I’ve been using Cubase on and off for about 20 years. Always dismissed groove agent. Just couldn’t get anywhere with it. Also had a bit of a blind spot for midi. (I came from guitar and 4 track tape background). These tutorials are the first that are crystal clear and I can see my way forward. Thank you so much for the effort you have put in. Not only on the groove agent. But your video on setting up midi and quick controls has got my setup sorted and working after months of frustration.
I'm from latinamerica, but the way you speak and explain step by step with examples every detail, was very helpfull, I get the hold idea of the class, thank you very much
I didn't like groove agent; I had avoided it till I found your tutorial series. It is an incredible piece of software and doesn't need any other external vsts. I purchased Agent 5 yesterday, thanks to you.
A great, big THANK YOU ANTHONY, for these GA videos. Been looking around for tutorials, and yours are "far and away", the clearest most concise and useful!
Another well described and engaging piece of work Anthony. You really are nailing it. I'm saving every one of the videos I watch of yours to my DAW playlist. Thanks a million!
Excellent information Anthony ! Your video series are a gold mine :) I think 1 Agent is more than enough, but it's good to know how it all works. This kind of detailed information, wouldn't be hard to learn from user manual...it's possible not even available. This series is like a Workshop ! Thanks for sharing !
That's very kind of you to say, thank you! You're right about the manuals. They get you part of the way there but sometimes you just gotta get in there and hack away!
@@OneManAndHisSongs Because of software complexity, everything almost impossible to cover in a manual + often not very well written and boring. You must have pressed every single button, turned every knob, to work out their function...possible pulled a few hair (what ever is left) along the way !
Great in depth analysis of the functionality. A lot of info so partic helpful when you occasionally add how you distil this into your workflow to make the creative process easier and logical. eg. You say you rarely use 2 agents,. You use midi tracks for GA, you use a crib sheet so know which agent expansion packs belong to. just remembered you've done vids on your song recording so that will show the way you've learned works best for you . Will check them.out. Thanks again.
Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad you like the contextual references - it's always difficult to judge how much of that stuff to put into these more "focused" tutorial series, but I agree it's important that I try to maintain a practical working balance.
Hi Anthony - thank you for making the video. I found it interesting to see the routing options. I suspect most people would prefer to use the instrument track, though, and either drag pattern pads directly onto the track to include the MIDI notes or draw in the note for the pattern if they want to work that way. (Or set up the input to the instrument track and record directly the MIDI notes with Follow Transport activated.)
Hi, and thanks for the feedback! Absolutely, I agree. In fact, that's how I use Groove Agent most of the time! If you check out any of my Back on Track series you'll see I use the instrument track more often than not. I thought it important to try to clearly distinguish the purpose of the two MIDI ports, though, so adopted this approach for the video, and left it as a footnote to say that the instrument track was also a viable option.
I just toggle midi out on each agent to get where you are at. I dont need separate instrument sounds. I just open a folder track and assign each agent to it with a midi output. Maybe Im just ahead of you. You are doing a great job Mate
Using multiple agents and pattern pads is absolutely wild but can present some problems if you don't understand what it's expecting before you load - just like you said. A way I got around this for the most (and avoid creating 4x8 tracks, midi parts etc etc) part is to use track versions - I haven't seen anyone using it this way so thought I'd share. Create 8 patters in a midi track or even just use cycle markers (or arranger track) to define/link GA5 to some notes. When you're happy with your 'main' or initial group of 8, go to track versions and duplicate it 7 times - open each one and change it to a different vibe or perhaps have all the chorus' in one track version, all the verses in another etc. I like to have one for each style with the typical intro, verse chorus, fills breakdowns and ends. I like to save this as what I call a player preset which I then use every time I want to pick or customise a new kit at the beginning of a song because there is already lots of good patters both MIDI player and with Styles, covering different music genres and tunings etc. Additionally, I almost always load that percussion kit in slot 2 and I choose one that has the slider, Percussive town for example. One thing the drum kit side is kind of missing is any generative/random arrangement type tools. You can of course do it like anything else with the logical editor but try simply routing the percussion notes controlled by the sliders to your kit 1. And you can make controller surfaces, quick controls or MIDI devices to further control it with knobs and sliders which once you do that, starts to get really fund and quick.
That's a very interesting idea. I'll copy this comment to my "things to check out" list and do some digging. My default method is to tend more towards lanes than track versions to accomplish a similar sort of thing, but your way might be better. Thanks for posting :)
Thanks. In 2024 Cubase 14 we have drum and seq to do handle drum samples. For patterns Groove agent is fine. The pattern map midi set to on is a good tip. I wiil skip your set up two midi tracks. Too complex. The pattern map midi button set to on will prevent instrument pad to play when I trigger Pattern with midi input.
Excellent description. Thanks. Looking forward to the rest of the series. ONE QUESTION: In the Halion 7 series you covered how to customize the layout. Here in Groove Agent it seems that your column headings in the Media Bay to the right are not in the same order as mine. Is there a video where you discuss how to setup and save the layout?
Thank you! I think it's in the next episode, (The Load Panel) but haven't watched it in a while so can't remember how much detail I go into! It's pretty straightforward - there's a button called "Setup Result Columns" above the results list that'll do the job.
Great Lesson Anthony, Thank you. I was well lost getting grips with this. But its much clearer now, Experiencing a small problem when I use follow transport as you've demonstrated, to record a pattern into individual a midi "Instrument" track. As soon as I record there's a complete clamour of instrument hits getting fired into the midi track. When I switch off the follow transport after recording it's still the same. Happens if I've only one Agent working, I think i must have something set up incorrectly in general midi settings. I can drop a pattern into the Midi Instrument track and it works perfectly. I see all the individual midi hits as you described and I can edit them. So it just seems to be the Follow Transport that's triggering incorrectly. If you've any idea it would be great to hear, but I've taken so much from the lesson already so no worries. Thanks, Malcolm
Thanks! OK, two things to check: 1. Have you created a dedicated MIDI track upon which to store your data? In the video I discuss NOT recording to the instrument track, but instead using a MIDI track because it allows us to specify exactly which pipes to use in both directions. 2. Are you turning off Follow Transport AFTER recording your midi? You only want Follow Transport engaged when there's no MIDI data on the track. Follow Transport isn't particularly magical - it just plays GA in time with Cubase. That's it. It means that if you've created a MIDI track and set it to listen for data coming in from Kit 1, Cubase will hear all the Midi notes output as the groove plays, and which can then be recorded. Hope you get it sorted! I spent years in a hazy fog where MIDI was concerned, but it's definitely worth persevering :)
@@OneManAndHisSongs Thanks so much for giving your time and getting back to me. Your video is really clear and I've stepped through it exactly and learned so much. . I have created the dedicated midi track. I was able to draw in events exactly as you described on those tracks using pattern and instrument settings on these midi tracks. I repeated this with two beat agents open, 1 instrument and 1 pattern for each agent on each of the four tracks, all on their correct channels. Worked percectly. Then I switched from my keyboard input to the Grove Agent Kit 1 and Grove Agent Kit 2, for the respective midi tracks, armed the follow transport on each kit in GA, armed the record on the two midi instrument tracks and hit record (there was no midi info on any of the midi or Groove agent tracks tracks BTW). The second the cursor started moving the two instrument trácks went haywire with rapid hits on several keys, like five ma hine guns per track all topping the velocity levels, . I deleted the second kit, second set of midi tracks and tried just on a single midi track. Same thing. Created a couple of new projects to try again but the same result each time. I just think now there's something misfiring in how I've set up the system. A mystery, Regardless I'm really appreciating the lessons. Thank you for sharing them.i was getting nowhere until I found them at the weekend. .
Just for giggles, try setting the original instrument track to "Not connected\Groove Agent\10". I suspect it's something to do with the instrument track receiving data somehow. Then try setting up unique midi channels for every single track, both in and out. Are you using a pre-built template that might be corrupt in some way, or creating a genuinely blank project each time? The absolute last resort (which I HATE doing) is to rename your Groove Agent and Cubase folders in AppData\Roaming\Steinberg and run the program as if it's newly installed. (You can always put the original folders back - this is where all your app config data is stored. Proceed with caution, obviously...) I don't want to sound glib, but imagine how completely you're going to understand your system once you solve it! I do all my best learning when things go wrong...
contemplating working with midi drums in cubase, don't like using logic's drummer, just for drummer, since i just don't enjoy working in logic (produce in cubase then stem for the drums in logic then back to cubase...headspin and time waste stuff)...but have been using Addictive drums on a PC, but most of my work on M1 (don't have addicitve drums here). considering Groove Agent, probably wetted by the SE version, but it was always 'coming up short'...downloaded the 30 day license for full GA and this tutorial is a bees knees moment'...beauty of groove agent is that it also carries over from cubase into ableton and into studio one....decoding the software has always been 'troublesome', but this tutorial as said ...darn good.
Excellent. I didn't know this. I was just about to use acoustic and BeatAgent since looks like you can't load AA samples onto BA. Been trying work out how to record NI:s Reaktor in Cubase. No good videos on this.
Episode 4 will all be about Pad Management, so hopefully that will help clear some of the confusion for you. (I haven't edited it yet, but it should be good to go tomorrow.)
Hello Anthony, first of all thank you for your great work. I haven't worked very much with GA5 yet... My simple workflow: 1. I load a kit with patterns 2. I select a pattern and drag&drop it into Cubase12, where of course I previously created an instrument track with GA. 3. I play the pattern My problem: The pattern sounds a bit different than in the GrooveAgent. There are much more fills that I can´t hear when I play f.ex. the main 1 in GA. I want the same pattern I hear in GA... It's pulling hairs out, but I don't know what I'm doing wrong? I have the same problems with all patterns that I draw in Cubase. Thank you very much Chris
It could be that you haven't set GA to communicate on separate ports. Make sure you have the "Use Pattern MIDI Port for Pattern Pads" button on (beneath the 16 Groups pads). Also, try creating a separate MIDI track so that you can explicitly select the GA Instrument port upon which to communicate, and move the note data onto that track, leaving the Instrument Track empty. It definitely sounds like patterns and instruments are bumping into eachother.
Question: how is it possible to trigger Patten D#2 in keyeditor and keyboard (i have a Impulse too!) , while B-1 is on trigger pad in groove agent? Thanks for your awesome Tuts by the way!
i love your videos man, thanks so much! i still have a question though: when i setup groove agent like you did with a midi channel to send data to the Instrument part of groove agent, it works great until i switch to gm drum map. is there something obvious i miss here? gm drum map also does not work when i have midi data on the groove agent instrument track. it works fine in groove agent SE but somehow not in the full version, so i guess there is a button i missed. thanks!
Not sure. in Episode 4 of this series ruclips.net/video/Flujs2LPNCQ/видео.html I discuss Controller Mapping options (it's the little electronic drum symbol underneath the pad groups) - it could be that? I don't use GM maps myself so I'm not much help, sorry :(
@@OneManAndHisSongs i just found out, that gm drum mapping only sends midi data on channel 10, so inside the groove agent kits i had to select midi input 10 and send to the same channel.. i don't get why it's like that, but it works now. but thanks!
Hello dear Anthony! Is it possible, instead of creating two independent midi outputs, to somehow move the keys that are responsible for the patterns to another part of the piano roll, so that it does not intersect with the sounds of the one-shots? In this way I want to get control over both the patterns and the one-shots within one midi track. Why did such a problem arise where these keys intersect, isn't the digital piano roll infinite?
The piano rolls isn't infinite, since each key corresponds to a MIDI note number (of which there are 127). Some drumkits use almost the full range. You could manage it with a re-map, but patterns and notes are fundamentally different processes, so it would be a very convoluted solution (and not one I've attempted so I'm not sure what pitfalls would await you.)
@@OneManAndHisSongs thank you for the answer, I agree. That's so weird that they did such default presetting which is may confusing the new users... But at the same time I'm excited to get in my arsenal such powerful drum machine and jam companion.
Hi, there are definitely features in the full version that SE doesn't have, so the short answer is "no", but most of the main stuff is present in both versions. You can compare the features here: www.steinberg.net/vst-instruments/groove-agent/compare-editions/
Hi, this video was great, thank you. I think you said that you only load 1 agent in the plugin, because it's cpu intensive. My question, Is loading different Groove agents less intensive if I want to use different agent presets?
I pretty have the same question using Halion, because of using different halion presets. I find that loading different halions for each instrumetn requires a lot of cpu performance.
There IS overhead in having multiple instances, but it's very difficult to say with certainty how much - the metrics in Cubase aren't great. However, these days I tend to "Freeze" tracks pretty aggressively. If you're at all like me and only work on one sound at a time, by freezing everything else it actually works out that you get IMPROVED CPU performance by freezing every track that you're not currently editing.
Are they actually disabled or just grey? If they're just grey it could be because you have "Global Pad Settings" set (the "G" button at bottom left of the interface).
@@OneManAndHisSongs They appear to be disabled, its really weird. When in Pattern tab, the only option at the bottom are for "Omni" and "P" Icon for "pattern midi port" and no "G" for global pad settings. One post I came across may indicate that Groove Agent "SE" (which is what I have) may not have this option? It also does not appear to let me load multiple kits at once (in the 4 kit slots above).... thank you again for the help. Your videos have been my only saving grace for trying to understand such a complex program.
After further research, it appears there is a difference between GA5 and GA5SE and likely why im seeing limited options (did not know there were 2 different products). Anyway, thanks again for replying and for all the great videos on this topic!!!
You remember the famous template you created a series of ? I made my own naturally, followed your example..anyway, now when I rely on my backup studio, the template saved me ! Should really add 2 MIDI ports for Groove Agent, there's a risk I'll forget otherwise
@@OneManAndHisSongs And a whole backup Studio even better ! Once I get SSD replacement, I can restore Steinberg music libraries, saves me the trouble of downloading them again
Hi Anthony, great tutorials! I have one question..i have followed the steps 1 by 1, but stil there is only one channel sending when i press play in cubase...The keyboard however are sending from both channels. Do you know what the problem might be?
Hi, Take a screenshot of GA, with the Cubase track, in the background and post it to anthony@onemanandhissongs.com. I'll see if I can see anything obvious.
I found the Steinberg GA5 manual to be unintelligible by comparison to these 24 videos. Why on Earth is that Steinberg? Thank-you Anthony for saving my sanity. (however tenuous it already was...)
Hello and thank you very much for the great tutorial! The question, should I buy Groove Agent 5 if I have SE version? Right now Steinberg give 50% discount for this. Just interesting because you told that you use just one kit and in the SE version it's only One kit as well. Really hope for your answer.
Hi, it's really difficult to recommend that someone else spend their hard-earned money on any particular product. All I can say is that I think it's worth it. Although I only use 1 kit per agent, that's just the tip of the iceberg. In particular, the full version's kits are much richer than SE. The Percussion Agent, in particular, is invaluable to me. Have a good scan of the comparison chart and see if the extra stuff is worth it to you. www.steinberg.net/vst-instruments/groove-agent/compare-editions/ By the way, I got GA5 as part of Absolute, not as a stand-alone product.
@@OneManAndHisSongs thanks for the reply. Seems that with 50% discount is a good offer. I am new to Cubase. Purchased the pro version in this summer. Crossgrade from Ableton. And Steinberg have 50% discount for some instruments including Groove Agent 5. Probably need to buy the full version
I may be skipping ahead. But what's the easiest way to get a groove beat or sound onto a track and actually be able to hear something played back as if I've recorded an actual instrument? I am an utter imbecile when it comes to midi btw.
There isn't one simple answer, since your questions is actually very wide, but you can't get much simpler than loading up a groove, clicking on one of the pattern pads, and dragging it into Cubase. That will create a MIDI part representing the pattern. I might not be understanding your question, but that's the easiest way to get a groove into Cubase.
@OneManAndHisSongs Thanks for replying. I believe you've answered my question! I'll try this later. Hopefully there's audible playback. Thanks for your help!
Hi Anthony! Is it recommended to assign the outputs for each drum piece before recording or before mixing? Let me explain: for example, I dragged some kit loops from Groove Agent onto an instrument track divided for each part of the song (intro, full, ending..etc), can I separate the various drum pieces assigning them the outputs to mix them separately?
The Outputs, for the purpose of mixing, is a huge subject, and my answer depends on what type of Agent you're using (Beat or Acoustic). It's such a big topic that I spent two whole episodes of this series on the answer! ruclips.net/video/-LdPu9Ib38M/видео.html for Beat Agent and ruclips.net/video/QJVkL22rWzY/видео.html for Acoustic Agent.
@@OneManAndHisSongs ok thank you. In this case I have used patterns from Beat Agent. Now I have all the parts assigned to the respective outputs (kick output 2, snare 3, hihat 4, etc); the master output is assigned to the instrument track; when sending all those separate tracks into a single bus channel, should I have to include the master instrument track too?
Every song I write I slightly change how I assign outputs. As long as the job gets done then most roads lead to Rome. At the moment I'm NOT using the master output, because I'm redirecting everything elsewhere, but it's a subjective matter of choice.
Hi, I'm really sorry but my mic vs Cubase levels are mixed going into OBS, so I can't rebalance after the fact. I've significantly improved my balance settings since making this video, which I appreciate isn't any help in the case of this particular video
Finally someone who starts from a practical point of view.
You explain the "what", "why" and "how" in less than 20 minutes.
Thank you so very much !!!
You're welcome, thanks for the kind feedback!
When I saw the chapter tiled "The Problem" I knew I was in the right place! Thank you for this much needed clarifying tutorial.
Glad it was helpful, thanks for the feedback!
I’ve been using Cubase on and off for about 20 years. Always dismissed groove agent. Just couldn’t get anywhere with it. Also had a bit of a blind spot for midi. (I came from guitar and 4 track tape background). These tutorials are the first that are crystal clear and I can see my way forward.
Thank you so much for the effort you have put in. Not only on the groove agent. But your video on setting up midi and quick controls has got my setup sorted and working after months of frustration.
That's amazing, thanks for letting me know! It's really great to know that I can be of some practical use in this minefield of a subject :)
Your lessons are so good, has made me view Cubase totally differently - I hope you hit tons of followers and views. you deserve it
I really appreciate that, thank you :)
I'm from latinamerica, but the way you speak and explain step by step with examples every detail, was very helpfull, I get the hold idea of the class, thank you very much
Awesome, thank you!
I didn't like groove agent; I had avoided it till I found your tutorial series. It is an incredible piece of software and doesn't need any other external vsts. I purchased Agent 5 yesterday, thanks to you.
That's awesome, thanks for your kind feedback :)
This was crucial lesson for me. Thank you, Anthony!
You're welcome, thank you for your kind words :)
Had to watch this a few times before it clicked, but boy did it click! And a lot of peripheral concepts as well
Great to hear, thanks for the feedback. I know ex-ac-t-ly what you mean :)
A great, big THANK YOU ANTHONY, for these GA videos. Been looking around for tutorials, and yours are "far and away", the clearest most concise and useful!
That's very kind of you to say, thanks for the feedback :)
Another well described and engaging piece of work Anthony. You really are nailing it. I'm saving every one of the videos I watch of yours to my DAW playlist. Thanks a million!
That's awesome, thanks for saying so!
Great explainable tutorial thanks Anthony
Glad it was helpful, thanks for the feedback!
Excellent information Anthony ! Your video series are a gold mine :) I think 1 Agent is more than enough, but it's good to know how it all works. This kind of detailed information, wouldn't be hard to learn from user manual...it's possible not even available. This series is like a Workshop ! Thanks for sharing !
That's very kind of you to say, thank you! You're right about the manuals. They get you part of the way there but sometimes you just gotta get in there and hack away!
@@OneManAndHisSongs Because of software complexity, everything almost impossible to cover in a manual + often not very well written and boring. You must have pressed every single button, turned every knob, to work out their function...possible pulled a few hair (what ever is left) along the way !
Oi! But yes :)
ahhhh the instrument and pattern channels colliding by default is an absolute nuisance! thanks for pointing that out, super helpful
You're welcome! It really is, isn't it?
Youve just saved me so much time. Im going to watch your entire GA5 playlist. Nice one mate🙏
You're very welcome! Hope you enjoy the series :)
That's simply awesome and so clearly explained. Thank you so much, Anthony!
You're very welcome!
Thank you Anthony. Had Groove Agent a while and your videos have taught me loads in regards to using it.
You're very welcome, thanks for the feedback :)
THese are tremendous tutorials which I have found very useful. I am surprised at how much I DID NOT KNOW. So thank you so much
You're very welcome, thanks!
Thank You
Great in depth analysis of the functionality. A lot of info so partic helpful when you occasionally add how you distil this into your workflow to make the creative process easier and logical. eg. You say you rarely use 2 agents,. You use midi tracks for GA, you use a crib sheet so know which agent expansion packs belong to. just remembered you've done vids on your song recording so that will show the way you've learned works best for you . Will check them.out. Thanks again.
Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad you like the contextual references - it's always difficult to judge how much of that stuff to put into these more "focused" tutorial series, but I agree it's important that I try to maintain a practical working balance.
Hi Anthony - thank you for making the video. I found it interesting to see the routing options. I suspect most people would prefer to use the instrument track, though, and either drag pattern pads directly onto the track to include the MIDI notes or draw in the note for the pattern if they want to work that way. (Or set up the input to the instrument track and record directly the MIDI notes with Follow Transport activated.)
Hi, and thanks for the feedback! Absolutely, I agree. In fact, that's how I use Groove Agent most of the time! If you check out any of my Back on Track series you'll see I use the instrument track more often than not. I thought it important to try to clearly distinguish the purpose of the two MIDI ports, though, so adopted this approach for the video, and left it as a footnote to say that the instrument track was also a viable option.
Thank you very much! I'm going to watch all of these. Excellent!
Bold words :) Thanks for the kind feedback, I appreciate it!
Timely video for me. Thank you.
You're so welcome, thanks for the feedback!
Wow Im one lesson in and Hooked. Thanks Mate, looking forward to the rest.
You're welcome, I hope you enjoy the rest of it!
@@OneManAndHisSongs Currently on number 6 and loving it. If you ever have the urge to do one on Halion 7 as well that would be great lol. 👍🏻
I just toggle midi out on each agent to get where you are at. I dont need separate instrument sounds. I just open a folder track and assign each agent to it with a midi output. Maybe Im just ahead of you. You are doing a great job Mate
Many thanks for this. Cleared up a lots of issues.
You're welcome, thanks for the feedback!
I find all Steinberg programs like a Formula 1 cars complicated steering wheel when all you want to do is drive.😄
So true. They go all-in on brute force, when from time to time a little form over function wouldn't go amiss.
@@OneManAndHisSongs definitely. Just about to ‘dive’ into Halion 6 😳
Ta Dude! Exactly what I needed to record into a MIDI track. Not intuitive at all. Saved me a lot of heartache and time.
That's great to hear, thanks for your feedback :)
Using multiple agents and pattern pads is absolutely wild but can present some problems if you don't understand what it's expecting before you load - just like you said. A way I got around this for the most (and avoid creating 4x8 tracks, midi parts etc etc) part is to use track versions - I haven't seen anyone using it this way so thought I'd share.
Create 8 patters in a midi track or even just use cycle markers (or arranger track) to define/link GA5 to some notes. When you're happy with your 'main' or initial group of 8, go to track versions and duplicate it 7 times - open each one and change it to a different vibe or perhaps have all the chorus' in one track version, all the verses in another etc. I like to have one for each style with the typical intro, verse chorus, fills breakdowns and ends.
I like to save this as what I call a player preset which I then use every time I want to pick or customise a new kit at the beginning of a song because there is already lots of good patters both MIDI player and with Styles, covering different music genres and tunings etc.
Additionally, I almost always load that percussion kit in slot 2 and I choose one that has the slider, Percussive town for example. One thing the drum kit side is kind of missing is any generative/random arrangement type tools. You can of course do it like anything else with the logical editor but try simply routing the percussion notes controlled by the sliders to your kit 1. And you can make controller surfaces, quick controls or MIDI devices to further control it with knobs and sliders which once you do that, starts to get really fund and quick.
That's a very interesting idea. I'll copy this comment to my "things to check out" list and do some digging. My default method is to tend more towards lanes than track versions to accomplish a similar sort of thing, but your way might be better. Thanks for posting :)
Thank you so much for these videos!!!!!!
Glad you like them, thanks very much for the feedback!
Great video.....many thanks.
You're welcome, and thanks for the feedback :)
Brilliant, thank you!!!
You're very welcome, thanks for the feedback!
Great tutorials! GA is not very intuitive for me, your videos have helped me a lot! Thank You!
Glad you like them, thanks for the feedback!
Crystal clear. Thanks!
You're welcome!
Thats great! Thank you, my friend!
You're very welcome, thanks for the feedback :)
Thabk you so much, these are great and very helpful!
You're welcome, I'm glad you think so :)
THX. Love it! Now i can handle this tool!
Great stuff, thanks for the feedback :)
now i understand how these agents work, thanks
You're welcome :) Not intuitive, is it!
Thank you so much for this video!
You're very welcome, thanks for the feedback!
Thanks. In 2024 Cubase 14 we have drum and seq to do handle drum samples. For patterns Groove agent is fine. The pattern map midi set to on is a good tip. I wiil skip your set up two midi tracks. Too complex. The pattern map midi button set to on will prevent instrument pad to play when I trigger Pattern with midi input.
Excellent description. Thanks. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
ONE QUESTION: In the Halion 7 series you covered how to customize the layout. Here in Groove Agent it seems that your column headings in the Media Bay to the right are not in the same order as mine. Is there a video where you discuss how to setup and save the layout?
Thank you! I think it's in the next episode, (The Load Panel) but haven't watched it in a while so can't remember how much detail I go into! It's pretty straightforward - there's a button called "Setup Result Columns" above the results list that'll do the job.
Great Lesson Anthony, Thank you. I was well lost getting grips with this. But its much clearer now, Experiencing a small problem when I use follow transport as you've demonstrated, to record a pattern into individual a midi "Instrument" track. As soon as I record there's a complete clamour of instrument hits getting fired into the midi track. When I switch off the follow transport after recording it's still the same. Happens if I've only one Agent working, I think i must have something set up incorrectly in general midi settings. I can drop a pattern into the Midi Instrument track and it works perfectly. I see all the individual midi hits as you described and I can edit them. So it just seems to be the Follow Transport that's triggering incorrectly. If you've any idea it would be great to hear, but I've taken so much from the lesson already so no worries. Thanks, Malcolm
Thanks! OK, two things to check: 1. Have you created a dedicated MIDI track upon which to store your data? In the video I discuss NOT recording to the instrument track, but instead using a MIDI track because it allows us to specify exactly which pipes to use in both directions. 2. Are you turning off Follow Transport AFTER recording your midi? You only want Follow Transport engaged when there's no MIDI data on the track.
Follow Transport isn't particularly magical - it just plays GA in time with Cubase. That's it. It means that if you've created a MIDI track and set it to listen for data coming in from Kit 1, Cubase will hear all the Midi notes output as the groove plays, and which can then be recorded.
Hope you get it sorted! I spent years in a hazy fog where MIDI was concerned, but it's definitely worth persevering :)
@@OneManAndHisSongs Thanks so much for giving your time and getting back to me. Your video is really clear and I've stepped through it exactly and learned so much. . I have created the dedicated midi track. I was able to draw in events exactly as you described on those tracks using pattern and instrument settings on these midi tracks. I repeated this with two beat agents open, 1 instrument and 1 pattern for each agent on each of the four tracks, all on their correct channels. Worked percectly. Then I switched from my keyboard input to the Grove Agent Kit 1 and Grove Agent Kit 2, for the respective midi tracks,
armed the follow transport on each kit in GA, armed the record on the two midi instrument tracks and hit record (there was no midi info on any of the midi or Groove agent tracks tracks BTW). The second the cursor started moving the two instrument trácks went haywire with rapid hits on several keys, like five ma hine guns per track all topping the velocity levels, . I deleted the second kit, second set of midi tracks and tried just on a single midi track. Same thing. Created a couple of new projects to try again but the same result each time. I just think now there's something misfiring in how I've set up the system. A mystery, Regardless I'm really appreciating the lessons. Thank you for sharing them.i was getting nowhere until I found them at the weekend. .
Just for giggles, try setting the original instrument track to "Not connected\Groove Agent\10". I suspect it's something to do with the instrument track receiving data somehow. Then try setting up unique midi channels for every single track, both in and out.
Are you using a pre-built template that might be corrupt in some way, or creating a genuinely blank project each time?
The absolute last resort (which I HATE doing) is to rename your Groove Agent and Cubase folders in AppData\Roaming\Steinberg and run the program as if it's newly installed. (You can always put the original folders back - this is where all your app config data is stored. Proceed with caution, obviously...)
I don't want to sound glib, but imagine how completely you're going to understand your system once you solve it! I do all my best learning when things go wrong...
@@OneManAndHisSongs Hah! Brilliant That works.!!! Thank you soooo much Anthony. Now for the rest of the lessons!!!!!!
Awesome! Really glad to hear it :)
Thanks!!!
You're welcome, thanks for the feedback!
contemplating working with midi drums in cubase, don't like using logic's drummer, just for drummer, since i just don't enjoy working in logic (produce in cubase then stem for the drums in logic then back to cubase...headspin and time waste stuff)...but have been using Addictive drums on a PC, but most of my work on M1 (don't have addicitve drums here). considering Groove Agent, probably wetted by the SE version, but it was always 'coming up short'...downloaded the 30 day license for full GA and this tutorial is a bees knees moment'...beauty of groove agent is that it also carries over from cubase into ableton and into studio one....decoding the software has always been 'troublesome', but this tutorial as said ...darn good.
that's very kind of you to say, thanks for the great feedback :)
Excellent. I didn't know this. I was just about to use acoustic and BeatAgent since looks like you can't load AA samples onto BA. Been trying work out how to record NI:s Reaktor in Cubase. No good videos on this.
Episode 4 will all be about Pad Management, so hopefully that will help clear some of the confusion for you. (I haven't edited it yet, but it should be good to go tomorrow.)
Hello Anthony,
first of all thank you for your great work.
I haven't worked very much with GA5 yet...
My simple workflow:
1. I load a kit with patterns
2. I select a pattern and drag&drop it into Cubase12, where of course I previously created an instrument track with GA.
3. I play the pattern
My problem: The pattern sounds a bit different than in the GrooveAgent. There are much more fills that I can´t hear when I play f.ex. the main 1 in GA.
I want the same pattern I hear in GA...
It's pulling hairs out, but I don't know what I'm doing wrong?
I have the same problems with all patterns that I draw in Cubase.
Thank you very much Chris
It could be that you haven't set GA to communicate on separate ports. Make sure you have the "Use Pattern MIDI Port for Pattern Pads" button on (beneath the 16 Groups pads). Also, try creating a separate MIDI track so that you can explicitly select the GA Instrument port upon which to communicate, and move the note data onto that track, leaving the Instrument Track empty. It definitely sounds like patterns and instruments are bumping into eachother.
@@OneManAndHisSongs thank you very much, it was the GA …
Great 🎉
please Help me
Can I Download Specific Expansion because it is too much Big size
I need only hip-hop Expansion
I don't think so - the basic application is all one installation
Question: how is it possible to trigger Patten D#2 in keyeditor and keyboard (i have a Impulse too!) , while B-1 is on trigger pad in groove agent? Thanks for your awesome Tuts by the way!
With ninja Pad Management skills :) Check out Episode 4: ruclips.net/video/Flujs2LPNCQ/видео.html
i love your videos man, thanks so much!
i still have a question though: when i setup groove agent like you did with a midi channel to send data to the Instrument part of groove agent, it works great until i switch to gm drum map. is there something obvious i miss here? gm drum map also does not work when i have midi data on the groove agent instrument track. it works fine in groove agent SE but somehow not in the full version, so i guess there is a button i missed. thanks!
Not sure. in Episode 4 of this series ruclips.net/video/Flujs2LPNCQ/видео.html I discuss Controller Mapping options (it's the little electronic drum symbol underneath the pad groups) - it could be that? I don't use GM maps myself so I'm not much help, sorry :(
@@OneManAndHisSongs i just found out, that gm drum mapping only sends midi data on channel 10, so inside the groove agent kits i had to select midi input 10 and send to the same channel.. i don't get why it's like that, but it works now. but thanks!
Hello dear Anthony! Is it possible, instead of creating two independent midi outputs, to somehow move the keys that are responsible for the patterns to another part of the piano roll, so that it does not intersect with the sounds of the one-shots? In this way I want to get control over both the patterns and the one-shots within one midi track. Why did such a problem arise where these keys intersect, isn't the digital piano roll infinite?
The piano rolls isn't infinite, since each key corresponds to a MIDI note number (of which there are 127). Some drumkits use almost the full range. You could manage it with a re-map, but patterns and notes are fundamentally different processes, so it would be a very convoluted solution (and not one I've attempted so I'm not sure what pitfalls would await you.)
@@OneManAndHisSongs thank you for the answer, I agree. That's so weird that they did such default presetting which is may confusing the new users... But at the same time I'm excited to get in my arsenal such powerful drum machine and jam companion.
I’m a little late to this, but does this series also apply to Groove Agent SE? I don’t have the full blown version and want to follow along.
Hi, there are definitely features in the full version that SE doesn't have, so the short answer is "no", but most of the main stuff is present in both versions. You can compare the features here: www.steinberg.net/vst-instruments/groove-agent/compare-editions/
Hi, this video was great, thank you. I think you said that you only load 1 agent in the plugin, because it's cpu intensive. My question, Is loading different Groove agents less intensive if I want to use different agent presets?
I pretty have the same question using Halion, because of using different halion presets. I find that loading different halions for each instrumetn requires a lot of cpu performance.
There IS overhead in having multiple instances, but it's very difficult to say with certainty how much - the metrics in Cubase aren't great. However, these days I tend to "Freeze" tracks pretty aggressively. If you're at all like me and only work on one sound at a time, by freezing everything else it actually works out that you get IMPROVED CPU performance by freezing every track that you're not currently editing.
can anyone tell me why all my pattern groups are greyed out? Any kit I load, I dont have an available group to create my own pads
Are they actually disabled or just grey? If they're just grey it could be because you have "Global Pad Settings" set (the "G" button at bottom left of the interface).
@@OneManAndHisSongs They appear to be disabled, its really weird. When in Pattern tab, the only option at the bottom are for "Omni" and "P" Icon for "pattern midi port" and no "G" for global pad settings. One post I came across may indicate that Groove Agent "SE" (which is what I have) may not have this option? It also does not appear to let me load multiple kits at once (in the 4 kit slots above).... thank you again for the help. Your videos have been my only saving grace for trying to understand such a complex program.
After further research, it appears there is a difference between GA5 and GA5SE and likely why im seeing limited options (did not know there were 2 different products). Anyway, thanks again for replying and for all the great videos on this topic!!!
Ah, that makes sense. Yes, those 2 little letters make quite a big difference :(
steinber groove agent only works in cubase or work in any daw?
It will work in any DAW.
my midi keyboard doesnt trigger anything, i cant seem to get it t work ugh
Do you see it in your list of available devices in Cubase?
You remember the famous template you created a series of ? I made my own naturally, followed your example..anyway, now when I rely on my backup studio, the template saved me ! Should really add 2 MIDI ports for Groove Agent, there's a risk I'll forget otherwise
Contingency for the win! Having good backups is hard to maintain but so rewarding when you need them
@@OneManAndHisSongs And a whole backup Studio even better ! Once I get SSD replacement, I can restore Steinberg music libraries, saves me the trouble of downloading them again
Hi Anthony, great tutorials! I have one question..i have followed the steps 1 by 1, but stil there is only one channel sending when i press play in cubase...The keyboard however are sending from both channels. Do you know what the problem might be?
Hi, Take a screenshot of GA, with the Cubase track, in the background and post it to anthony@onemanandhissongs.com. I'll see if I can see anything obvious.
I found the Steinberg GA5 manual to be unintelligible by comparison to these 24 videos. Why on Earth is that Steinberg? Thank-you Anthony for saving my sanity. (however tenuous it already was...)
Lol, thanks for the support, and, yes, I'm struggling to disagree :)
Hello and thank you very much for the great tutorial! The question, should I buy Groove Agent 5 if I have SE version? Right now Steinberg give 50% discount for this. Just interesting because you told that you use just one kit and in the SE version it's only One kit as well. Really hope for your answer.
Hi, it's really difficult to recommend that someone else spend their hard-earned money on any particular product. All I can say is that I think it's worth it. Although I only use 1 kit per agent, that's just the tip of the iceberg. In particular, the full version's kits are much richer than SE. The Percussion Agent, in particular, is invaluable to me. Have a good scan of the comparison chart and see if the extra stuff is worth it to you. www.steinberg.net/vst-instruments/groove-agent/compare-editions/ By the way, I got GA5 as part of Absolute, not as a stand-alone product.
@@OneManAndHisSongs thanks for the reply. Seems that with 50% discount is a good offer. I am new to Cubase. Purchased the pro version in this summer. Crossgrade from Ableton. And Steinberg have 50% discount for some instruments including Groove Agent 5. Probably need to buy the full version
I may be skipping ahead. But what's the easiest way to get a groove beat or sound onto a track and actually be able to hear something played back as if I've recorded an actual instrument? I am an utter imbecile when it comes to midi btw.
There isn't one simple answer, since your questions is actually very wide, but you can't get much simpler than loading up a groove, clicking on one of the pattern pads, and dragging it into Cubase. That will create a MIDI part representing the pattern. I might not be understanding your question, but that's the easiest way to get a groove into Cubase.
@OneManAndHisSongs Thanks for replying. I believe you've answered my question! I'll try this later. Hopefully there's audible playback. Thanks for your help!
Hi Anthony! Is it recommended to assign the outputs for each drum piece before recording or before mixing? Let me explain: for example, I dragged some kit loops from Groove Agent onto an instrument track divided for each part of the song (intro, full, ending..etc), can I separate the various drum pieces assigning them the outputs to mix them separately?
The Outputs, for the purpose of mixing, is a huge subject, and my answer depends on what type of Agent you're using (Beat or Acoustic). It's such a big topic that I spent two whole episodes of this series on the answer! ruclips.net/video/-LdPu9Ib38M/видео.html for Beat Agent and ruclips.net/video/QJVkL22rWzY/видео.html for Acoustic Agent.
@@OneManAndHisSongs ok thank you. In this case I have used patterns from Beat Agent. Now I have all the parts assigned to the respective outputs (kick output 2, snare 3, hihat 4, etc); the master output is assigned to the instrument track; when sending all those separate tracks into a single bus channel, should I have to include the master instrument track too?
Every song I write I slightly change how I assign outputs. As long as the job gets done then most roads lead to Rome. At the moment I'm NOT using the master output, because I'm redirecting everything elsewhere, but it's a subjective matter of choice.
Very Bob Rossian vibes in presentation
That's a happy little comparison ;)
Thank you,i would wish that someone does you work in german,for me it is very Ok,Thank you.I find it is the best Guide to Groove Agent Five,Thank you
You're very welcome, thank you!
Please re-post video with correct audio output level. Very dim compared to most others. Thank you.
Hi, I'm really sorry but my mic vs Cubase levels are mixed going into OBS, so I can't rebalance after the fact. I've significantly improved my balance settings since making this video, which I appreciate isn't any help in the case of this particular video
Excellent video. Thank you
You are welcome, glad you enjoyed it!
Great class! Thanks!
You're very welcome!
Thank you.
You're welcome!