its sound parameters are 
available at the bottom of the panel.
Each instrument has its own set of parameters. These parameters can be set up 
separate
ly for the available ar ticulations of the instruments.
The following sound parameters are common for all percussion instruments and 
their articulations, except for the crash cymbal:
Room Level Adjusts the level of the room microphone.
Tune Adjusts the pitch.
Attack Adjusts the attack time of the amplifier envelope.
Hold Adjusts the hold time of the amplifier envelope. Turn the control all the way to 
t
he right to play the entire sample.
Decay Adjusts the decay time of the amplifier envelope.
Crash Cymbal
For the crash cymbal, the following parameters are available.
Room LevelAdjusts the level of the room microphone.
Choke On/Off A choke effect for cymbals is created by hitting a cymbal, and then grabbing 
it with th
 e hand, dampening the sound. If  Choke is activated, you can choke 
a cymbal using poly pressure, aftertouch, or note-off events.
Choke Controller Specifies which MIDI event triggers the choke for the cymbal.
•Note-off: To play th
 e cymbal, hit the key and hold it. To choke the 
cymbal, release the key.
• Aftertouch : To play the cymbal, trigger the corresponding note. To 
choke the cymbal, send an aftertouch event that is greater than 64.
• Poly Pressure : To play the cymbal, trigger the corresponding note. To 
choke the cymbal, send a poly pressure event that is greater than 64. 
						

							Percussion Agent
Pattern Editing120
Pattern Editing
On the Edit page for pattern pads, you can make settings for the MIDI patterns.
Agent Tab
The  Agent  tab contains the  Pad, Pattern , and Performance  sections.
The common pad and pattern functions are described in the chapter “Working with 
Pads”. Those functions that are agent-specific are described in the following 
sections.
R
ELATED LINKS
Working With Pads on  page 35
Pattern Section
Use Style
Activates the style player.
MIDI Export Field If the MIDI pattern player is active, the following applies:
If the style player is ac tive, 
 the following applies: