Steinberg Groove Agent 4 Manual

							Effects Reference
Filter Effects141
•S&H 1  produces random stepped modulation, where each step is 
different.  Shape puts ramps between the steps and produces a smooth 
random signal when fully turned right.
• S&H 2  is similar to  S & H 1. The steps alternate between random high 
and low values.  Shape puts ramps between the steps and produces a 
smooth random signal when fully turned right.
Freq
Determines the frequency of the cutoff modulation.
Sync Activate this to set the  Freq 
 parameter in fractions of beats.
Depth Determines the output level of th
 e LFO modulation signal.
Cutoff Determines the modulation intensity of the LFO on the filter cutoff.
Morph Determines the modulation intensity of the LFO on the filter morph.
Envelope Follower Section
The Envelope Follower traces the input signal with an adjustable attack and release 
time and delivers a modulation signal representing the level envelope of the signal.
SensitivityAll input signals are mixed do w
 n to mono before they are sent to the Envelope 
Follower. This parameter sets the optimum input level for the Envelope 
Follower.
Attack Adjusts the attack time, that is, the time the Envelope Follower needs to 
approach 
 increasing input levels.
Release Adjusts the release time, that is, the time the Envelope Follower needs to 
approach decreasi ng input levels.
Depth Determines the output level of the modulation signal of the Envelope Follower.
Cutoff Determines the modulation  intensity of 
 the Envelope Follower on the filter 
cutoff.
Morph Determines the modulation  intensity of 
 the Envelope Follower on the filter 
morph. 
						

							Effects Reference
Filter Effects142
Pedal Section
PedalSets the position of the pedal.
Depth Determines the output level of the pedal 
 modulation signal.
Cutoff Determines the modulation intensity of the pedal on the filter cutoff.
Morph Determines the modulation intensity of the pedal on the filter morph.
MorphFilter
MorphFilter lets you mix low-pass and high-p ass filter effects, allowing for creative 
morphings between two filters. You can specify the filter shapes independently for 
filter shape A and B.
Filter Shape B
Here, you can choose between several high-pass and band-rejection filter 
shapes.
Filter Shape A Here, you can select a low-pass or a band-pass filter shape.
Morph Lets you mix the output between the two selected filters.
Cutoff Adjusts the cutoff frequency of the filters.
NOTE
You can also set the  Cutoff and Morph  parameters simultaneously by clicking 
in the display and dragging. 
						

							Effects Reference
Distortion Effects143
ResonanceEmphasizes the frequencies around the cutoff frequency. For an electronic 
sou
nd, increase the resonance. At hi gher resonance settings, the filter 
self-oscillates, which re sults in a ringing tone.
Distortion Effects
Distortion
This effect offers the whole ra nge of distortion, from low fidelity, digital distortion to 
high fidelity, analog sounding distor tion. The available distortion types (Rate Red, 
Tube Drive,  Hard Clip, and Bit Red ) can be freely combined.
In Gain
Adjusts the input le ve
 l of the sound.
Rate Red (Rate Reduction) Rate reduction distorts the sound by means of aliasing. Enable the  Rat
 e Red 
option to activate the control that adjusts the amount of aliasing. The lower the 
setting, the more aliasing is added.
Tube Drive Adds warm, tube-like distortion to the sound. Enable the  Tube Driv
 e option 
to activate the control that adjusts the amount of distortion. The higher the 
setting, the more di stortion is added.
Hard Clip Adds bright, transistor-like distor tion to 
 the sound. Enable the Hard Clip 
option to activate the control that adju sts the amount of distortion. The higher 
the setting, the more  distortion is added.
Bit Red (Bit Reduction) Bit reduction distorts the sound by mean s of 
 quantization noise. Enable the 
Bit Red  option to activate the control that  adjusts the amount of quantization 
noise. The lower the setting, the more quantization noise is added.
Out Gain Adjusts the output level of the sound.
Mix Sets the ratio between the dry and the wet signal. 
						

							Effects Reference
Distortion Effects144
Tape Saturator
Tape Saturator simulates the behavior of classic tape recorders. These machines 
produced a specific saturation when recording higher input levels, which led to a 
compressed signal with light distortion.
Mode
Here, you can choose between the effect of a single ( One Stage) or 
 two 
cascaded tape machines ( Two Stage). Two Stage  mode leads to higher 
saturation and compression.
Oversampling Activate this parameter to increase the accuracy of the effect by 
o
versampling.
NOTE
If this parameter is activated, the effect requires more processing power.
Drive
Determines the level of the input signal and thus the amount of saturation.
Auto Gain Activate this option for an automatic level compensation.
Low Filter Here, you can adjust the lo w frequency 
 range below 1000 Hz by +/- 3  dB.
High Filter Here, you can attenuate the high frequency range. This high-cut filter works 
wit
h a slope of 24  dB/octave.
Output Determines the level of the output signal. 
						

							Effects Reference
Modulation Effects145
Tube Saturator
This effect enriches the sound by adding the characteristic harmonics of a saturated 
tube to the  audio signal.
Oversampling
Increases the accuracy of the effect by oversampling.
NOTE
If this parameter is activated, the effect requires more processing power.
DriveDetermines the level of the input signal and thus the amount of saturation.
Low Filter Gain Allows you to reduce the low frequency range by up to 6  dB before saturation.
High Filter Gain Allows you to adjust the high frequency range by -/+ 6  dB before saturation.
Output Determines the level of the output signal.
Modulation Effects
Chorus
Chorus thickens and broadens the sound by means of pitch modulation.
RateDetermines the frequency of the pitch modulation, in Hertz.
Sync Activate this to set the  Ra
 te value in fractions of beats. 
						

							Effects Reference
Modulation Effects146
DepthSets the intensity of the pitch modulation.
Phase Widens the sound image of the effect from mono to stereo.
Shape Adjusts the charac teristics 
 of the modulation. At a setting of 0  %, the pitch 
c
hanges continuously, producing a steady modulation. At a setting of 100  %, 
the

 pitch does not change all the time , producing a less steady modulation.
Mix Sets the ratio between the dry and the wet signal.
Flanger
This effect thickens and broadens the sound by means of pitch modulation.
RateAllows you to specify the frequency of the pitch modulation in Hertz.
Sync Activate this to set the Rate  value in fractions 
 of beats.
Depth Sets the intensity of the pitch modulation.
Phase Widens the sound image of the effect from mono to stereo. This parameter 
also change
 s the characteristic of the  Cross FB parameter.
Shape Adjusts the characte risti
 cs of the modulation. You hear this best when 
Feedback  is activated. At a setting of 0  %, the sound sweeps linearly up and 
down. At 

a setting of 100  %, the sound sweeps exponentially up and down.
Mix Sets the ratio between the dry and the wet signal.
Feedback Adds resonances to the effect. This allows for jet-like sweeps of the sound. 
						

							Effects Reference
Modulation Effects147
Cross FBMixes the feedback of the left channel with the right channel, and vice versa. 
T
he effect of this parameter is influenced by the  Phase parameter.
NOTE
This parameter only takes effect if the  Feedback parameter is set to a value 
above 0 %.
Tone Adjusts the tone color of the feedback. At lower values, the feedback is less 
bright.
Step Flanger
The Step Flanger expands the Flanger with  a Sample and Hold section that divides 
the modulation signal into a definable number of steps.
Rate
Allows you to specify the frequency of the pitch modulation in Hertz.
Sync Activate this to set the  Ra
 te value in fractions of beats.
Depth Sets the intensity of the pitch modulation.
Phase Widens the sound image of the effect from mono to stereo. This parameter 
also change
 s the characteristic of the  Cross FB parameter.
Shape Adjusts the characte risti
 cs of the modulation. You hear this best when 
Feedback  is activated. At a setting of 0  %, the sound sweeps linearly up and 
down. At 

a setting of 100  %, the sound sweeps exponentially up and down.
Mix Sets the ratio between the dry and the wet signal.
Feedback Adds resonances to the effect. This allows for jet-like sweeps of the sound. 
						

							Effects Reference
Modulation Effects148
Cross FBMixes the feedback of the left channel with the right channel, and vice versa. 
T
he effect of this parameter is influenced by the  Phase parameter.
NOTE
This parameter only takes effect if the  Feedback parameter is set to a value 
above 0 %.
Tone Adjusts the tone color of the feedback. At lower values, the feedback is less 
bright.
Type Defines the length of the delay line that is modulated. Short  pr
 oduces a 
sharper and  Long a less defined, more blurred flanger sound.
S&H Mix Use this parameter to blend the normal  modulation 
 signal with the stepped 
modulation signal. At 100  %, only the stepped modulation is used.
Smooth Use this parameter to create ramps between the steps. This way, the stepped 
modulation signal  sounds

 smoother.
Steps Determines into how many steps the mo dulation 
 signal is divided. You can 
use up to 32 steps.
Phaser
The Phaser effect thickens and broadens the sound by means of phase modulation.
Rate
Use this to specify the frequency of the phase modulation.
Sync Activate this to set the  Ra
 te value in fractions of beats.
Depth Sets the intensity of the phase modulation.
Shift Shifts the phase modulation upwards to higher frequencies of the spectrum. 
						

							Effects Reference
Modulation Effects149
PhaseWidens the sound image of the effect from mono to stereo.
Low Cut Attenuates the low frequencies.
High Cut Attenuates the high frequencies.
Mix Sets the ratio between the dry and the wet signal.
Ring Modulator
The Ring Modulator provides a sine oscillator  that is multiplied with the input signal. 
This creates metallic, or bell-like, frequencies.
The integrated LFO modulates the frequenc y 
 of the sine oscillator to vary the 
created frequencies over time. In addition, an envelope follower is available, which 
can be used to modulate the frequency of the sine oscillator depending on the level 
of the input signal.
LFO Waveform and Shape
Waveform  selects the bas
 ic type of waveform. Shape changes the 
characteristic of the waveform.
• Sine produces smooth modulation. Shape adds additional harmonics 
to the waveform.
• Triangle  is similar in character to Sine. The waveform periodically 
ramps up and down.  Shape continuously changes the triangle 
waveform to a trapezoid.
• Saw produces a ramp cycle.  Shape continuously changes the 
waveform from ramp down to triangle to ramp up.
• Pulse  produces stepped modulation, wh ere the modulation switches 
abruptly between two values.  Shape continuously changes the ratio 
between the high and low state of the waveform. At 50 %, it produces a 
square wave.
• Ramp  is similar to the  Saw waveform.  Shape increasingly puts silence 
before the sawtooth ramps up.
• Log is a logarithmic curvature.  Shape continuously changes the 
curvature from negative to positive. 
						

							Effects Reference
Modulation Effects150
•S&H 1  produces random stepped modulation, where each step is 
different.  Shape puts ramps between the steps and produces a smooth 
random signal when fully turned right.
• S&H 2  is similar to  S & H 1. The steps alternate between random high 
and low values.  Shape puts ramps between the steps and produces a 
smooth random signal when fully turned right.
LFO Freq
Use this to specify the frequency of t he L
 FO for modulating the frequency of 
the sine oscillator.
Sync Activate this to set the Rate  value in fractions 
 of beats.
LFO Depth Sets the intensity of th e LFO modulation of 
 the sine oscillator frequency.
Frequency Determines the frequency of the sine oscillator.
Mix Sets the ratio between the dry and the wet signal.
Envelope Follower The Envelope Follower traces the input si gn
 al with an adjustable attack and 
release time and delivers a modulation signal representing the level envelope 
of the signal.
Sensitivity All input signals are mixed do w
 n to mono before they are sent to the Envelope 
Follower. The  Sensitivity parameter sets the optimum input level for the 
Envelope Follower.
Attack This adjusts the attack time, that is, the time the Envelope Follower needs to 
approach 
 increasing input levels.
Release This adjusts the release time, that is, the time the Envelope Follower needs to 
approach decreasi ng input levels.
Depth Determines the output level of the modulation signal of the Envelope Follower.