Operation Manual
Benutzerhandbuch
Mode d’Emploi
オペレーションマニュアル
English
Matthias Klag, Michael Ruf
Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Christina Kaboth, Insa Mingers, Sabine Pfeifer,
Kevin Quarshie, Benjamin Schütte
This PDF provides improved access for vision-impaired users. Please note that due to the
complexity and number of images in this document, it is not possible to include text
descriptions of images.
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent
a commitment on the part of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. The software described
by this document is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media
except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this publication may be
copied, reproduced, or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior
written permission by Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. Registered licensees of the
product described herein may print one copy of this document for their personal use.
All product and company names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective holders. For more
information, please visit www.steinberg.net/trademarks.
© Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, 2014.
All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
6 Installation and Setup
6 Welcome
7 Typographical Conventions
7 USB-eLicenser
8 System Requirements
8 Launching Installation via the Start Center
9 Launching Installation Manually
9 How You Can Reach Us
9 Setting Up
10 Setting Up Groove Agent as a VST
Instrument
11 Selecting Outputs
11 Using Groove Agent in an AU-Compatible
Application
12 Using the Instrument as Standalone
Application
13 Introduction
13 Window Overview
14 About Kits, Presets, and Groove Agent ONE
Content
16 Managing Your Sounds
16 Loading Kits
16 Kit Slot
17 Kit Rack
18 Kit Context Menu
19 Managing and Loading Files
20 Managing Files via the MediaBay
24 Loading Files Using the Browser
30 Common Editing Methods
30 Encoders and Sliders
30 Multi Selection and Par
31 Adjusting the Value Ranges
ameter Controls
31 Buttons
31 Value Fields
32 Using Key Commands
33 Presets
33 Handling Section and Module Presets
33 Handling VST Presets
35 Working With Pads
36 Instrument Pads
37 Using an Alternative MIDI Note Assignment
38 Pad Section
40 Pattern Section
42 Performance Section
43 Using MIDI Effects
47 Pattern Pads
47 Assigning MIDI Files to Pads
48 Assigning Multiple MIDI Files to Pads
48 Removing MIDI Files from Pads
48 Using MIDI Port B for Pattern Pads
49 Locking Pad Settings
49 Moving and Copying Pattern Pads
50 Overview Tab
52 Pattern Editor
61 Common Pad Settings
62 Pad Functions
63 Beat Agent
63 Sound Editing
64 Absolute and Relative Editing
64 Editing Selection or All
64 Assigning Samples to Pads
66 Changing the Order of Pads
67 Mapping View
68 Main Tab
71 Editing the Envelope
76 Pitch Tab
78 Filter Tab
80 Amp Tab
81
91 Slice Tab
Sample Tab
96 Pattern Editing
96 Mixing
97 Agent Mixer
98 Importing and Exporting Files
98 Importing MPC and GAK Files
98 Importing REX Files and Sliced Loops
99 Exporting Kits with Samples
99 Finding Missing Samples
4
101 Acoustic Agent
101 Sound Editing
102 About the 24 Bit and 16 Bit Sample Versions
102 Instrument Preview
102 Sound Parameters
107 Pattern Editing
108 Agent Tab
113 Mixing
113 Agent Mixer
117 Percussion Agent
117 Sound Editing
118 About the 24 Bit and 16 Bit Sample Versions
118 Instrument Preview
119 Sound Parameters
120 Pattern Editing
120 Agent Tab
123 Mixing
123 Agent Mixer
124 Agent Mixer Overview
124 Channel Parameters
125 Agent Mixer Equalizer and Effects
126 Mixing and Effect Handling
126 Mixer Page
126 AUX Mixer
127 Kit Mixer
128 Master Mixer
128 Effect Handling
129 Using the Insert Effect Slots
131 Effects Reference
131 Reverb and Delay Effects
131 REVerence
132 Reverb
135 Multi Delay
136 EQ Effects
136 Studio EQ
137 Graphic EQ
138 DJ-EQ
139 Filter Effects
139 Auto Filter
142 MorphFilter
143 Distortion Effects
143 Distortion
144 Tape Saturator
145 Tube Saturator
145 Modulation Effects
145 Chorus
146 Flanger
147 Step Flanger
148 Phaser
149 Ring Modulator
151 Frequency Shifter
153 Vintage Ensemble
154 Dynamics Effects
154 Compressor
156 VintageCompressor
157 Tube Compressor
158 Limiter
159 Brickwall Limiter
160 Maximizer
160 Expander
162 Gate
163 Envelope Shaper
164 Panner Effects
164 Stereo Pan
164 StereoEnhancer
165 Automation and MIDI Controllers
165 Automation
166 MIDI Controllers
167 Assigning MIDI Controllers
167 Setting the Parameter Range
169 Global Functions and Settings
169 Plug-in Functions Section
169 Multi Slot Section
169 Master Section
170 Performance Displays
170 The Plug-in Name and Steinberg Logo
171 Toolbar
172 The Keyboard
173 Options Page
178 Using the Standalone Version of the
Plug-In
178 Making Preferences Settings
178 Preferences Dialog
180 Selecting the MIDI Input and the Audio
Output
181 Scratch Pad
181 Transport Controls
181 The Info Icon
181 Song Position Indicator
182 Tempo and Time Signature
182 Recording Your Performance
183 Using the Metronome
183 Loading a MIDI File
183 MIDI Channel Filter
183 Saving a MIDI File
184 Master Volume
185 Mixer Routing Diagrams
188 Index
5
Welcome
Installation and Setup
Congratulations and thank you for purchasing Steinberg’s Groove Agent 4.
With the fourth incarnation of your favorite virtual drummer, Groove Agent emerges
as an entirely revamped instrument that raises the level in terms of quality,
functionality, and authenticity. The whole library was created from scratch to meet
the requirements of contemporary music producers, for both acoustic and
electronic music productions. Many innovative features have found their way into
the new version to enhance the initial design that made Groove Agent exceptional
in its class.
All the new features and functionalities are described in detail in this manual. Please
don’t forget to register at MySteinberg in order to gain access to online support
offers and additional exclusive services. And check out the official Steinberg
community at www.steinberg.net/forum for tips and tons of other useful information.
We wish you lots of musical inspiration while working with your brand-new drum
studio!
The Steinberg Team
The Agent Concept
Groove Agent 4 combines the creative power of 3 different rhythm modules: the
Acoustic, Beat, and Percussion Agents.
Each of these tools offers its own approach to drums and rhythms, with special
ways of creating your own inspiring beats in a huge range of styles. The creative
potential of each agent can even be combined with any of the others. 4 agent slots
allow you to mix and match your ideal rhythm section or combine Acoustic Agent
and Beat Agent to create ultra-modern hybrid beats.
6
Installation and Setup
Typographical Conventions
Typographical Conventions
Many of the default key commands use modifier keys, some of which are different
depending on the operating system. For example, the default key command for
Undo is [Ctrl]-[Z] on Windows and [Command]-[Z] on Mac OS X.
When key commands with modifier keys are described in this manual, they are
wn with the Windows modifier key first, in the following way:
sho
• [Win modifier key]/[Mac modifier key]-[key]
For example, [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Z] means “
on Mac OS X, then press [Z]”.
Similarly, [Alt]/[Option]-[X] means “press [Alt] on Windows or [Option] on Mac OS
X, then press [X]”.
USB-eLicenser
Operation of Steinberg software often requires a USB-eLicenser, a hardware copy
protection device.
The USB-eLicenser is a USB device on which your Steinberg software licenses are
stored. All hardware-protected Steinberg products use the same type of device,
and you can store several licenses on one device. Also, licenses can – within certain
limits – be transferred between USB-eLicensers.
press [Ctrl] on Windows or [Command]
If your Steinberg software product does not include a USB-eLicenser, you can
purchase one through the Steinberg online shop.
In the eLicenser Control Center, you can activate new licenses and check which
licenses are installed on your USB-eLicenser. After installation of your Steinberg
application, the eLicenser Control Center can be opened via the Start menu on
Windows systems or the Applications folder on Mac OS X systems.
If you are using other copy-protected Steinberg products, you may want to transfer
all licenses for your applications to one USB-eLicenser, thus using up only one USB
port of your computer. Refer to the eLicenser Control Center Help for information
on how to transfer licenses between USB-eLicensers.
7
Installation and Setup
NOTE
PROCEDURE
System Requirements
System Requirements
Your computer must meet the following minimum requirements:
Mac OS X Windows
Mac OS X Version 10.8/10.9*
Intel dual-core processor
CoreAudio-compatible audio hardware
VST 3 or AU-compatible host application for
using Groove Agent as a plug-in
10 GB of free hard-disk space
Display resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels
DVD ROM dual-layer drive
USB-eLicenser (not included)
Internet connection required for installation, activation, account setup, and
personal/product registration.
*Native 32-bit and 64-bit program version.
**ASIO-compatible audio hardware recommended for low-latency performance.
Windows 7/Windows 8*
Intel or AMD dual-core processor
Windows-compatible audio hardware**
VST 3 or VST 2-compatible host application
for using Groove Agent as a plug-in
4 GB RAM
Launching Installation via the Start Center
From the Start Center application you can easily install your program and inform
yourself about the package contents.
• For Steinberg software delivered with an installation medium, the Start Center
nches automatically as soon as you insert the disc in your computer’s
lau
CD/DVD drive, provided that autorun is activated.
• For Steinberg software downloaded from the internet, the Start Center
ches when you double-click the downloaded file.
laun
The installer allows you to save the content files on a different hard drive than the
program files.
1. In the Start Center, choose your preferred language.
2. Click Install.
3. Follow the instructions on screen.
8
Installation and Setup
NOTE
Launching Installation Manually
Launching Installation Manually
If you do not want to install the program via the Start Center, you can install it
manually.
• On Windows systems, double-click the file “Setup.exe” and follow the
structions on screen.
in
• On Mac OS X systems, double-click the file “Groove Agent.mpkg” and follow
instructions on screen.
the
How You Can Reach Us
Click the Steinberg logo in the top right corner of the control panel to open a
pop-up menu containing items for getting additional information and help.
• This menu contains links to various Steinberg web pages. Select a link to
en the corresponding page. On the web pages, you can find support and
op
compatibility information, answers to frequently asked questions, links for
downloading new drivers, etc.
Setting Up
• To open the Operation Manual, select Help.
• You also find a menu item for the registration of your product.
As a registered user, you are entitled to technical support, you gain access to
xclusive offers such as software updates and upgrades, and more.
e
The following sections describe how to use Groove Agent as a plug-in in different
host applications.
Groove Agent can also be used as a standalone application.
9
Installation and Setup
PROCEDURE
NOTE
PROCEDURE
Setting Up
Setting Up Groove Agent as a VST Instrument
Steinberg DAWs provide two ways of working with VST instruments: the VST
Instruments rack and instrument tracks.
Accessing Groove Agent via the VST Instruments Rack
PREREQUISITE
You have correctly set up your Steinberg DAW, as well as your MIDI and audio
hardware, and the DAW receives MIDI data from your external MIDI keyboard.
1. Select Devices > VST Instruments.
2. In the VST Instruments window, click the Add Rack Instrument button and
select Groove Agent.
You are asked whether you want to create an associated MIDI track connected to the
VST instrument.
3. Click Create.
RESULT
Groove Agent is loaded and activated, and its control panel opens. A
corresponding MIDI track is added to the track list. The output of this track is routed
to Groove Agent.
If you want to use Groove Agent in another VST host application, please refer to the
documentation of the corresponding application.
Accessing Groove Agent via an Instrument Track
1. In the Steinberg DAW, you can add instrument tracks in the following way:
• Select Project > Add Track > Instrument.
• In the VST
Instruments window, click the Add Instrument Track button.
The Add Instrument Track di
10
alog opens.
Installation and Setup
PROCEDURE
PROCEDURE
Setting Up
2. On the Instrument pop-up menu, select Groove Agent.
3. Click Ad
4. Click the Edit Instrument bu
control panel.
RESULT
Groove Agent is set up as a VST instrument in your DAW. For more information
about working with VST instruments, see the Operation Manual of your DAW.
Selecting Outputs
Groove Agent loads with a stereo output configuration by default. However, you can
use additional outputs in the Steinberg DAW. This allows you to route all kit slots to
a dedicated channel in the MixConsole.
1. To make the outputs available, open the VST Instruments window.
2. Click the Activate Outputs button for the instrument.
3. Activate the outputs that you want to use.
d Track to create the instrument track.
tton in the Inspector to open the Groove Agent
RESULT
The Steinberg DAW automatically adds an output channel for each additional
output to the MixConsole.
Using Groove Agent in an AU-Compatible Application
You can use Groove Agent in an AU host application, for example, Logic. The AU
version of Groove Agent is installed in your AU plug-ins folder and lets Groove
Agent work in an AU environment without any performance loss or incompatibilities.
1. For Logic Pro, open the Track Mixer and select the instrument channel that
you want to use.
2. Click in the I/O field and select AU Instruments > Steinberg > Groove
Agent.
3. Select one of the available channel configurations.
RESULT
Groove Agent is now loaded as an AU instrument.
11
Installation and Setup
Setting Up
Using the Instrument as Standalone Application
Groove Agent can be used as a standalone application, independently of any host
application. In this case, you can connect the instrument directly to your audio
hardware.
ELATED LINKS
R
Using the Standalone Version of the Plug-In on page 178
12
Window Overview
The application interface follows a fixed-size single window concept.
Introduction
The window is subdivided into several sections:
• The plug-in functions section at the top.
• The kit slot section and the kit rack below the plug-in functions section.
• The pad section on the left.
• The edit display on the right. It c
pages.
• At the bottom of the panel, you can display a keyboard.
• If you are using the standalone version of Groove Agent, you find a number of
ific functions in an extra section at the top of the application window.
spec
13
ontains the Load, Edit, Mixer, and Options
Introduction
NOTE
About Kits, Presets, and Groove Agent ONE Content
About Kits, Presets, and Groove Agent ONE Content
Kits
Kits contain all information about the kit or sliced loop and about the insert effects
that are used on the mixer channel. Kits can also contain MIDI patterns.
Kits can be saved and loaded via the kit rack or the kit slot section.
Kit Rack
Kit Slot Section
Sliced Loop Kits
Instead of MIDI patterns, sliced loop kits contain the MIDI phrase that is needed to
play back the loop. Other than that, sliced loop kits are similar to regular kits, in that
they can use insert effects, etc.
Plug-in Presets (VST Presets)
A plug-in preset contains all information necessary to restore the complete state of
the plug-in. This includes all 4 kits, the MIDI patterns, as well as any insert and AUX
effects. All of these settings are also saved with the project in your host application.
Groove Agent ONE Content
Groove Agent can load Groove Agent ONE presets. The presets can either be
loaded as kits in the kit rack or the kit slot section or as plug-in presets via the preset
management menu in the plug-in header.
If you load a Groove Agent ONE preset as a plug-in preset, the global plug-in
parameters are set to the default values.
If you load a preset as a kit, all global plug-in parameters remain unchanged.
Groove Agent ONE presets always show the icon for a plug-in preset in the
MediaBay, even if they are shown in the preset loader.
14
Introduction
About Kits, Presets, and Groove Agent ONE Content
Content Files and Folder Structure
Groove Agent comes with a large amount of ready-to-use sound content. This
content is write-protected. You can edit files while they are loaded, but you cannot
overwrite the factory content files.
To save edits to the factory content, save the files under a new name. These files
get the file name extension .vstpreset and are referred to as user content. They
can be searched and categorized in the same way as factory content.
User content is saved in a predefined folder structure on your hard disk. You can
create subfolders within this structure to facilitate moving or exchanging content.
15
Loading Kits
There are several ways to load kits:
• Via drag & drop from the Windows Explorer/Mac OS Finder.
• Via the context menu in the kit rack.
Managing Your Sounds
Kit Slot
• By clicking the Load Kit
section.
• Via the Med
This section shows the name of the loaded kit. In addition, the following global
controls are available:
Load button
Click this button to show the list of available kits.
You can also click the kit name to open th
open the kit context menu.
iaBay or the Browser
button at the right of the kit name in the kit slot
is list. Right-click the kit name to
Load Previous/Next Kit
Click these buttons to load the previous/next kit from the list of available kits.
Load Kit with Patterns
Activate this button to make sure that kits are always loaded together with
their pa
Size
Shows the size of all loaded samples.
tterns.
16
Managing Your Sounds
Kit Rack
Polyphony
Adjusts the polyphony of the kit.
MIDI Channel
Sets the MIDI channel for the kit.
MIDI Input Indicator
The MIDI symbol starts blinking if incoming MIDI signals are detected.
Velocity Curve
Sets the velocity response curve of the kit. This allows you to adapt the kit to
ur hardware MIDI controller or playing style.
yo
Song Position Counter
The song position counter shows the current song position in bars, beats, and
16t
h notes. If you activate the Play button in Groove Agent, the song position
counter always starts at 1.0.0.0 and runs until you click stop.
Tempo Display
Kit Rack
The tempo display next to the position counter shows the tempo of the host
application.
The Kit rack can be found to the right of the kit slot section. It gives you an overview
over the loaded kits and their corresponding agent, and allows you to perform some
kit editing for the selected kit via the context menu.
• To select a kit, click on it.
17
Managing Your Sounds
Kit Context Menu
Kit Context Menu
Load Kit
Opens a pop-up menu containing the available kits. Double-click a kit to load
it.
Load Kit With Patterns
Allows you to load a kit with
Load Pattern Group
Allows you to load a predefined set of MIDI file assignments and play
parameter settin
Save Pattern Group
Allows you to save the 16 pads of the current group and their settings as a
pattern group.
Delete Pattern Group
Allows you to delete a pattern group.
Save Kit
Saves the kit. If you try to overwrite w
opens that allows you to save the edited kit under a new name.
gs for the 16 pads of the selected group.
its MIDI patterns, if any.
rite-protected factory content, a dialog
Save Kit As
Allows you to save the kit under a new name.
Remove Kit
Removes the kit and its patterns from the slot.
18
Managing Your Sounds
NOTE
Managing and Loading Files
Revert to Last Saved Kit
Cut Kit
Copy Kit
Paste Kit
Reverts to the kit that was originally loaded on the slot. If the kit was loaded
w
ithout patterns, only the kit and no patterns are loaded.
Copies the kit and its patterns and removes it from the slot.
Copies the kit and its patterns.
Pastes the copied kit into the slot. If th
replaced.
Rename Kit
Allows you to rename the kit.
Reset Agent
Loads the In
Import
Allows you to import MPC
Export Kit With Samples
Exports the kit together with its associated s
Samples that are part of protected content, such as the VST Sound content,
cannot be exported.
it preset of the agent.
Managing and Loading Files
e slot already contains a kit, it is
and GAK files.
amples.
On the Load page, you can switch between the MediaBay and the Browser. These
can be used to manage, navigate to, load, and preview different file types.
The Med
In the Browser, you can browse for samples and presets. The Browser also shows
samples that are part of VST Sound content.
• To switch between Med
iaBay gives you access to presets, such as multis and kits.
iaBay and Browser, click the corresponding button
on the Load page.
19
Managing Your Sounds
Managing and Loading Files
Managing Files via the MediaBay
In the top section of the MediaBay, you specify which sounds to look for. The lower
section presents the corresponding results.
• To adjust the size of the two sections, drag the divider at the top of the results
Applying Filters
Category Filter
You can filter the results list based on up to 3 filter criteria using the configurable
attribute columns. Standard attributes are Style and Sub Style.
Only the files that match the filter are displayed in the results list.
• To define the filter, click on specific values in the columns.
• To refine the filter, select mor
• To select different filter criteria, click the column header and select a different
Instrument Set Filter
Use the Select Content Set pop-up menu to search a specific content set only. By
default, the search is performed in all installed content sets.
list.
te from the submenu.
attribu
e values from other columns.
20
Managing Your Sounds
Managing and Loading Files
Results List
The results list shows all files that have been found according to the category filter.
Text Search
In the text search field on the results list toolbar, you
can enter text contained
in the name or any of the attributes of a preset that you are looking for. The
results list updates immediately and the Category search section above
shows all categories that contain presets matching the text search.
To reset the text-based result filter, click the Reset but
ton next to the search
field.
View Filters
The toolbar has 2 filter buttons to define which
preset types to display: multis
or kits. In the results list, the corresponding icon is shown to the left of the
preset name.
Rating Filter
You can limit the results list according t
o the rating of the presets. Use the
rating slider to define the minimum rating.
Content Filter
The content filter buttons allow you to defin
e whether to show all presets, only
the factory presets, or only your user presets.
Columns
The columns show all the attribute values
for the presets that match the filters
that you set up in the top section.
Setting Up the Result Columns
You can select which attribute columns to display by clicking the Set up
sult Columns button on the toolbar.
Re
Results Counter
The number of presets that match the filter
the toolbar.
Configuring the Results List
• To configure which attributes are shown in the results list, click the Set up
Result Columns button in the upper right corner of the results list and
activate the corresponding entries. New attributes are added at the right of
the list.
• To reorder the columns in the results list, drag the column headers to another
position.
• To change the sorting of the list entries, click the column header. The triangle
the column header shows the sorting direction.
in
criteria is displayed at the right of
21
Managing Your Sounds
PROCEDURE
PROCEDURE
NOTE
Managing and Loading Files
Loading Kits into Slots
To load a kit into the selected agent slot, you have the following possibilities:
• Select the slot into which you want to load the kit, and doub
• Drag a kit from the results list to a kit in the kit rack or onto the slot in the kit
• Right-click the kit in the results list and select Lo
Importing Presets
You can import presets from any file location using the Windows Explorer/Mac OS
Finder.
1. Select the preset in the Windows Explorer/Mac OS Finder.
2. Drag it to the MediaBay.
RESULT
The imported presets are copied to your user folder.
le-click the kit in
the results list.
slot section.
If a kit is already loaded, it is replaced with the new kit.
ad Kit from the context menu.
Editing Preset Attributes
Presets can be described by using a predefined set of attributes.
1. In the New Preset Attributes section of the Save dialog, click in the field of
the attribute value that you want to set.
Depending on the attribute, a menu or a dialog opens.
2. Select a value.
Attribute values are written directly into the corresponding preset files.
If you change the attributes for write-protected factory presets, these changes are
only saved in the MediaBay database, not in the preset file.
22
Managing Your Sounds
Managing and Loading Files
Available Attributes
The predefined media and musical attributes can be set in the results list and in the
Save dialog.
Media Attributes
Name
Rating
Comment
Content Summary
For user presets, you can edit the name via the context menu. For all other
lements, this attribute is display only.
e
Drag to set the rating.
Click to select, double-click to edit.
Musical Attributes
Click to select, double-click to edit.
Write Protection
Display only, use context menu to set protection.
Library Name
Click to select, double-click to edit.
Library Manufacturer
Click to select, double-click to edit.
Author
Click to select, double-click to edit.
Category
Click to select.
Sub Category
Click to select.
Style
Click to select.
Sub Style
Click to select.
Character
Click to open an editor.
23
Managing Your Sounds
NOTE
NOTE
Managing and Loading Files
Tempo
Click to select, double-click to edit.
Bars & Beats
Click to select, double-click to edit.
Signature
Click to select, double-click to edit.
Key
Click to select.
GM Sound
Click to select.
Deleting User Presets
• To delete a user preset, right-click it and select Delete from the context menu.
Factory presets cannot be deleted.
Loading Files Using the Browser
In the Browser, you can search and load the following files:
• Samples from the file system or from within
Samples can only be loaded for Beat Agent kits.
24
loaded kits.
Managing Your Sounds
Managing and Loading Files
•Multis and kits.
Path Section
• To step through the recent locations, click the Previous/Next Location
• To navigate to the folder one level up in the location tree, click the Browse
• The path field shows the current location. To specify a new location, enter or
• To open the navigation history, click at the very right of the path field.
buttons.
Containing Folde
copy a new path.
r button.
Location Tree
The location tree on the left in the Browser allows you to navigate through your
samples, in any folder. You can even access files contained in VST Sound
containers and ISO files. If you select an entry in the tree, the results list on the right
shows the corresponding content.
Location Tree Context Menu
Refresh Views
Updates the tree. This is useful if you
created a new folder on the hard disk.
25
added a new disk to your setup or
Managing Your Sounds
Managing and Loading Files
Rescan Disk
Quick Rescan Disk
Show in Explorer (Win)/Reveal in Finder (Mac)
Locations
Locations are folders or directories on your system that contain media files. By
setting up locations, you can organize the files that are available in the results list
according to context.
Rescans the selected element in the tree. The corresponding files are
op
ened, the information is extracted, and the database file is updated
accordingly.
Rescans only the folders that have changed since the last scan.
Shows the location of the selected file on your system.
The text field above the tree shows the name of the selected folder. If the name is
pr
eceded by an asterisk, the folder has not been saved as a location yet.
Managing Locations
• To open the list of favorite locations, click in the text field.
• To add the current folder to the favorite locations, click the Add Select
• To delete the current location from the list, click the Re
Results List
The results list shows the files found in the selected folder. It displays all files that
Groove Agent can read, such as VST presets or samples. In addition to information
like file name and path, the columns in the results list can be configured to show
different attributes.
ed
Media Node as Favorite Location button.
You can keep the folder name or specify a new name for the location.
move Favorite
Location button.
26
Managing Your Sounds
PROCEDURE
NOTE
Managing and Loading Files
The results list also shows any subfolders of the selected folder, but does not
include the files contained in the subfolders themselves. To see the content inside
subfolders, select the corresponding subfolder.
Navigating in the Results List
• To open a folder or location, double-click it in the results list.
If you double-click a preset, its contents are shown.
• To move up one level in the folder hierarchy, click the Browse Containing
Folder button.
Performing a Text Search
You can limit the number of results in the results list using the text search function.
This way, you can search for files with specific names, for example. For presets, the
search also takes any attributes into account. The value field in the top right corner
indicates the number of files that match the search text.
• To clear the search text, click the Clear Filter
Searching for Files on Your System
Instead of searching the current results list, you can also use the text search to look
for files on your hard disks or in VST Sound archives.
1. Select the location that you want to use as the starting point for the search.
The higher up in the hierarchy the location, the longer the search takes. Therefore, it
is not recommended to search entire hard drives.
2. In the top left corner of the results list, click the Search Location Content
button and enter the search text in the text field.
3. Optional: Click the button to the right of the search field to specify whether
you want
4. To start the search, press [Return] or click the Search/Stop Search button
to th
The files that match the search criteria are listed in the results list.
to search for samples, kits, or all types.
e right of the search text.
Text button.
The maximum of files that can be displayed in the list is 10,000.
5. Double-click a result to show it in the location tree.
27
Managing Your Sounds
Managing and Loading Files
Preview and File Info Section
File Info Section
Provides the following information about the focused sample: length, channels, bit
depth, and sample rate. If available, root key, key, and velocity range are also shown.
Preview Section
You can listen to the samples using the controls in the Preview section.
Level
Adjusts the playback level.
Play
Stop
Pause
Auto Play
Loop Playback
Play Position
Missing Samples
Plays back the focused sample.
Stops playback. The play locator ju
mps back to the sample start.
Pauses playback. Click again to continue.
Automatically starts playback of the selected sample.
If this button is activated, the selected sample
Displays the playback position within th
e sample. To select another position
is played back repeatedly.
for playback, click on the slider or drag the handle to the new position.
If you browse the samples of a program and you cannot load them or listen to them,
they may have been moved or deleted. In this case, the sample info displays
“Sample not found”. To remedy this, load the program again and make sure that no
samples are missing. Afterwards, be sure to save the program with the restored
sample paths.
ELATED LINKS
R
Finding Missing Samples on page 99
28
Managing Your Sounds
NOTE
NOTE
PROCEDURE
NOTE
Managing and Loading Files
Loading Files
• To load the sample that is focused in the results list into the selected
instrument pad, use the key commands [Return] or [L], or double-click the file.
• To load selected kits, drag them from the results list to the kit slot, the kit rack,
onto a pad.
or
This replaces the current samples and resets the sound settings.
Some file types are not supported. In this case, an icon is displayed to indicate that
the file format cannot be loaded.
Protected kits are shown with a lock icon to indicate that you cannot extract single
samples. However, you can load the kit as a whole.
Replacing the Focused Sample
When you load a sample via double-click or key command in the Browser, all
samples on the selected pad are replaced. But you also have the possibility to
replace only a particular sample of a pad.
You can also replace samples that are part of the factory VST Sound content.
1. On the Edit page, select the sample that you want to replace.
2. In the Browser, activate the Replace Focused Sample button in the
lower right corner.
3. In the location tree, browse to the new sample and double-click it.
RESULT
The focused sample on the Edit page is replaced with the new sample. All sound
settings of the previous sample are maintained.
The Replace Focused Sample function affects only the loading of samples via
double-click or key commands. It does not affect the loading of samples via drag &
drop from the Browser to pads.
29
Common Editing Methods
NOTE
Encoders and Sliders
Encoders and sliders can be unidirectional or bidirectional. Unidirectional values, for
example level values, start at a minimum value and go up to the maximum.
Bidirectional controls start from the middle position and go to the left for negative
and to the right for positive values.
Most of the editing methods are the same for encoders and sliders.
• To adjust a value, click an encoder or
the mouse wheel.
If you press [Alt]/[Option] when clicking an encoder, a small fader appears,
allow
ing you to set the parameter.
• To make fine adjustments, press [Shift] and move the encoder or use the
use wheel.
mo
• To restore the default value for a paramete
on the control.
a fader and drag up and down, or use
r, press [Ctrl]/[Command] and click
Multi Selection and Parameter Controls
To edit multiple pad parameters at the same time, select the pads that you want to
edit.
If several pads are selected and they are not set to the exact same values, most of
the controls indicate this by turning red. This is true for encoders, switches, combo
boxes, value fields, and text faders.
For example, if you have selected 3 pads with cutoff frequency values of 1200,
1400, and 2500 Hz, the corona of the frequency encoders shows a range from
1200 to 2500. The corresponding field shows the value of the focused pad in red.
More complex controls, such as the envelope editors, only show the values of the
focused pad.
30
Common Editing Methods
Buttons
Adjusting the Value Ranges
You can adjust the value range of a parameter using the corona of the encoder. The
values for the pads are distributed within the new range, keeping their relative
distances.
• To compress or expand the value range, drag the corona.
Buttons
On/Off Buttons
Push Buttons
• To adjust the upper limit of the range, hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] and
the corona.
• To adjust the lower limit of the range, hold d
corona.
These controls normally have two states, off and on. If you move the mouse over an
On/Off button, it changes its appearance to show that you can click it.
Push buttons only trigger an action and then go back to their inactive state. These
buttons can be found for opening menus or file dialogs.
own [Alt]/[Option] and drag the
drag
Value Fields
To set a value, you have the following possibilities:
• Click in a value field, enter a new value, and press [Enter].
If the entered value exceeds the parameter r
maximum or the minimum value, respectively.
• Click in the value field and drag up or down to change the value.
• Position the mouse over a value field an
value.
• To set the parameter to its default value, [Ctrl]/[Com
field.
• To use a fader to adjust the value,
• Click the up/down triangles next to the field.
[Alt]/[Option]-click a value field.
ange, it is automatically set to the
d use the mouse wheel to adjust the
mand]-click the value
31
Common Editing Methods
NOTE
Using Key Commands
• You can adjust musical values, such as key ranges or the root key, using your
MIDI keyboard.
To enter a value with your MIDI keyboard, double-click the value field, press a
ke
y on your MIDI keyboard, and press [Return].
• To navigate to the next parameter, press [Tab]. To jump backwards to the
previous parameter, press [Shift]-[Tab].
If no parameter is selected inside the focused view, pressing [Tab] always
jumps to
the first parameter.
Using Key Commands
• To open the Key Commands dialog, open the Options page and click the
Key Commands button.
The commands are arranged in a hierarchical folder structure on the left. When you
pen a category folder, the items and functions are displayed with any currently
o
assigned key commands.
• To set up a key command, select the function in the list, enter the key
comman
the field. If this key command is already used for another function, this is
displayed in the field below.
• To delete a key command, select the corresponding command, select the key
ommand in the Keys list and click the Delete button (the trash icon).
c
• To search for a specific function, enter its
of the dialog and click the search button (the magnifying glass).
You can set up several key commands for the same function.
d in the Type in Key field and click the Assign button to the right of
name in the search field at the top
32
Common Editing Methods
NOTE
NOTE
NOTE
PROCEDURE
Presets
Presets
Groove Agent offers two types of presets: section/module presets and VST
presets. VST presets contain all information necessary to restore the complete state
of the plug-in. Section and module presets store and recall the setup of a specific
component on the Groove Agent panel.
During setup, the factory presets are installed in a dedicated folder and a user folder
is created for your own presets. The handling of presets is the same throughout the
program.
Factory presets are write-protected, but may be overwritten when a software
update is executed. Presets in your user folder are never changed by the software
update.
For more information on VST presets, see the Cubase/Nuendo Operation Manual.
Handling Section and Module Presets
The preset controls can be found throughout the program. The handling is always
the same.
• To save a preset, click the Save button
You cannot overwrite factory presets. If you want to save changes made to a factory
preset, save the preset under a new name or in a new location.
• To load a preset, click the arrow icon and select a preset from the list.
• To delete a preset, click the Delete but
presets cannot be deleted.
Handling VST Presets
Loading VST Presets
(the disk icon).
ton (the trash icon). Note that factory
1. In the header of the plug-in panel, click the Preset management button next
to the preset name field and select Load Preset.
2. Select a preset to load it. Double-click a preset to load it and close the preset
loader.
33
Common Editing Methods
PROCEDURE
Presets
Saving VST Presets
• In the header of the plug-in panel, click the Preset management button next
to the preset name field and select Save Preset.
34
The Pad section on the left can show the instrument pads or the pattern pads.
• To switch between the instrument pads and the pattern pads, click the
Transport Controls
Working With Pads
corresponding button above the pads.
• To start or stop playback of the selected pad, use the corresponding controls.
• To record MIDI live, click the Record button.
• To activate Jam Mode, click the Jam Mo
ELATED LINKS
R
Recording MIDI Events Live on page 60
Jam Mode on page 39
de button.
35
Working With Pads
Instrument Pads
Instrument Pads
The pad section provides up to 128 pads, organized in 8 groups of 16 pads. The
instrument pads can be used to trigger sounds. Each pad is mapped to a MIDI note,
which triggers a sample. If samples are assigned to a pad, the LED above the pad
lights up.
You can switch between the groups by clicking on the group buttons below the
pads. The button of the active group is highlighted. If one or more pads of a group
have samples mapped to them, an orange LED above the group button lights up. If
a pad within a group receives a MIDI note, a green MIDI indicator LED lights up.
By default, group 3 is active when you open Groove Agent.
Below the pad section, you find several buttons. These are different for the different
agents.
Showing Information about the Instrument Pads (Beat Agent Only)
• Activate the i button below the pad section to show the following information
for the pads: the pad number, the number of samples, and the output.
• Activate the E butto
move the mouse over a pad that belongs to an exclusive group, all pads that
belong to the same exclusive group are highlighted. If a hidden pad group
contains pads that belong to the same exclusive group, a red LED above the
group button lights up.
n to show the exclusive group settings for the pads. If you
Setting the Output for the Pads (Beat Agent Only)
You can set the output of the samples via the pad context menu.
36
Working With Pads
PROCEDURE
Instrument Pads
• Right-click the pad, open the Assign Output submenu, and select the output
that you want to use.
This sets all samples of the pad to this output.
Locking Color and Output Settings (Beat Agent Only)
• You can lock the color and output settings for the pads. For example, this
allows you to lock the output configuration for the pads, and then switch
between kits while keeping these outputs. You can specify which parameters
you want to lock for the pads on the context menu for the Lock button below
the pads. If the button lights up, at least one setting is locked for the pads.
Locking Pad Settings (Acoustic and Percussion Agent)
You can lock the color settings for the pads by activating the Lock Pad Colors
button. The button lights up when it is active.
Using an Alternative MIDI Note Assignment
If you use an external hardware drum controller that sends specific MIDI notes for
specific instruments, you can specify an alternative MIDI trigger note mapping.
1. Activate the Use Hardware Controller Mapping button in the lower right
corner of the pad section.
Now you can load, save, and delete different trigger note configurations.
2. Specify a new trigger note for the pad.
• Right-click a pad, select Edit/Learn Trigger Note and specify the new trigger
note by entering it into the value field or by playing the corresponding note on
your hardware controller.
• On the pad context menu, open the Assi
the note from the submenus.
3. Groove Agent jumps to the next pad. Assign a MIDI note to all the pads that
you want to use and press [Enter] to stop assigning MIDI notes.
gn Trigger Note submenu and select
37
Working With Pads
Instrument Pads
Pad Section
For instrument pads, the Pad section on the Agent page contains several playback
functions and settings.
Active
Activates/Deactivates playback for the pad.
Exclusive
Activates/Deactivates exclusive playback for
a pad. Triggering an exclusive
pad stops playback of the current pattern, according to the set restart mode.
Pads for which this button is not activated can play simultaneously with other
patterns.
clusive mode is activated for a pad, this is indicated by an icon in the
If Ex
upper left corner of a pad.
Jam State
Determines the play order of the pads if the Jam Mo
de button is activated and
the pattern pad is in exclusive mode.
Play Mode
• To play a pattern for as long as you hold down a key, select Ho
• To start and stop playback with the trigger note for a pad, select Toggle.
Toggle mode is best used for live performances. Otherwise, it can lead
to unpredictable results, for example, when stopping and restarting
playback in the host application or when locating to another position
during playback.
• To play a pattern completely to its end, select One Shot. In this mode,
note-off events are ignored. Playback stops automatically at the end of
the pattern. To make sure that the pattern plays from start to end,
deactivate Sync to Beat.
ld.
Restart Mode
Determines whether a pattern starts to play
immediately, at the next beat, or
at the next full measure.
Sync to Beat
If Sync to
Beat is activated, triggering a pattern starts the pattern in sync with
any other patterns that are playing. For example, if you trigger a pattern and
trigger the next pattern after 3 beats, this pattern starts playing at beat 3. If
Sync to Beat is deactivated, the second pattern starts from the beginning.
38
Working With Pads
Instrument Pads
Velocity Mode
Specifies how the velocity of the notes that you play affects the notes of the
pattern.
Jam Mode
•If Or
iginal is selected, the notes of the pattern are played with the
velocity that is saved with the pattern.
•If As Played is selected, the notes of the pattern are played with the
velocity that you are playing on the keyboard.
•If Original + As Played is selected, the pattern velocity is determined
by the combination of the velocity saved with the pattern and the
velocity of your playing.
Jam mode allows you to automatically switch between pattern pads during
playback. For example, you can switch from an intro to a verse, or from a fill back to
the previous verse, or even automatically stop playback.
Jam mode is useful if you want to play along
and jam with Groove Agent. But it is
much more flexible than a static song or pattern list.
If the Jam Mode button is activated, the Play Mode and Restart Mode parameters
are not available for pads in exclusive mode. These pads are played back with a
single click. Patterns only switch after entire bars. Pattern pads for which the
Exclusive Mode button is deactivated behave like normal.
Jam States
How the pattern pads behave in jam mode is defined by the Jam States setting.
This parameter is available if the Jam Mode button and the Exclusive Mode button
are activated for a pattern pad.
Standard
If a pad with Standard jam state is
triggered, any previous pads stop playing.
The new pad plays exclusively.
Next
In this mode, playback jumps automatic
ally to the first pad for which Standard
jam state is selected and which is mapped higher up on the keyboard. If no
pad with Standard jam state exists, the current pad plays back in a loop.
Return
In this mode, playback jumps back to the
previous pad. Use this mode to
switch from a pad with a fill back to the previous pad, for example. If you
trigger several pads for which Return is activated in sequence, Groove Agent
returns to the last pad in Standard, Next, or Stop mode. If no pad was
triggered before, the current pad plays back in a loop.
Stop
Playback stops automatically after the entire pattern was played back.
39
Working With Pads
PROCEDURE
Instrument Pads
Using Jam Mode
The jam state is indicated by different icons in the upper left corner of the pads.
Pads in Standard, Next, Return, and Stop mode.
1. Load an intro, a verse, a fill, and an ending to 4 consecutive pattern pads.
2. Activate Exclusive Mode for all 4 pads and set up the Jam State as follows:
• Set the first pad with the intro to Next.
• Set the second pad with the verse to Standard.
• Set the third pad with the fill to Return.
• Set the fourth pad with the Ending to Stop.
3. Activate the Jam Mode button.
4. Trigger the pad with the intro.
5. Trigger the pad with the fill. After the fill, playback automatically switches back
6. Trigger the pad with the ending. Playback
Pattern Section
For instrument pads, the Pattern section on the Agent page contains MIDI pattern
and pattern player functions.
The Play button starts blinking to indicate that Groove Agent is waiting for a pattern
pad to be triggered.
The intro is played back and afterwards, playback automatically switches to the pad
with the verse. The verse is then played back in a loop.
to the pad with the verse. Now, the verse is played back in a loop.
stops automatically once playback
of the ending is completed.
Pattern Player On/Off
Activates/Deactivates the pattern player.
Pattern Library
Allows you to select a MIDI pattern. Click to select the file from the list.
40
Working With Pads
NOTE
Instrument Pads
To access the folder where the user MIDI patterns are saved, right-click the
Pattern Library field and select Show in Explorer/Finder. In this location,
you can add, remove and rename files and create subfolders to organize your
MIDI patterns.
Pattern pads always contain the MIDI data and do not reference the original
MIDI files.
Original Tempo
Displays the original tempo as s
aved in the MIDI file.
Start
Specifies the beat from which the pattern starts to play.
End
Specifies the end of the pattern. Initially, th
is parameter is set to the original
length of the MIDI pattern.
Import Field
To import MIDI files from your file s
ystem or MIDI parts from your host
application into the user pattern library, drag them onto the MIDI import field.
You can import multiple MIDI files at the same time by dropping them on the
im
port field. The first file is assigned to the selected pad.
MIDI Export Field
To export a pattern, click the MI
DI export field and drag it onto a MIDI track
in your host application. You can also drag the field to other locations and
applications that support MIDI files.
Import/Export and Alternative Trigger Note Mappings
If you are working with alternative trigger note mappings, this is taken into
ccount and the MIDI pattern is adapted automatically on import/export. This
a
is important if you are recording MIDI with a hardware drum controller and you
want to import MIDI parts from the host application or export patterns from
Groove Agent to the host application during that process.
If you recorded the MIDI file with the standard trigger note mapping,
activate alternative trigger note mapping in the Pad section.
de
41
Working With Pads
NOTE
Instrument Pads
Performance Section
For instrument pads, the Performance section on the Agent page contains MIDI
pattern player settings.
Swing Grid
Determines the grid for applying Swing.
For example, to shift the timing of
every 16th note in a pattern, set this to 1/16.
Swing
Allows you to shift the timing of notes on even numbered beats to give the
pattern
a swing feeling. Negative values shift the timing backward, and the
notes are played earlier. Positive values shift the timing forward, and the notes
are played later.
Gate Scale
Allows you to shorten or lengthen the notes of the pattern. At a value of 100 %,
e notes play with their original gate length.
th
Gate Scale has no effect on samples that are played in One Shot mode. They
always sound until the end.
Velocity Scale
Raises or lowers the note-on velocities o
f the pattern. At a value of 100 %, the
notes are played with their original velocity.
Quantize Amount
This parameter defines how much of the quantization grid
is applied. A value
of 100 % means the MIDI note events play back only at the specified quantize
ote value. Smaller values move the notes only partially towards the next
n
quantize note value. With a value of 0 %, no quantization is applied.
Quantize Grid
This parameter allows you to set up a quantizat
ion grid, in fractions of beats.
You can also specify dotted and triplet values.
Tempo Scale
Defines the speed at which the pattern is running. You can choose between
h
alf, normal, and double speed.
42
Working With Pads
NOTE
Instrument Pads
Using MIDI Effects
For each instrument pad, you can set up MIDI effects.
Pad Mode
To open the MIDI effects page, activate the In
open the Edit page on the right side of the panel, and click the MIDI Fx tab.
strument button in the pad section,
Pad mode determines to which pad the settings on the MIDI FX page are applied.
Internal
In Internal mode, t
pad.
Remote
In Remot
the MIDI effects.
This allows you to trigger an instrument with and without MIDI effects. Also,
any soun
• If the destination pad also contains MIDI effects, these are not taken into
account.
• If you set up remote MIDI effects on a pad for which samples are assigned,
the remote MIDI effects are applied only to the samples on the destination
pad.
e mode, you can select to which destination pad you want to apply
d editing can be performed on one pad.
he MIDI effects are applied to the samples on the selected
43
Working With Pads
Instrument Pads
If you activate Remote mode for a pad, a remote icon is displayed on the pad
in the pad section.
Rudiments Section
Active
Type
Flam, Drag, and Ruff
• To bypass the remote effects, click the Di
sable MIDI to Remote Pad
button to the left of the remote icon.
Click this to activate the articulation.
Determines the rudiment type.
• Flam pla
ys 2 hits very close together.
• Drag plays 3 hits very close together.
• Ruff plays 4 hits very close together.
• Roll continually plays drum hits to produce a sustaining drum sound.
• Buzz emulates the effect of a drummer pressing the stick into the drum
while hitting it. The stick bounces on the drum, producing multiple hits
that sound like a decaying drum roll.
For Flam, Drag, and Ruff, the following parameters are available:
Sync
Synchronizes the hits to the project tempo. T
he time span between the hits is
set in fractions of beats.
Time
Adjusts the time span between the hits.
Note Value
If Sync is
activated, this parameter adjusts the time span in fractions of beats.
Dynamics
Adjusts the dynamics of the hits.
• With negative values, the first hit is softer than the following hit
• With positive values, the first hit is louder than the following hit or hits.
Humanize
Use this parameter to randomize the timing,
the dynamics, and the pitch of the
hits.
or hits.
44
Working With Pads
Instrument Pads
Roll
For Roll, the following parameters are available:
Sync
Activate this button to synchronize the hits to the project tempo. The time
between the hits is set in fractions of beats.
span
Time
Adjusts the time span between the hits.
Note Value
Buzz
If Sync is
activated, this parameter adjusts the time span in fractions of beats.
Dynamics
Adjusts the dynamics of the hits. Higher values attenuate the even-numbered
its of the roll.
h
Humanize
Use this parameter to randomize the timing,
the dynamics, and the pitch of the
hits.
For Buzz, the following parameters are available:
Grip
Adjusts the grip of the drum. Higher settings prod
uce a shorter decay of the
buzz.
Pressure
Adjusts the pressure on the stick. Higher settings produce a longer decay of
buzz.
the
MIDI Delay
Humanize
Use this parameter to randomize the timing,
the dynamics, and the pitch of the
hits.
MIDI Delay produces echo effects by repeating the notes that you play.
The subsequent note events can be modified, for example, you can vary the time
between the echoes with the Distribution parameter.
span
Active
Activates/Deactivates the MIDI Delay effect.
45
Working With Pads
NOTE
Instrument Pads
Sync
Synchronizes the echoes to the project tempo. The time span between the
ec
hoes is set in fractions of beats.
Time
Adjusts the time span between the echoes.
Note Value
If Sync is
activated, this parameter adjusts the time span in fractions of beats.
Repeats
Determines the maximum number of the echoes.
Damping
Determines whether the echoes fade-in or fade-out with the MIDI velocity. If
u set this parameter to negative values, the MIDI velocity gradually
yo
increases. If you set this parameter to positive values, the MIDI velocity
gradually decreases.
Damping shows only an effect if the sound settings of the samples use
velocity.
Pitch
Determines how much the pitch changes from echo to echo.
Distribution
Determines the time distribution of the echoes. If you set this parameter to
egative values, the time span between echoes gets shorter, that is, the
n
echoes speed up. With positive values, the echoes slow down.
46
Working With Pads
Pattern Pads
Pattern Pads
The pad section provides up to 128 pads, organized in 8 groups of 16 pads. Each
pad is mapped to a MIDI note. You can assign MIDI patterns to each pattern pad,
to trigger complete drum patterns or single instrument patterns, depending on the
MIDI files. The pads are used to switch between patterns.
If a MIDI file is assigned to a pad, the pad shows a progress indicator and a beat
counter. When the pattern is triggered, the progress indicator shows the playing
progress graphically. In addition, the beat counter shows the current beat during
playback. This allows you to see which patterns are currently running and at which
playing position, relative to the length of the pattern. This can be particularly helpful
when Toggle mode is selected, because it provides a quick overview of the
patterns that will be stopped and those that will be triggered.
The Transport controls above the pads allow you to trigger the focused pattern pad
without playing a MIDI note. Click the Stop button to end playback. If you switch
between pattern pads during playback, the pattern changes according to the set
Restart Mode.
Assigning MIDI Files to Pads
• Drag a MIDI file from the Explorer/Finder or from the MediaBay onto a pad.
• Drag a MIDI part from the h
• Drag a file from the Explorer/Finder onto the import field. The file is imported
r user pattern library and assigned to the selected pad.
to you
• Select a pad and open the Agent ta
open the Pattern Library pop-up menu and select one of the factory or user
MIDI patterns.
ost application onto a pad.
b on the Edit page. In the Pattern section,
47
Working With Pads
PROCEDURE
PROCEDURE
Pattern Pads
Assigning Multiple MIDI Files to Pads
You can drag and drop several MIDI files to pads at the same time.
1. Move the mouse over the lower part of the pad on which you want to drop the
first MIDI file.
A yellow frame indicates which pads receive a MIDI file.
2. Drop the files.
RESULT
The MIDI files are imported to your user MIDI pattern library and are automatically
assigned to the pads.
Removing MIDI Files from Pads
• To remove a MIDI pattern, right-click a pad and select Remove Pattern from
the context menu.
• To remove the MIDI patterns from all selected pads right-click one of the pads
and select
Remove Pattern from the context menu.
Using MIDI Port B for Pattern Pads
By default, instrument and pattern pads share the same MIDI port. If two pads are
triggered in parallel, the pattern pad always gets priority, therefore, instrument pads
that use the same trigger note as a pattern pad cannot be played via MIDI.
To be able to play all instrument and pattern pads via MIDI, assign MIDI port B to
the pattern pad section. This way, you can trigger instruments on one MIDI port and
patterns on the other.
• To use Port B, activate the Use MIDI Port B for Pattern Pads button in the
lower left corner of the pattern pad section.
If port B is used, MIDI data is received on all MIDI channels.
48
Working With Pads
NOTE
Pattern Pads
Locking Pad Settings
The settings in the Pad section (Exclusive, Jam State, Play Mode, etc.) are
common to all slots, that is, you set them up only once. However, these settings are
part of kit presets, and are replaced when you load a preset to a kit slot.
• To avoid overwriting your existing pad settings with the prese
loading a preset to a kit slot, activate the Lock Pad Settings button below the
pad section.
If this button is activated, the pad settings from the preset are not applied and
t
he existing settings remain active.
•If the Loc
different slots, the pad settings saved in the presets overwrite the existing pad
settings.
Any active pattern pads from the new prese
settings on the associated pads. Inactive pads are not restored from the
preset, that is, existing settings for these pads remain active.
k Pad Settings button is deactivated and you load kit presets to
Moving and Copying Pattern Pads
You can copy or move pattern pads with all their settings to other pattern pads of
the same or a different pattern group.
• To move the active pattern pad with all its settings to another pad, drag
pad and drop it on the destination pad.
• To copy a pattern pad to another pad, hold down [Alt]/[Option]
pad on the destination pad.
t settings when
t overwrite the current pad
the
and drag the
• To move or copy one or more pads onto other pads, use the context menu
commands Cu
This way, you can move or copy multiple
You can also move or copy pads between pad groups. To do so, first drag the pad
onto the group button for the group to which you want to move or copy the pad,
then drop it onto the destination pad.
t Pad, Copy Pad, and Paste Pad.
pads at the same time.
49
Working With Pads
PROCEDURE
Pattern Pads
Overview Tab
The Overview tab shows which patterns and styles are assigned to the pattern
pads of the 4 agents.
Cells in which a name is displayed have a pattern or style
assigned to a pad, its background is gray and if a style is assigned, its background
is dark blue.
The 4 columns represent the 4 agents. For each agent, the 16 pattern pads of the
selected pattern group are displayed.
• To select a pattern pad of a specific agent, click the corresponding cell.
The name of the selected pattern or style
tab.
• To activate/deactivate a pad, click its button.
Only active pads are played back.
• To find out where a user MIDI pattern is stored on your system, right-click the
cell and
select Show in Explorer (Win)/Reveal in Finder (Mac).
Assigning Patterns and Styles to Cells
You can assign patterns or styles to the cells on the Overview tab.
assigned. If a pattern is
is displayed in the top section of the
1. Move the mouse pointer over a cell so that an arrow icon is displayed on the
right.
2. Click the arrow to open a window that shows the available patterns or styles.
3. Select an entry in the list.
50
Working With Pads
NOTE
NOTE
Pattern Pads
4. Optional: To preview the pattern or style, trigger the pattern pad.
5. Double-click an entry to load it.
Unassigning Patterns and Styles
• To remove the assignment for a single pattern pad, right-click the cell and
select Clear.
• To remove all pattern pad assignments for
one of the cells in the corresponding column and select Clear Column.
Moving and Copying Patterns and Styles
• To switch the content of 2 cells, drag a cell to another cell.
• To copy a pattern or style of a cell to another cell, hold down [Alt]/[Option] and
ag the cell to another cell.
dr
• To move or copy patterns or styles to other groups,
and drag the cell first over the corresponding group button.
This switches the Overview p
the content on the destination cell.
• Some agents do not support styles, for example, the Beat Agent. If you try to
move or copy a style to a cell for an agent that does not support them, the
styles are automatically converted to MIDI patterns.
• If you load a pattern group that contains styles into a slot for an agent that does
not support styles, the styles are automatically converted to MIDI patterns.
the 16 pads of an agent, right-click
hold down [Alt]/[Option]
age to display this group. Now, you can drop
Opening Patterns in the Pattern Editor
• To create a new pattern, double-click an empty cell.
This opens the Pat
pattern.
• To edit an existing pattern, double-click the cell.
This opens the Pat
You can only edit patterns in the Pattern editor, not styles. If you want to edit your
styles this way, you must first convert the part of the style as MIDI pattern.
RELATED LINKS
Converting Intros, Main Patterns, Fills, or Endings into MIDI Patterns on page
109
Pattern Editor on page 52
tern editor where you can enter events to create a new
tern editor where you can edit the events of the pattern.
51
Working With Pads
NOTE
Pattern Pads
Managing Pattern Groups
You can save the 16 pads of a group with their patterns and settings as a pattern
group. This allows you to quickly restore and reuse particular patterns and settings.
Pattern groups include all pad settings, that is, the settings for Exclusive Mode,
Jam State, Play Mode, etc.
• To save the current pattern group for a kit, right-click the kit in the kit rack or
e corresponding slot on the Overview tab and select Save Pattern
th
Group….
• To load a pattern group, right
Pattern Editor
In the Pattern editor, you can create and edit MIDI drum patterns.
-click the kit in the kit rack and select Load
Pattern Group….
If you load a pattern group, the pad settings are only restored on empty pads. If you
have assigned a pattern to a pad, your pad settings are not overwritten by the pattern
group.
• To open the Pattern editor, click the Pattern tab on the Edit page.
The editor is subdivided into several sections:
• The title bar showing the name of the current pattern at the top.
• The toolbar below the title bar.
• The drum sounds list on the left.
• The event display on the right. In the event display, the drum notes are shown.
• The controller lane at the bottom.
52
Working With Pads
NOTE
Pattern Pads
Drum Sounds List
In the list on the left, the drum sounds are listed. What is shown in the list depends
on the Visibility setting on the Configuration pop-up menu.
The columns show the key, the pad name, the quantize setting, and the mute status
of the pads.
The column sorting is fixed, you cannot change it.
Drum Sounds List Context Menu
In the column header, the following menu options are available on the context menu:
Select All Notes
Selects all notes in the Pat
tern editor.
Clear Pattern
Deletes all notes in the Patte
rn editor.
Delete Double Notes
Deletes all double n
otes in the Pattern editor, that is, all notes that are placed
on top of other notes at the exact same positions.
Double notes can occur when quantizing, drawing in notes, etc.
Trim Pattern to Start/End
Deletes all notes outside the pattern start and end markers.
Duplicate Pattern
Copies all events between the pattern st
art and end markers and pastes them
after the end marker. If any events are located after the end marker, these are
deleted.
Classify Pattern
• Use Best Classified
Slices: Moves the notes of each class to the
cleanest sounding slice of the class.
For example, if a sliced loop has clean sounding kicks and kicks with a
crash or hihat on top, Use Best Classified Slices moves the notes to
the slice with the cleanest sounding kick. This way, the sliced loop plays
only with the cleanest sounding slices.
• Use Longest Slices: Moves the notes of each class to the longest slice
of the class.
This is useful if you want to play a sliced loop slower than its original
tempo. If you slow down the tempo of a sliced loop, shorter slices can
produce gaps. But if the sliced loop plays only with the longest slice of
each class, these gaps are avoided.
On the context menu for the instrument lanes, the following options are available:
53
Working With Pads
Pattern Pads
Toolbar
Select All Notes on Key
Selects all notes on the selected key.
Delete All Notes on Key
Deletes all notes on the selected key.
Delete Double Notes on Key
Deletes all double notes on the selected key, that is, all notes that are placed
top of other notes at the exact same positions.
on
Double notes can occur when quantizing, drawing in notes, etc.
The toolbar contains tools, visibility options, and settings for creating and editing
your patterns in the Pattern editor.
Object Selection
Use this tool to select drum notes.
Drumstick
Use this tool to draw in individual drum notes. To remove a note, click on it.
Erase
Use this tool to remove drum notes.
Zoom
Use this tool to zoom in on the click positi
on. Hold down [Alt]/[Option] to zoom
out.
Mute
Use this tool to mute individual drum notes.
Line
Use this tool to enter a line of drum notes or controller values.
Show Controller Lane
Activate this button to show the controller
lane at the bottom of the editor. In
the controller lane, you can enter and edit MIDI controller values.
Show Note Length
Switches the display of the notes between diamonds and bars. If bars are
own, you can edit the note length.
sh
Show Info Line
Shows/Hides the info line. The info line shows
the start, end, length, key, and
velocity of the selected note event.
54
Working With Pads
Pattern Pads
• To edit a parameter, double-click on the value, enter a new value, and
press [Return].
Configuration
If you click the Configu
ration button, the following options are available:
Preview Notes
If this button is activated, notes are playe
d back automatically when you
create or select them.
Auto-Scroll
Activates/Deactivates auto-scroll.
If Aut
o-Scroll is activated, the grid scrolls automatically during playback so
that the position cursor is always visible.
Show Pad Colors
If this button is activated, the notes in the
editor are shown in the colors of the
corresponding pads.
This allows you to keep a better overview over the different instruments if you
ar
e working with sliced loops that have been classified into kick, snare, hihat,
etc.
Visibility
• If you select Show Al
l Keys, the list is sorted chromatically, starting with
the lowest key (C-2) at the top and ending with the highest key (G8) at
the bottom of the list.
•Select Show Keys with Events to show all keys for which MIDI notes
are available at the top of the list. Keys that do not contain MIDI notes
are not shown.
•Select Show Keys with Pad Assignments to show all keys for which
samples are assigned to the pads. Keys without sample assignments
are not shown.
Create Notes when drawing Velocity
If this is activated, MIDI note events are automatically created when you draw
velocity events on the controller lane.
in
To the right of the Configuration
button, the following tools and options are
available:
Snap
•If Snap is activated, notes snap to the grid when you create or move
them.
55
Working With Pads
NOTE
Pattern Pads
•If Snap is deactivated, you can move notes freely to any position.
Velocity for new notes
Determines the velocity of notes that are entered in the Pa
ttern editor.
• Click the button to select one of the 4 predefined velocity values, or
nter the velocity value directly in the value field on the right.
e
Iterative Quantize On/Off
Determines whether the notes are quantized exactly to the set quantize grid,
o
r whether they are quantized iteratively, that is, moved half the way to the next
quantize note value.
Global Quantize On/Off
Allows you to select which value is used when Snap is a
ctivated – the global
quantize value on the toolbar or the individual quantize values for the drum
sounds.
Record MIDI
Enables the live recording of MIDI events.
Auto Quantize
If this button is activated, Groove Age
nt automatically quantizes the recorded
notes according to either the note value set in the Q column of the instrument
or, if Global Quantize is activated, according to the global quantization note
value.
Metronome
Activates/Deactivates the metronome for live recording of MIDI events.
Precount Click
Activates/Deactivates a 1-bar precount for the metronome for live recording
f MIDI events.
o
Metronome Volume
Sets the volume of the click for live re
cording of MIDI events. To reset the
setting, [Ctrl]/[Command]-click the button.
Pattern Length
Displays the length of the pattern.
• To change the pattern length, enter a new value.
Start Beat
Displays the start beat of the pattern.
• To change the pattern start, enter a new value or drag the start marker
in the display to a new position.
Notes before the pattern start are not played back. However, they are not
deleted when you change the pattern start.
56
Working With Pads
NOTE
PROCEDURE
Pattern Pads
End Beat
Displays the end beat of the pattern.
• To change the pattern end, enter a new value or drag the end marker in
the display to a new position.
Notes after the pattern end are not played back. However, they are not
deleted when you change the pattern end.
Sign (time signature)
Determines the time signature. You can enter the new signature as fractions
beats.
of
Creating and Editing Patterns
PREREQUISITE
• To edit an existing pattern, select the corresponding pad and open the
n editor.
Patter
• To create a new user pattern, select an empty pad and open the Pattern
or.
edit
1. Select the drumstick tool.
2. Enter new notes or modify the existing notes.
3. Optional: Add controller values for the se
or the Draw tool in the controller lane.
4. Optional: Enter a name for the pattern in the title bar.
5. Click the Save MIDI Pattern button in the title bar.
RESULT
The pattern is saved in the User folder and can now be loaded via the pattern menu
on the title bar.
Entering, Editing, and Previewing Notes
lected drum sound by using the Line
• To enter notes, select the Drumstick tool and click in the event display.
To enter a note and specify its velocity at the same time, hold down
[Ctr
l]/[Command]-[Shift], click in the event display and drag up to increase
the velocity, and down to decrease the velocity.
• To preview an instrument, click in the Key
• To mute a drum sound, click in the Mut
57
column for the Instrument.
e column for the sound.
Working With Pads
NOTE
NOTE
Pattern Pads
• To change the length of a note, activate the Show Note Length button on the
toolbar, move the mouse pointer over the border of the note so that a
double-arrow is shown, then click and drag left or right.
• To move a note, drag it to another position.
• To delete a note, click it with the Erase tool.
• To cut, copy, and paste notes, use the standard key commands.
• To duplicate notes, select them and
When entering, editing, and duplicating notes, double notes can occur, that is,
notes that are placed exactly on top of other notes. To remedy this, right-click the
header of the drum sounds list and select Delete Double Notes.
Quantizing Notes
If Snap to
Grid is activated, the note end or start snaps to the grid when you
change the note length.
Notes are pasted at the cursor position.
press [Ctrl]/[Command]-[D].
Duplicated notes are inserted after the last note of the selection, according to
the set grid.
You can draw notes with a global quantization grid or with an individual quantization
grid for each instrument.
• To draw notes with the global quantization grid, set the Quantize Presets
pop-up
menu to the quantize value that you want to use and activate the
Global Quantize button.
If you activate Iterative Quantize, the notes are not aligned with the exact quantize
note positions, but are moved halfway there.
• To change the quantize value for a pad, click the Q column for the sound and
select another value from the pop-up menu.
Defining the Length of a Pattern
• To define the length of the pattern, drag the end marker on the time line.
This is useful if you started with an empty
pause behind the last MIDI event of the pattern.
If you drag the end marker to the left and the bars behind the end marker are
mpty, the length of the pattern is shortened automatically.
e
pattern or if you want to have a
If you drag the end marker to the left and the bars behind the end marker
ontain MIDI events, the length of the pattern is shortened only to the bar that
c
contains the last MIDI event. No MIDI events are deleted.
58
Working With Pads
PROCEDURE
Pattern Pads
You can also set the start and end positions for a pattern manually on the Agent tab.
Defining the Playback Range
You can specify the range of the pattern that you want to be played back.
• To define which part of a pattern is played
Trimming Patterns
If you edit a pattern by changing its length, you can remove the notes and controllers
that are no longer part of the pattern.
1. Set up the pattern start and end to encompass the range that you want to use
2. Right-click in the column header section of the drum sounds list, and select
RESULT
All events outside the pattern start and end borders are removed.
back, drag the start and end
markers of the pattern on the time line.
MIDI events before the start or after the end marker are not played back. They
a
re grayed out to indicate this.
for the pattern.
Trim Pattern to Start/End.
Editing Controllers on the Controller lane
The controller lane below the event display shows MIDI controller events for the
selected drum sound. You can show one MIDI controller at a time.
• To switch to another controller, click the name of the active controller and
ct another one from the list.
sele
• To draw in controller events for the notes of the selected drum sound, move
mouse pointer over the controller lane, so that it turns into a Draw tool, and
the
click.
• To draw in a series of controller events, use the Lin
in the controller lane.
• To control the open state of the hihat of
controller CC#4 Foot and enter the controller events.
Line Tool Modes
To select the mode for the Line tool, click the tool button and select an option from
the menu.
e tool, and click and drag
an Acoustic Agent, select the
59
Working With Pads
PROCEDURE
NOTE
NOTE
Pattern Pads
Line
In this mode, you can click and drag to create a straight line of controller
values.
Parabola, Sine, Triangle, Square
In these modes, you can insert a serie
different curve shapes.
Paint
This mode allows you to freely dra
Recording MIDI Events Live
Instead of entering notes one by one using the tools in the Pattern editor, you can
also record MIDI events live.
1. To enable the live recording of MIDI events, click the Record MIDI button on
the tool bar of the pattern editor or the Record button in the transport section
above the pad section.
This enables MIDI recording. The Record button in the transport section blinks to
indicate that it is armed.
2. Optional: Activate the Metronome and specify a Precount Click.
3. To start live recording, do one of the following:
•Click the Play button in the pad section.
• Trigger the pattern pad for which you want
• Start playback in the sequencer application. Thi
to record Groove Agent in the project context.
s of controller events representing
w in a series of controller events.
to record the notes.
s is especially useful if you want
4. Play notes and MIDI controllers on your MIDI keyboard.
If Auto Quantize is activated, the notes are recorded at the quantize grid positions.
The recording runs in a cycle over the whole length of a pattern.
RESULT
The notes that you play are added to the existing notes in the pattern.
If you record notes or controller events over already existing notes or controllers,
these are replaced by the new ones.
Jam Mode and MIDI Record cannot be used together. The Record button is not
active in Jam Mode. If you activate Jam Mode while you record, recording is
stopped.
60
Working With Pads
Common Pad Settings
Common Pad Settings
• Pads show the associated MIDI note in the top right corner.
For pattern pads, you can change the MIDI note assignment. For instrument
pads
, you can only change this if Use Hardware Controller Mapping is
activated.
• In the lower section, the name of the pad is displayed.
Pad Colors
Selecting Pads
• If samples are assigned to an instrument
up.
• If a MIDI file is mapped to a pattern pad, th
• A pad lights up if the associated MIDI note is triggered.
• A yellow frame around a pad indicates that this pad is selected for editing.
You can colorize the instrument pads and the pattern pads using up to 16 different
colors.
This can be used to improve the overview of instruments within your kit, for example.
You can set the bass drum to one color, the snare to another, toms and cymbals to
another, and so on.
• To apply a color to a pad or to several
and select a color from the Set Color submenu.
Apart from the regular selection options, you can use the additional selection
options on the pad context menu.
pad, the LED above the pad lights
e LED above the pad lights up.
selected pads, open the context menu
• Select All
• Select All
• Invert Selectio
• Invert Selectio
Pad Functions
• To change the name of a pad, right-click the pad, select Rename Pad from
Pads – All 128 pads are selected.
Pads in Group – All 16 pads of the pad group are selected.
n – Selects all unselected pads and deselects all selected
pads.
n in Group – As above, but only for the pad group.
the context menu, enter a new name and press [Enter].
This is useful if the names of the samples ar
intuitive. Renaming pads also allows you to indicate that more than one
sample is mapped to a pad, for example.
61
e either too long or not very
Working With Pads
Pad Functions
• You can edit multiple selected pads. The first selected pad shows a yellow
frame, the rest of the selected pads a lighter yellow frame.
• To select a pad without triggering a sample or pattern, [Alt]/[Option]-click the
pad.
• In Instrument mode, the pads can be used to trigger sounds. You can trigger
m with different velocities. Velocities are lower the further down towards
the
the bottom of a pad you click. Clicking towards the top of the pad results in
higher velocities.
• To mute or solo an instrument pad, click the corresponding icon in the upper
ft corner of a pad. Click again to unsolo or unmute.
le
• To unmute or unsolo all instrument
pads, click the Reset All Mute/Reset All
Solo buttons below the pads.
• To remove samples from an instrument pad, right-click
the pad and select
Remove All Samples from the context menu.
• To reset a pad, right-click the pad and
select Reset Pad from the context
menu. To reset all 128 pads, right-click a pad and select Reset All Pads from
the context menu.
For instrument pads, this removes
all samples and resets name, color, and
trigger note for the pads to their default values.
For pattern pads, this removes
the MIDI file and the name from the pads and
resets color and trigger note to the default values.
62
Beat Agent is a full beat production instrument with all the tools and sounds to
create amazing beats for any electronic or urban music genre.
100 amazing sounding drum kits are included, alongside all the advanced features
that you
in manipulating samples and loops, with features like automatic loop slicing,
one-click drum hit replacement, an onboard FX rack and much, much more.
Sound Editing
Beat Agent
need to edit existing kits and create your own ones. Beat Agent also excels
On the Edit page for instrument pads, you set up the sound of the kits.
• To open the Edit page, click
plug-in panel.
the Edit button in the upper right section of the
The Edit page contains the Main, Pitch, Filter, Amp, Sample, Slice, and MIDI FX
tabs.
63
Beat Agent
NOTE
Sound Editing
Absolute and Relative Editing
When editing multiple samples, you can either change values absolutely for all the
samples (ABS) or make relative changes (REL), depending on the setting of the
corresponding button on the toolbar.
• If you use absolute editing and you change a parameter from 50 % to 60 % for
one sample,
• If you use relative editing and you change a parameter from 50 % to 60 % in
ne zone, another selected zone that was set to 70 % is set to 80 %.
o
Relative changes can be made for all parameters that can be adjusted continuously.
Changes of parameters that select one of multiple modes or switch between two
states are always absolute.
all other samples are also set to 60 %.
Editing Selection or All
You can apply your editing either to the selection (SEL) or to all samples of the pad
(PAD), depending on the setting of the corresponding button on the toolbar.
Assigning Samples to Pads
You can assign samples to pads by using drag and drop, replace existing samples
using the Mapping View context menu, or add samples to pads using the Browser.
Assigning Samples to Pads using Drag and Drop
You can drag one or more samples from the Explorer/Finder and from your host
application onto Groove Agent. Samples can be mapped to the same pad, or to
different pads.
You can drag files from the following locations:
•MediaBay
• Project window
• Pool
• Sample Editor (regions)
• Audio Part Editor
• LoopMash slices
• To assign a sample to a pad, drag it onto the pad.
64
Beat Agent
NOTE
Sound Editing
When you drag one or more samples onto a pad, the drop icons are shown. These
determine whether the samples are added to the pad, whether the current sample
is replaced with the one you are dragging, or whether the samples that you drag are
assigned to multiple consecutive pads.
• Drag samples to the topmost drop icon to add them to the pad.
You can assign up to 8 samples to a pad.
• Drag one or more samples to the middle drop icon to replace the currently
assigned samples with the ones that you are dragging.
• Drag several samples to the lowest drop icon to assign them to several
consecutive pads in one or in several groups.
A yellow border is shown around the pads that receive one of the samples.
How many samples can be dropped to several pads depends on the number of
available pads.
If Groove Agent cannot supply a sufficient number of free pads for the number
of dropped samples, a dialog is displayed, allowing you to proceed or cancel
the operation. If pads already contained samples, these are replaced.
ELATED LINKS
R
Mapping View on page 67
65
Beat Agent
NOTE
NOTE
Sound Editing
Moving and Copying Samples between Pads
Samples can be moved and copied between pads.
• To move the samples from one pad to another
top, the middle, or the bottom drop icon of the destination pad.
To copy the samples instead of moving them, keep [Alt]/[Option] pressed when
dragging the samples.
When you copy pads that are part of a sliced loop, they are pasted as normal
instrument pads, that is, they are no longer related to the loop.
Moving and Copying Samples between Groups
To move or copy the samples to pads in another group, drag the samples on the
group button first to show the group, and then to the new pad.
The options are the same as when moving samples between pads of the same
group.
Moving Sliced Loops
pad, drag the pad to either the
You can move sliced loops with one drag and drop operation.
• Drag the first slice of the loop and move it onto the pad section.
When you start dragging, Groove Agent shows the pads on which the sliced
loop can be dropped, that
pads to insert all the slices. Pads on which the loop cannot be dropped are
grayed out.
• Drop the slice on the pad from which you want to start
Changing the Order of Pads
By default, instrument pads are sorted chromatically, based on the standard
mapping. However, in some cases, you may want to display pads from other groups
within a particular group. Therefore, you can exchange the position of pads.
For example, often a second bass drum is mapped to B0, which can be found in
pad g
roup 2. Most of the other common drum kit instruments are, however, located
in group 3. If you want to see the second bass drum together with the other
instruments of group 3, exchange the B0 pad with an unused pad in group 3.
• To exchange 2 pads, hold down [Shift] a
is, the pads that are followed by enough empty
inserting slices.
nd drag one pad onto another pad.
This exchanges the entire contents of the pads with all their settings.
66
Beat Agent
NOTE
NOTE
Sound Editing
• To see whether the order of the pads differs from the standard sorting, you
can either check the trigger notes of the pads to see whether they are mapped
chromatically or not, or you can click the Info button to see the pad index of
all pads.
• To reset the order of all pads to a chromatic
a pad and select Reset Pad Order.
Mapping View
The mapping view shows the current sample mapping of the selected pad.
You can replace and remove samples in the mapping view and adjust their velocity
ranges. The focused sample is displayed in a lighter color.
The mapping view always shows the velocity ranges, even if they are not used to
trigger samples. However, the values only have an effect in Velocity mode.
Changing the Velocity Ranges of Samples
order, open the context menu for
• Select the sample in the mapping view and enter new values in the Hi and Lo
fields on the right.
• Position the mouse between two samples, so that
and drag to the left or right.
Changing the velocity range of a sample automatically adapts adjacent samples,
that is, velocity ranges cannot overlap.
Editing the Mapping of a Pad
A pad can contain up to 8 samples.
• You can add samples by dropping them onto the mapping view. They can be
inserted between two other samples, behind the last sample, or in front of the
first sample. This is indicated by a red insert line.
a double-arrow is shown,
• To replace a sample, drag a new sample onto an existing sample. Which
sample will
be replaced is indicated by a red frame.
67
Beat Agent
PROCEDURE
NOTE
Sound Editing
• To change the order of the samples, drag them to a new position.
• To map a sample to another pad, drag it onto the pad.
Replacing Samples
You can replace individual samples in the Mapping View with other samples on your
hard disk.
1. Right-click the sample and select Replace Sample from the context menu.
2. In the file dialog, navigate to the file that you want to use instead, select it, and
This removes the sample from the current pad. To map the sample to another
pa
d without losing the current mapping, hold down [Alt]/[Option] while
dragging.
click Open.
RESULT
The sample is replaced.
Removing Samples From Pads
• To remove a sample from a pad, right-click it and select Remove Sample
from the context menu.
• To remove all samples of a pad, right-click one
Remove Selected Samples.
If the PAD/SEL button is set to PAD, you cannot select individual samples and
Remove Selected Samples removes all samples of the pad.
Main Tab
The Main tab gives you access to the sample mapping of the pad as well as to the
most important parameters, like Volume, Pan, Cutoff etc.
of the samples and select
The Main
and end markers as well as fade-in and fade-out markers and fade curves in the
display.
Mode
tab also shows a simplified sample editor. You can adjust the sample start
Determines the trigger mode
•In Velo
played.
city mode, the incoming velocity determines which sample is
for the samples of a pad:
68
Beat Agent
NOTE
NOTE
NOTE
Sound Editing
•In Layer mode, all samples are played at the same time, regardless of
their velocity.
•In Round Robin mode, the samples are played repeatedly one after the
other, from left to right.
•In Random mode, samples are played randomly. Repetitions can occur.
•In Random Exclusive mode, samples are played randomly, but
repetitions are not allowed.
Poly
Sets the maximum polyphony of a
pad. For example, if this is set to 4, you can
trigger a pad 4 times before notes are stolen.
The polyphony value represents the number of notes that can sound
simultaneously, therefore triggering layered samples on a pad may lead to a
much higher number of actual sample voices.
Fade
Specifies the time it takes for a voice to fade out when voices are stolen.
You can specify different fade settings for the different samples of a pad.
Exclusive Group
This allows you to assign a pad to one of 3
2 exclusive groups. Pads within a
group are never played back simultaneously. When a new note is played, the
previous note stops.
Volume
Sets the level of the sample.
Pan
Sets the position of the sample in the stereo panorama.
Coarse
Adjusts the tuning in semitones.
Fine
Adjusts the fine tuning in cents.
Cutoff
Controls the cutoff frequency of the filter.
Cutoff, Resonance, and Distortion are only available if a filter is used.
Resonance
Sets the filter resonance.
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Distortion
Sets the amount of distortion. The effect of this parameter depends on the
sele
cted filter mode.
Output
The output to which the samples are routed.
• By default, samples are routed to the Kit mixer, where they are also sent
through the insert effects.
• You can route samples to one of the 16 agent busses that are available
on the Agent submenu. If samples are sent to an agent bus, they are
also sent through the insert effects of this bus.
• You can route samples to one of the 16 available stereo outputs. The
first stereo out is always the Master output. This output is always active
and can also contain insert effects.
• You can also route a pad directly to one of the 4 AUX channels, to
create sub groups, for example.
Samples that are routed to an output that is deactivated in your host
application are automatically sent to the Master output of the plug-in.
Playback Quality
Sets the quality.
• Standard: Select this mode to play back the samples with their original
bit depth and sample rate.
• Vintage: Select this mode to emulate the sound quality of early 12-bit
drum machines. The detuning of the samples produces the typical
aliasing effect. The sample rate is limited to 26040 Hz.
• Turntable mode is similar to Vintage mode. The samples are played
with 12bit/26040 Hz. Use this mode to emulate the typical workflow of
hip hop producers. Because the first digital drum machines only had a
very limited amount of RAM, turntables were sampled at a speed of 45
RPM instead of 33 1/3 RPM. This way, more samples could be saved
into the available RAM. During playback, the samples were tuned down,
to correct for the change in pitch. This added the typical crunch and
aliasing that the early drum machines are famous for.
If Vintage or Turntable is selected for a sample, you cannot edit the sample
using the AudioWarp functions on the Sample tab. If you try to select one of
these modes for a sample that uses AudioWarp, a warning message is
displayed.
Filter Type
Sets the filter type. You can choose between Classic, Tube Drive, Ha
Bit Reduction and Rate Reduction.
To deactivate the filter, select Off.
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Filter Shape
• LP 24, 18, 12, and 6 are low-pass filters with 24, 18, 12, and 6 dB/oct.
equencies above the cutoff are attenuated.
Fr
• BP 12 and BP 24 are band-pass filters with 12 and 24 dB/oct.
Frequencies below and above the cutoff are attenuated.
• HP6+LP18 and HP6+LP12 are combinations of a high-pass filter with
6 dB/oct and a low-pass filter with 18 and 12 dB/oct, respectively
(asymmetric band-pass filter). Frequencies below and above the cutoff
are attenuated. Attenuation is more pronounced for the frequencies
above the cutoff.
• HP12+LP6 and HP18+LP6 are combinations of a high-pass filter with
12 and 18 dB/oct and a low-pass filter with 6 dB/oct (asymmetric
band-pass filter). Frequencies below and above the cutoff are
attenuated. Attenuation is more pronounced for the frequencies below
the cutoff.
• HP 24, 18, 12, and 6 are high-pass filters with 24, 18, 12, and 6 dB/oct.
Frequencies below the cutoff are attenuated.
• BR 12 and BR 24 are band-reject filters with 12 and 24 dB/oct.
Frequencies around the cutoff are attenuated.
• BR12+LP6 and BR12+LP12 are combinations of a band-reject filter
with 12 dB/oct and a low-pass filter with 6 and 12 dB/oct, respectively.
Frequencies around and above the cutoff are attenuated.
• BP12+BR12 is a band-pass filter with 12 dB/oct plus a band-reject
• HP6+BR12 and HP12+BR12 are combinations of a high-pass filter
• AP is an all-pass filter with 18 dB/oct. Frequencies around the cutoff are
• AP+LP6 is an all-pass filter with 18 dB/oct plus a low-pass filter with
• HP6+AP is a high-pass filter with 6 dB/oct plus an all-pass filter with
Editing the Envelope
An envelope section is available on the Pitch, Filter, and Amp tabs. Each
multisegment envelope has up to 128 nodes with the Time, Level, and Curve
parameters. The nodes and their parameters specify the overall shape of the
envelope. You can edit one or multiple nodes in the graphical envelope editor or by
entering values.
filter with 12 dB/oct. Frequencies below, above, and around the cutoff
are attenuated.
with 6 and 12 dB/oct and a band-reject filter with 12 dB/oct.
Frequencies below and around the cutoff are attenuated.
attenuated.
6 dB/oct. Frequencies around and above the cutoff are attenuated.
18 dB/oct. Frequencies around and below the cutoff are attenuated.
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Fixed
•If Fixed is activated and you move selected nodes on the time axis, only the
selected nodes are moved.
•If Fixed is de
Snap
You can select a second envelope to be displayed in the background of the edited
envelope. If Snap is activated and you change the position of nodes, they snap to
the nodes of the envelope that is shown in the background.
• To specify the envelope for the background, open the pop-up menu to the
Selecting Nodes
• To select a node, click on it in the graphical editor.
• If multiple nodes are selected, you can use the Nod
• To add a node to a selection, [Shift]-cli
activated, all nodes that follow the edited nodes are also moved.
ight of the Snap button and select an envelope from the list.
r
Selected nodes turn light blue. The focused node
frame. The value fields to the left of the graphical envelope editor display the
parameters of the focused node.
focus to a different node without losing the current selection.
ck the node. Selected nodes are edited
together.
is indicated by an orange
e pop-up menu to set the
• You can select multiple nodes by drawing a re
the mouse.
• If the graphical editor has the focus, you can select the next or the previous
node with the left and right
Adjusting the Time Parameter
The Time parameter specifies the period of time between two nodes. Depending
on the Sync mode, the Time parameter is displayed in milliseconds and seconds,
or in fractions of beats.
• To set the Time par
a value in the Time field.
• You can also adjust the Time
dragging the nodes left or right, to decrease or to increase the time span.
For a higher resolution, hold [Shift] while moving the nodes.
To limit the movement to the time axis, that is, to change only the horizontal
position of a node,
ctangle around the nodes with
arrow keys.
ameter, select the nodes that you want to adjust and enter
parameter in the graphical envelope editor, by
hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] while dragging.
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Adjusting the Level Parameter
The Level parameter specifies the amplitude of the envelope at the position set by
the Time parameter.
•To set the Level
a value in the Level field.
• You can also adjust the Level
dragging the selected nodes up or down, to decrease or increase the levels.
For a higher resolution, hold [Shift] while moving the nodes.
To limit the movement to the level axis, that is, to change only the vertical
position of a node,
Adjusting the Curve Parameter
The Curve parameter allows you to adjust the curvature of the envelope curve
between two nodes from linear to logarithmic or exponential behavior.
• To set the Cu
enter a value in the Curve field. Positive curve values change the curvature
towards logarithmic and negative values towards exponential behavior.
• You can also adjust the Curve parameter in the graphical envelope editor by
agging the curve between two nodes.
dr
[Ctrl]/[Command]-click a curve to reset it to linear.
rve parameter, select the nodes that you want to adjust and
parameter, select the nodes that you want to adjust and enter
parameter in the graphical envelope editor by
hold down [Alt]/[Option] while dragging.
Adding and Removing Nodes
All nodes added after the sustain node always affect the release phase of the
envelope.
• To add a node, double-click at the positio
• To remove a node, double-click it.
• To delete several selected nodes, pr
You cannot remove the first, the last, or the sustain node.
n where you want to add the node.
ess [Delete] or [Backspace].
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Adding Nodes Using the Fill Function
The Fill function allows you to add multiple envelope nodes after the selected
nodes.
1. On the pop-up menu to the right of the Fill button, select the number of nodes
that you want to add.
2. In the graphical envelope editor, select the node after which you want to add
nodes.
If several nodes are selected, the new nodes are inserted after the last selected node.
If the Fixed fun
specified by the Time parameter of the selected node. If multiple nodes are selected,
the interval is specified by the focused node.
By activating Sync, you can speci
if 1/4 is selected, new nodes are added at exact quarter note intervals.
If the Fixed fun
selected node and the following one.
ction is deactivated, the added nodes are placed with the interval
ction is activated, the added nodes fill the space between the last
fy the interval with the Sync note value. For example,
Using Sync
3. Click the Fill button.
RESULT
The nodes are added.
You can synchronize the envelopes to the tempo of your host application. This
allows you to set envelope times that relate to musical time intervals, regardless of
any tempo changes.
1. Click Sync to activate sync mode for the envelope.
Sync mode is active if the button is highlighted. A grid spaced in fractions of beats is
displayed in the graphical envelope editor.
2. On the pop-up menu located to the right of the Sync button, select a note
value.
This sets the resolution of the grid.
The Time field of a node displays times in fractions of beats. The fraction is always
reduced to the smallest possible value. 2/16 is displayed as 1/8, for example.
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3. To use triplet note values, activate the T button.
4. You can also enter note values and triplets manually in the value field.
Envelope Modes
On the Mode pop-up menu, you can select one of 4 envelope modes, to specify
how the envelope is played back each time you hit a key.
Sustain
• Envelope nodes that do not exactly match a note value display the closest note
value.
• Nodes that exactly match a note value are indicated by a red dot inside the
e of the node. This is useful if you switch the grid between triplets and
handl
normal note values, for example. The triplet nodes still indicate that they match
a note value, even if the grid shows normal note values.
The envelope starts playback from the first node to its s
ustain. The sustain
level is held as long as you play the note. When you release the note, the
envelope continues with the phases after the sustain. This mode is ideal for
looped samples.
Loop
The envelope starts playback from the first node to the loop nodes. The loop
peated for as long as the key is held. The envelope plays the phases after
is re
the sustain when you release the note. This mode is ideal for adding motion
to the sustain.
One Shot
The envelope is played from the first to the l
ast node, even if you release the
key. The envelope has no sustain. This mode is ideal for drum samples.
Sample Loop
Preserves the natural attack of the sample
. The decay of the envelope does
not start until the sample has reached the sample loop start.
If you set the second node to the maximum level and use the following nodes
to sh
ape the decay during the loop phase of the sample, the envelope only
affects the loop phase. The attack of the envelope is still executed.
Setting Up the Loop
You can set up the envelope to repeat its playback between the selected nodes.
1. Set the envelope mode to Loop.
2. Adjust the loop with the graphical envelope editor.
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Pitch Tab
3. The loop is indicated by the green region in the graphical envelope editor.
Specify the loop start and end by dragging the borders of the region.
The loop region can only be set up in the decay phase of the envelope.
Key Range
Activate this button to specify the key range
of the sample, that is, the range
over which it is mapped chromatically to pads.
• Lo
w Key specifies the first key for the mapping.
• High Key specifies the last key for the mapping.
If you deactivate the Key Range bu
tton, the Low Key and High Key fields are
reset.
Fixed Pitch
•If Fixe
d Pitch is deactivated, the sample plays chromatically within the
key range.
•If Fixed Pitch is activated, the sample plays with its original pitch on all
of the keys within the key range. This is useful if you want to layer a pad
with the neighboring pads, for example.
Coarse
Adjusts the tuning in semitones.
Fine
Adjusts the fine tuning in cents.
Random
Determines how much the pitch of a sample is changed randomly with each
e that is played.
not
Env Amnt
Determines how much the pitch is affected by the pitch envelope.
Level Velocity (Vel>Lev)
Determines how the velocity affects the level of the envelope. The level
depends on this
parameter and on how hard you hit a key. Positive values
increase the level of the envelope the harder you hit a key. Negative values
decrease the level of the envelope the harder you hit a key.
Time Velocity (Vel>Time)
Adjusts the influence of velocity on the phases of the envelope. Positive
es decrease the times for higher velocity values. Negative values increase
valu
the times for higher velocity values.
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Segments
Here, you can select which phases of the envelope are affected by the Time
Velo
city parameter.
• A
ttack – The velocity affects the attack only.
• Attack + Decay – The velocity affects all phases until the sustain.
• Decay – The velocity affects all phases until the sustain but without the
attack.
• Attack + Release – The velocity affects the attack and the release
phases.
• All – The velocity affects all phases.
Level Velocity Curve
You can select the curve type to specify how the incoming velocity translates
to th
e level of the envelope. The characteristic of each curve is displayed by
a small icon.
Mapping Samples Chromatically over Multiple Pads
The Key Range settings on the Pitch tab allow you to map samples chromatically
over multiple pads.
If Edit Selected Sample or Pad (SEL) is activated, you adjust the key range for
each sample individually.
1. Set up the range with the Low Key and High Key value fields.
When you adjust the key range for chromatically mapped samples, the pads within
the key range inherit the name of the pad to which the original sample is assigned.
The name is only set if the corresponding pad does not have a name. The offset in
semitones from the original pad is added as suffix to the name. This helps you to find
the original pad more easily.
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Filter Tab
2. Optional: Set up the Fixed Pitch parameter.
•If Fixed Pitch is activated, the sample is played with its original pitch on all the
pads in the key range.
•If Fi
xed Pitch is deactivated, the sample is played chromatically within the key
range.
RESULT
The samples are mapped to the pads. An icon with two notes indicates which pads
play a chromatically mapped sample.
FTER COMPLETING THIS TASK
A
The context menu of pads that contain chromatically mapped samples offers the
Chromatically Mapped from function, allowing you to locate the original pad for
the mapped samples. The original pad itself does not contain this function.
The Filter tab allows you to adjust the tone color of the sound. The filter envelope
controls the cutoff frequency to shape the harmonic content over time.
Filter Type
Sets the filter type. You can choose between Classic, Tube Drive, Ha
rd Clip,
Bit Reduction and Rate Reduction.
To deactivate the filter, select Off.
Filter Shape
• LP 24, 18, 12, and 6 are low-pass filters with 24, 18, 12, and 6 dB/oct.
equencies above the cutoff are attenuated.
Fr
• BP 12 and BP 24 are band-pass filters with 12 and 24 dB/oct.
Frequencies below and above the cutoff are attenuated.
• HP6+LP18 and HP6+LP12 are combinations of a high-pass filter with
6 dB/oct and a low-pass filter with 18 and 12 dB/oct, respectively
(asymmetric band-pass filter). Frequencies below and above the cutoff
are attenuated. Attenuation is more pronounced for the frequencies
above the cutoff.
• HP12+LP6 and HP18+LP6 are combinations of a high-pass filter with
12 and 18 dB/oct and a low-pass filter with 6 dB/oct (asymmetric
band-pass filter). Frequencies below and above the cutoff are
attenuated. Attenuation is more pronounced for the frequencies below
the cutoff.
• HP 24, 18, 12, and 6 are high-pass filters with 24, 18, 12, and 6 dB/oct.
Frequencies below the cutoff are attenuated.
• BR 12 and BR 24 are band-reject filters with 12 and 24 dB/oct.
Frequencies around the cutoff are attenuated.
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• BR12+LP6 and BR12+LP12 are combinations of a band-reject filter
with 12 dB/oct and a low-pass filter with 6 and 12 dB/oct, respectively.
Frequencies around and above the cutoff are attenuated.
• BP12+BR12 is a band-pass filter with 12 dB/oct plus a band-reject
filter with 12 dB/oct. Frequencies below, above, and around the cutoff
are attenuated.
• HP6+BR12 and HP12+BR12 are combinations of a high-pass filter
with 6 and 12 dB/oct and a band-reject filter with 12 dB/oct.
Frequencies below and around the cutoff are attenuated.
• AP is an all-pass filter with 18 dB/oct. Frequencies around the cutoff are
attenuated.
• AP+LP6 is an all-pass filter with 18 dB/oct plus a low-pass filter with
6 dB/oct. Frequencies around and above the cutoff are attenuated.
• HP6+AP is a high-pass filter with 6 dB/oct plus an all-pass filter with
18 dB/oct. Frequencies around and below the cutoff are attenuated.
Cutoff
Controls the cutoff frequency of the filter.
Resonance
Sets the filter resonance.
Distortion
Sets the amount of distortion. The effect of this parameter depends on the
cted filter mode.
sele
Velocity
This parameter determines the influence th
at velocity has on the cutoff
frequency. If Velocity is set to 0 %, the setting has no effect. At any other
e, the cutoff frequency changes with the velocity.
valu
Env Amnt
Determines how much the filter is affected by the filter envelope.
Level Velocity (Vel>Lev)
Determines how the velocity affects the level of the envelope. The level
depends on this
parameter and on how hard you hit a key. Positive values
increase the level of the envelope the harder you hit a key. Negative values
decrease the level of the envelope the harder you hit a key.
Time Velocity (Vel>Time)
Adjusts the influence of velocity on the phases of the envelope. Positive
es decrease the times for higher velocity values. Negative values increase
valu
the times for higher velocity values.
Segments
Here, you can select which phases of the envelope are affected by the Time
city parameter.
Velo
• A
ttack – The velocity affects the attack only.
• Attack + Decay – The velocity affects all phases until the sustain.
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Amp Tab
• Decay – The velocity affects all phases until the sustain but without the
attack.
• Attack + Release – The velocity affects the attack and the release
phases.
• All – The velocity affects all phases.
Level Velocity Curve
You can select the curve type to specify how the incoming velocity translates
to th
e level of the envelope. The characteristic of each curve is displayed by
a small icon.
ELATED LINKS
R
Editing the Envelope on page 71
Volume
Sets the level of the sample.
Pan
Sets the position of the sample in the stereo panorama.
AUX 1-4
Here, you can specify the signal level that is sent to
the 4 integrated AUX FX
channels.
Level Velocity (Vel>Lev)
Determines how the velocity affects the level of the envelope. The level
depends on this
parameter and on how hard you hit a key. Positive values
increase the level of the envelope the harder you hit a key. Negative values
decrease the level of the envelope the harder you hit a key.
Time Velocity (Vel>Time)
Adjusts the influence of velocity on the phases of the envelope. Positive
es decrease the times for higher velocity values. Negative values increase
valu
the times for higher velocity values.
Segments
Here, you can select which phases of the envelope are affected by the Time
city parameter.
Velo
• A
ttack – The velocity affects the attack only.
• Attack + Decay – The velocity affects all phases until the sustain.
• Decay – The velocity affects all phases until the sustain but without the
attack.
• Attack + Release – The velocity affects the attack and the release
phases.
• All – The velocity affects all phases.
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Level Velocity Curve
You can select the curve type to specify how the incoming velocity translates
to th
e level of the envelope. The characteristic of each curve is displayed by
a small icon.
Output
The output to which the samples are routed.
• By default, samples are routed to the Kit mixer, where they are also sent
through the insert effects.
• You can route samples to one of the 16 agent busses that are available
on the Agent submenu. If samples are sent to an agent bus, they are
also sent through the insert effects of this bus.
• You can route samples to one of the 16 available stereo outputs. The
first stereo out is always the Master output. This output is always active
and can also contain insert effects.
• You can also route a pad directly to one of the 4 AUX channels, to
create sub groups, for example.
Sample Tab
Toolbar
Samples that are routed to an output that is deactivated in your host
application are automatically sent to the Master output of the plug-in.
Norm (Use Normalized Velocity)
• If you are working with normalized samples, keep this button
activated.
de
• If you are using velocity-layered samples that are not normalized,
activate this button. Otherwise, you might create unrealistic level
transitions between different velocity layers when setting the Vel<Lev
parameter.
The Sample tab is divided into different sections. The upper section shows the
waveform display and the lower section gives you access to all relevant sample
parameters.
The toolbar contains different tools for editing sample markers, loop markers, and
slices.
Play Sample
Activate this button to play
back the raw sample.
Play Selection Looped
Activate this button to play ba
ck the selection repeatedly.
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Auto Scroll
If this button is activated, the waveform display is
scrolled during playback,
keeping the playback cursor visible.
Follow Sample Playback
Activate this button to see a play locator when triggering a sample via MIDI.
Range Selection Tool
Click and drag with this tool to
create a selection.
Zoom Tool
If this tool is selected, you can click in the waveform to zoom in on the position
ere you click.
wh
Play Tool
If this tool is selected, click in the waveform
display to play back the sample.
It is played back from this position until you release the mouse button.
Scrub Tool
If this tool is selected, you can click in th
e waveform and drag sideways to play
back the audio. The playback direction and speed depend on how far you
move the mouse left or right from the position you clicked.
Snap
If the Snap button is activated, the selection start and end points and markers
snap to other
markers.
Snap to Zero Crossing
If this button is activated, markers and selection start and end points are only
d at zero crossings (positions in the audio where the amplitude is zero).
place
This helps you avoid pops and clicks that are caused by sudden amplitude
changes.
Edit Loop
If this icon is activated, the editor shows the
looped region repeatedly instead
of the original sample data. This provides a better overview over the transition
between loop end and loop start and allows you to set the loop markers to the
best positions.
If loop mode is deactivat
ed when you activate the Edit Loop icon, loop mode
is automatically set to Continuous and the loop markers are placed at the
start and end of the sample.
Show Resulting Loop Crossfade
Activate this button to see the effect of your crossfade settings in the
waveform display. If this butt
on is activated, the resulting waveform is
displayed in red.
This button only has an effect if Edit Loop is activated.
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Trim Sample
Trims the sample, either to the selection, or to the range that is set with the
sample start/end markers.
Normalize Sample
Normalizes the sample by detecting the highest peak level of the sample and
adjusting the gain
to reach a predefined level.
Normalize Level
Sets the level for the No
rmalize function.
Revert to Full Sample
Undoes the trimming, so that the entire sample is restored.
After undoing the trim functions, make sure to set the start/end markers to
their original positions, otherwise these parts are not included in the playback.
Show Fades in Waveform
Activate this button to show your fade settings directly in
the waveform.
Show Channel Sum
Activate this button to show the sum of the
left and right channels in the
waveform display.
Show Left Channel
Activate this button to show the lef
t channel in the waveform display.
Show Right Channel
Activate this button to show the righ
t channel in the waveform display.
Ruler
Preview Volume
Click this icon to display a level slider. Use the
slider to specify the level for
previewing your samples.
Output
On this pop-up menu, you can specify to which plug-in output the Sample
ditor sends its signals.
e
This is especially useful if the Mas
ter output uses insert effects that you do
not want to hear while editing the samples.
The ruler shows the timeline in the specified display format.
• To select the format, click the arrow button to the right of the ruler and select
an option fr
om the pop-up menu.
You can choose to display bars and beats, seconds, or samples.
If the Slice
tab is selected, the ruler shows the timeline in bars and beats.
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Waveform Display and Level Scale
The waveform display shows the waveform image of the sample. To the left of the
waveform display, a level scale is shown, indicating the amplitude of the audio.
• To select whether the level is shown as a percentage or in dB, click the level
scale label (dB or
%), and select an option from the pop-up menu.
• To display the half level axes, right-click in
Parameter Section
Velocity Start Range
Key On Delay
Loop Mode
the waveform display and select the
corresponding option on the context menu.
Determines the influence of the velocity on the sample start. Move the start
nge marker to the right to start the sample later for lower velocities.
ra
Maximum velocity starts the sample at the original sample start.
With this parameter, you can delay the p
layback of the zone by a specified
time or a note value.
• To synchronize the delay time to the host tempo, activate the Sync
tton and select a note value from the pop-up menu.
bu
• To change the selected note value to a triplet, activate the T button.
nc is deactivated, the delay is specified in milliseconds. If Sync is
If Sy
activated, the delay is specified in fractions of beats.
• One Shot –
the sample is played from start to end.
• No Loop – the sample is played for as long as the note is held.
• Continuous – the loop is played even if you release the note.
• Until Release – the loop is played for as long as the note is held and
then continues to the end of the sample.
Reverse
Reverses the sample, so that you hear it backwards.
Sample Start
The start marker of the sample.
Sample End
The end marker of the sample.
Link Sample Start and End
If this button is activated, moving the sample start also moves the sample end,
and vice
versa.
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Loop Start
Specifies where the loop begins. You can enter a value numerically or move
the st
art marker in the waveform display.
Loop End
Specifies where the loop ends. You can enter a value numerically or move the
e
nd marker in the waveform display.
Link Loop Start and End
If this button is activated, moving the loop
start also moves the loop end, and
vice versa.
Loop Crossfade
Specifies the time of the crossfade.
The Curve
parameter defines the curve of the crossfade, from linear to equal
power.
Loop Tuning
Here you can adjust the frequency of the loop in cents.
Detune
Allows you to tune the sample by +/- 1200 cents.
Gain
Determines the level of the sample.
When using the Normalize function, this parameter is set automatically.
Pan
Determines the panorama position
AudioWarp Parameters
In the AudioWarp section, you can apply time stretching and formant shifting to your
samples.
The AudioWarp functionality is not available if the playback quality is set to Vintage
or Turntable on the Main tab.
Mode
On this pop-up menu, you select the mode that
functions.
• Solo m
of the sample.
is used for the AudioWarp
ode offers parameters for time stretching and formant shifting.
This mode is suitable for loops and samples with solo instruments or
vocals.
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• Music mode offers parameters for time stretching. This mode is suitable
for complex material like drum loops and samples with mixed music. It
uses considerably more CPU time than Solo mode. Note that the more
the sample is stretched, the higher the CPU load.
•Select Off to deactivate the AudioWarp functions.
Sync Mode
The Sync
modes are used to match the playback speed of the sample to the
tempo of the host application.
• If this is set to Off, you can specify the playback speed manually, in
percent.
• If this is set to Tempo, the playback speed is calculated using the ratio
between the original tempo of the sample and the tempo of the host.
• If this is set to Beats, the playback speed is calculated using the note
length of the beats, the number of beats, and the tempo of the host.
For the Sync modes to work properly, the loop of the sample has to be set up
correctly. In Tempo mode, the original tempo must be set as exactly as
possible.
Speed
This control adjusts the playback speed o
f the sample in percent. You can
speed up the tempo by up to 800 % of the original. In Music mode, the lower
limit of the playback
n
o effect.
speed adjustment is 12.5 %. Values below this limit have
Original BPM
If Sync Mode is set to Tempo, you can enter the origina
l tempo of the sample
in beats per minute. Groove Agent adjusts the playback speed of the sample
to match the tempo of the host application.
If you load a sample that contains tempo information in the file header, this
information is used to set the Original Tempo parameter. If a sample does
not contain any tempo information, the value is estimated. You can modify the
parameter values manually.
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Note Length and Number of Beats
Markers
When Sync Mode is se
t to Beats, Groove Agent calculates the tempo of the
sample, based on the note length and the number of beats you enter. For
example, if the sample is a drum loop with four quarter notes, set Note to 1/4
and Beats to 4. Groove Agent adjusts the playback speed of the sample to
match the tempo of the host application.
If you load a sample that contains tempo information in the file header, this
information is used to set the Note Length and Number of Beats
parameters. If a sample does not contain any tempo information, the values
are estimated. You can modify the parameter values manually.
Formant (Solo Mode Only)
Specifies the amount of formant shifting.
You can use a set of different markers to specify important positions in a sample.
Sample Start
Creating Fades
Defines where the sample starts to play. Audio before this marker is ignored.
Sample End
Defines where the sample stops playing. Audio after this marker is ignored.
Loop Start
Defines where the loop starts.
Loop End
Defines where the loop ends.
Velocity Start Range
Defines the attack phase of a sample, w
hich can be used for the modulation
of the sample start via velocity.
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Zooming
• To create fades, drag the fade handles in the waveform display on the Sample
tab or specify the length for fade in and fade out on the Slice tab (if you
created slices from the audio).
• To adjust the curvature, drag the fade line in the display up or down. To reset
e fade curve back to linear, hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] and click on the
th
fade line.
The fades directly influence sample playback. They are not part of the amp
envelope.
• To zoom in/out on the time and level axis, use the horizontal and vertical zoom
sliders.
View Range
Vertical zoom slider
• The three buttons to the right of the horizontal zoom slider allow you to zoom
to the start, the end, and to the full range.
Depending on your work situation, these options refer to the sample, the
selection, or a loop. Clicking several times increases the zoom level.
• To toggle between full zoom and the pr
evious zoom setting, click the A button
to the right of the horizontal zoom slider.
• To zoom in/out on the locator position,
press [G] and [H].
• You can click and drag the ruler to zoom in/out on the position you have
ked.
clic
• Use the options on the Zoom su
bmenu of the context menu.
When changing from one sample to another, you can specify which range to show
in the waveform display for the new sample.
These options can be found on the View Range su
bmenu of the waveform display
context menu.
Auto
Follows the visible view range of the previous sample.
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Last
Each sample stores the visible range individually. When you select a sample
again
, its view range is restored.
Full
Shows the entire sample.
Sample
Shows the range between sample start and sample end markers.
Sample Start
Shows the sample start marker with the current zoom factor.
Sample Start Range
Shows the sample start range marker with the current zoom factor.
Sample End
Shows the sample end marker with the current zoom factor.
Loop
Shows the entire loop.
Loop Start
Shows the loop start marker with the current zoom factor.
Loop End
Shows the loop end marker with the current zoom factor.
Auditioning Samples
You can play back the sample using the Play Sample icon on the toolbar.
The following applies:
• If you have not made a selection, the whole sample is played back.
• If you have made a selection, this selection is played back.
•If the E
deactivate the audition function.
dit Loop icon is activated, playback continues repeatedly until you
Making Selections
1. To make a selection, click and drag with the Range Selection tool.
•If Snap t o Zero Cross ing is activated, start and end of the selection are always
placed at zero crossings.
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2. To resize the selection, drag its left or right border, or [Shift]-click at the
position where you want the selection to start/end.
3. To move a selection, position the mouse pointer inside the selection and drag.
Defining Sample Start and End from a Selection
• Make a selection, right-click in the Sample editor, open the Selection
submenu, and select Set Sample Start/End to Selection.
Defining Loop Start and End from a Selection
• Make a selection, right-click in the Sample editor, open the Selection
submenu, and select Set Loop to Selection.
Assigning a Portion of a Sample to another Pad
• Make a selection, position the mouse pointer inside it, click and drag the
selection to a new pad.
This assigns only the selected part of the sample to the pad.
The sample portion that is assigned to the new pad still references the original
sample, that is, no new sample is created on disk.
Normalizing Samples
The Normalize function detects the highest peak level of the sample, and adjusts
the gain to reach a predefined level.
1. On the toolbar, in the Normalize Level field, specify the level that you want
to normalize the sample to.
2. Click the Normalize Sample button on the toolbar, or right-click the
sample and select Normalize Sample from the Sa
context menu.
mple submenu of the
RESULT
The Gain parameter of the sample is adjusted to conform with the predefined
Normalize level. The amplitude of the waveform in the Sample editor changes
accordingly.
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NOTE
NOTE
Sound Editing
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.
Slice Tab
• To trim the sample to a selection, make a sele
ction and click the Trim button
on the toolbar.
The trim functions are also available 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.
After undoing the trim functions, make sure to set the start/end markers to their
original positions, otherwise these parts are not included in the playback.
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.
Toolbar
After slicing a loop, you can play back the entire loop via the pattern pad or trigger
individual slices with t
he instrument pads.
The toolbar contains several tools that are also available on the Sample tab. In
addition, the following tools are available:
Play Slice
Activate this button to play back
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slices when clicking on them.
Beat Agent
Sound Editing
Lock Slices
Jump to Previous/Next Slice
BPM
Bars/Beats
Parameter Section
Activate this button to prevent slice markers from being moved. Locked slices
are
shown with red markers.
Click these buttons to jump to the next/previous slice.
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.
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.
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 level 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
nwanted short slices.
u
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 Editing
MIDI Export Field
Slicing a loop
You can export the MIDI phrase by dragging the MIDI
export field on a MIDI
track in your host application.
PREREQUISITE
To slice a loop, it is best to start with an empty kit.
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.
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 are 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 assigned 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.
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.
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 Editing
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.
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.
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
u want to modify, and select the correct class from the menu.
yo
• To discard you modifications, right-click the classifier section and select
set Classes.
Re
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.
REREQUISITE
P
Use the Classify function for a sliced loop.
This function is available on the pad context menu and on the context menu for the
slice classes in the classifier section.
• Right-click a pad in the pad
on the context menu.
section and select Select Pads of Same Class
• 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.
ESULT
R
All pads of the current sliced loop that contain slices of the same class are selected.
Pads containing slices from other loops are not taken into account.
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Sound Editing
Replacing Slices With Slices of the Same Drum Class
In the Pattern editor, you can set all notes that belong 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.
1. Load a sliced drum loop.
2. Classify the slices.
3. Open the Patter
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
• To return to the default class colors, right-click the classifier section of a slice
• To save your class colors as default, rig
• To reset the colors to the factory settings, righ
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].
a new color from the Set Class Color submenu. All slices that belong to the
same class change to this color.
and select
Apply Default Class Colors.
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.
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]/[Option]-click in the editor.
• To remove a slice marker, [Alt]/[Option]-click it.
The number of slices that can be created is limited to the number of available empty
instrument pads.
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Beat Agent
Pattern Editing
Pattern Editing
On the Edit page for pattern pads, you can make settings for the MIDI patterns.
• To open the Edit page, click
plug-in panel.
The Edit
The pattern editing functions for the Beat Agent are all described in the chapter
“Working with Pads”.
page contains the Agent, Overview, and Pattern tabs.
the Edit button in the upper right section of the
Mixing
ELATED LINKS
R
Working With Pads on page 35
Each agent comes with a dedicated Agent mixer that contains agent-specific
options and settings.
The AUX mixer, Kit mixer, and Master mixer
described in a separate chapter.
ELATED LINKS
R
Mixing and Effect Handling on page 126
are available for all agents, and are
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Beat Agent
Mixing
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.
Parameters
In the top right corner of the Agent
buttons.
•To reset all Mute buttons
•To reset all Solo buttons of
You can access the busses via the numbered buttons at the top.
• Click the buttons 1, 2, 3, or
13 to 16, respectively.
• To assign a sample to an Agent mixer bus,
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.
Level
The level fader allows you to adjust the volume of the bus.
Pan
Sets the position of the bus in the stereo panorama.
mixer, you can find the global Mute and Solo
of the Agent mixer, click the global Mute button.
the Agent mixer, click the global Solo button.
4 to display the busses 1 to 4, 5 to 8, 9 to 12, and
open the Edit page for the
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
er, click on the value field.
met
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NOTE
Importing and Exporting Files
Insert Effect Slots
Sends 1–4
You can use the 4 slots on the right of the channel strip to add insert effects
to t
he bus.
Use these sliders to send the channel
busses.
Bus Name
At the bottom of a channel strip, the name of
• 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.
signal to the corresponding AUX
the bus is displayed.
• On the context menu for the kit, select Impo
click OK.
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 audio parts from Cubase/Nuendo into Groove
Agent.
• To import a REX file or a sliced audio part
empty pad.
The slices are automatically distributed across the pads,
created and assigned to the first empty pattern pad.
Once the file is imported, you can trigger the slices with the instrument pads, or play
back th
Imported REX files and sliced audio parts are treated like audio loops that were
sliced in Groove Agent.
e entire loop by triggering the pattern pad.
rt, select the file in the dialog, and
into Groove Agent, drop it onto an
and a MIDI phrase is
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PROCEDURE
NOTE
Importing and Exporting Files
Pads that are part of the sliced loop display a loop icon. The pad that contains the
first slice displays a larger loop icon.
If the number of available pads is not high 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.
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.
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.
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 samples 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 samples 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 find the missing samples.
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NOTE
Importing and Exporting Files
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 program 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 found 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.
Favorite Paths
Search Options
• To select a sample or a complete folder that is to be used to resolve the
ssing samples, double-click it in the Found Files list.
mi
Each sample or folder that is resolved this
way disappears from the Missing
File list.
Once all samples are
resolved the dialog closes.
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.
By default, Groove Agent searches for samples 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.
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