Steinberg Groove Agent 2 Manual

							Groove AgentEnglish 61
ENGLISH
1977 Hard Rock
I grew up listening to The Beatles in the early seventies. After that I 
was a young soul without a home, listening to whatever was on the ra-
dio, but I never found “my thing”. Then, when I was sixteen, someone 
gave me a black album from a band I’d never heard of, and I was just 
blown away by the intro of “Hells bells” starting up their album “Back 
in black”.
Yepp, I became a hardrocker!! So here you have some steady and 
heavy drums for anyone with Angus-ambitions!! JS
* Grunge
Nirvana, Mudhoney, Melvins… I think this list wouldn’t get an end. The 
Music Industry calls them Grunge. So, preheat your amp, strap your 
guitar, aim at the F# power-chord and press the “Run”-button for this 
style. MS
* Indie Punk
A classic drum figure for a Punk song should be powerful and fast. 
But a drum figure for a Modern Punk song must be powerful, fast, in-
dividual and creative in order to stress the structure of the song. 
These characteristics are implemented in this style. Enjoy and keep on 
rocking! MS
* Unplugged
Music Television made it popular. A big rock song must also be 
played in a smooth ambience so the audience can easily listen to the 
voice of the singer. This style is full of soft played beats/fills and it is 
using the popular and lovely rods. MS
* Ballad
It’s early in the morning, your coffee is still hot and your latest ballad 
needs some steady and powerful drums. Try this one! The tambourine 
can add extra sparkle to the chorus and maybe straighten out the 
overall drum sound as well. (And psst, here’s something I just discov-
ered: try this one at 120 BPM! Pretty energetic, eh?) MS 
						

							Groove Agent 62 English
1978 TexMex
I once played a song to Sven with a strange, loose kind of drumming 
together with bass, piano and slide guitar. It sounded a bit like a not-
so-very-well-rehearsed-gig in a small restaurant somewhere on the 
borderline between Texas and Mexico. “This is very weird and very 
cool”, Sven said. “We have to include this in Groove Agent“. “Ok!”. JS
1979 Basic Hip-Hop
This style was inspired by early Hip-Hop and the way it sounded in the 
early digital drum machine era. LW
* Live Hip-Hop
In a big discussion about Hip-Hop, a friend told me that a real drum-
mer in a Hip-Hop band only needs a bass drum, a snare, a hihat, a 
crash and no toms. He was right. This style will provide you with a full 
palette for your live song. Don’t forget to use the percussion in the 
chorus! MS
* Sloppy Hip-Hop
The “Sloppy Hip Hop” style is inspired by the works of Beastie Boys 
and others, giving you a sense of floating time, where quantizing is 
banned… The basic character of the groove is slightly altered from 
level 14 and up. Warning: Changing the loose handclap to a more dis-
tinct sound may produce some really weird timing effects, as will ex-
cessive use of the Humanize-function. Select this style when you’re in 
the mood for drifting away, avoiding all the boundaries of a regulated 
beat. NE
1980 Boogie
Some bands built their careers on simple three-chord songs where 
the drummer had to work a bit harder. This is a classic boogie style 
where the feeling is focused on the hihat and ride. PS 
						

							Groove AgentEnglish 63
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1981 Elektro
My intention here was to create a style that sounds like an analog 
drum machine programmed for early synth-pop tunes. It’s not an 808 
or a 909 but a totally new “box” with retro and electronic sounds. LW
* Vintage FR-3
Original rhythms from a very old drum machine. Slow Rock x 3 (“home” 
tempo: 80 BPM). Samba x 4 (110). Rhumba x 3 (130). Beguine x 4 
(130). Mambo x 4 (140). Bossanova x 3 (145). Rock’n Roll x 4 (160). 
There were no fills in this machine, so we’ve created some for you. 
Same goes for Sidestick and Half Tempo Feel. This baby didn’t even 
have a cymbal! The sound differs somewhat from the real thing, in that 
the original machine sounds a bit different each time it is played! MS
* Vintage TR-7
A slightly newer analogue box. Slow Rock and Ballad x 2 (“home” 
tempo: 80 BPM). Western (90). Samba 1 + 2 (110). Rhumba x 2, Be-
guine x 2, Cha-Cha x 2, Mambo x 2, Baion x 2, Tango and 6/8 March 
(130). Bossa Nova x 3 and Bolero (145). Rock’n Roll 1 x 2 and Rock’n 
Roll 2 (155). MS
*Vintage CR-8
An almost modern drum machine because you could program it, but 
still analogue sounding. Habanera (“home” tempo: 70 BPM). S. Rock 
(80). Samba 1 + 2 and Merengue (110). Mambo, ChaCha, Tango, 
Beguine, Enka and Rock 1-6 (120). Then comes a combination of 
Rock 1/Rock 4 (120). Disco and Swing 1 + 2 (120). Rhumba and 
Rhumba/ChaCha combination (130). BossaNova and BossaNova/
Mambo combination (145). Foxtrot (160). Combining two rhythms is a 
cool trick! MS 
						

							Groove Agent 64 English
* Meek Ballad
Follow me back to the early 80s. This could be the next great thing… 
The slowly evolving groove adds a few more programmed hits on ev-
ery level, giving you a fair chance to find just the desired complexity. 
The style was created by adding each instrument one by one, just as it 
was in the childhood of these legendary “rhythm composers”. The 
meek shall inherit the earth. NE
* Axis Y
Back in the 80s, people had ugly hair cuts, pink jackets and played on 
hexagonal drums. Beware, because some of that might return any 
day! This style prepares you for at least the musical revival. Put on 
your dancing shoes and get into the groove. NE
1982 Slick
This style is a 16th note based beat, inspired by the sessions re-
corded in L.A. around 1980, with master drummers like Jeff Porcaro 
and John Robinson. Actually, the beat itself isn’t very innovative, but 
it’s too representative for this great genre to leave it out. A slow tempo 
is a must for this style. Favorite tempo range is 73-88 bpm. FvW
1983 Breakbeat
Wirebird shouted “HEEEELP” from deep down in “the Pixelmine”, 
when he created that fabulous front panel. I said “With what?”. “With 
breakbeats!”, he shouted from below. “You mean dirty, groovy, kind of 
playing-too-much à la Chemical Brothers?”. “Yepp!”. “Yo, I’ll do it!!”, I 
replied. And while you’re at it, dear user, why don’t you run the whole 
thing through some nice distortion. JS 
						

							Groove AgentEnglish 65
ENGLISH
1984 Arena
During the glory days of the 80s, the hardrock guys wore tight pants, 
sprayed their long hair and stole make-up from their girlfriends. There 
is no doubt that they really could play drums though – hard and dis-
tinctive. Since the music should be hard and loud, the dynamic has 
pretty much just one level – louder!
The fills are very typical for those drummers, intense, distinctive and 
almost composed sometimes. PS
* HM Straight
HM Straight and HM Triplets are based on the European style of 
Heavy Metal with a lot of double bass pedal work as well as some of 
my own chops from the albums/bands I played in, such as the albums 
“Beware the heavens” by Sinergy and “Sign Of truth” and “Anima 
Mundi” by Dionysus. The triplet rolls were inspired by the one and only 
Scott Travis, especially from the time before Judas Priest when he 
played with Paul Gilbert in Raxor X. The Raxor X song “Scarified” is a 
milestone in metal with its magnificent drum intro groove and I made a 
lot of variations of grooves of this type. The more straight and powerful 
grooves were made in the style of Jörg Michael, one of today’s most 
hired and respected German drummers. RM
* HM Triplets
A triplet based groove with a lot of 3-stroke rolls in the bass drums. 
The rolls in particular were inspired by my friend and Brazilian metal 
band Angras drummer Aquiles Priester, who developed it to a new 
level in modern metal drumming. While touring with Saxon I got the 
chance to pick up a drum fill or two which I throw in here and there. 
It’s from another great drummer and friend, the legendary Fritz Ran-
dow, one of the most technical drummers in European metal. RM
* Grind
These grooves are kinda busy and made for higher tempos. Notice 
how the bass drum uses 8th notes, 8th note triplets and then 16ths in 
various modern approaches. These grooves were influenced and 
played in the style of The Haunted, Krisiun and Hate Eternal. If you’re 
huge a fan of brushes, these grooves are not for you! ;-) RM 
						

							Groove Agent 66 English
* Progressive
Here’s a rather technical style with a lot of busy fills. “Progressive” is a 
mixture of the sound of new progressive styles and some old progres-
sive bands back in the 80s. Certain levels were recorded in various 
odd meters and played over a loop of four bars. Don’t get lost! MEB
1985 World Ethno
Take one big, wide pad, one fretless bass and one electric guitar play-
ing 8ths through a delay unit, and you’ll find yourself in a “world/ethno” 
kind of ambience, that’ll make you say “Manu”?!? JS
1986 Detroit Techno
As you may have already guessed, the techno roots are in Detroit. In 
this style I decided to give you a lot of noise. No energy has been 
saved here! They would call it “Hard to the bone” in the old days. DS
* Daft
Keep it fair and square. Simple and stupid. Keep it going. Keep it up. 
Perhaps the bottle will distract you. Never mind. It’s just a bottle. Keep 
it safe. NE
1987 LA Shuffle
Somewhere around complexity level 15 you will find a sibling to a girl 
called Rosanna. All over these grooves you will hear a whole bunch of 
her relatives from earlier decades, also known as ghost notes. Tiny 
triplets in between, especially from the snare drum, that add a fine 
masked web to a sturdy, laidback foundation. A slick style, yeah! Not 
to be used in a too high BPM environment! 78 is perfect! dB
1988 House
House music is a quite laidback electronic style that lives on its own 
groove. It’s a bouncy style with percussion as one of its main elements. 
House was born when DJs added 808 and 909 analog drum machines 
to beef up the dance music. DS 
						

							Groove AgentEnglish 67
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1989 Westcoast
This is the beat many drummers would play if you told them to just 
cruise at 98 Bpm. A straight “perfect-day-for-going-to-the-beach” 
groove with influences from modern gospel music and contemporary 
pop/rock beats. FvW
1990 Mini Works
All the sounds in this style come from the legendary Mini, built by a 
very clever guy called Moog. Every sound is note-off dependant. This 
means that the important note-off events become tempo-independent. 
Mini Works is built up around this rule, which turns the note-offs into 
important rhythmical components as well as all the cool little note-ons! 
There are 5 different grooves with 5 complexity levels each. Like five 
time zones in a synth clock. Every sound has its own effect in ambi-
ence mode which makes the note-off function even more extreme. 
Fave tempo: 95 BPM. Fave ambience: none! dB
1991 Fusion
The inspiration for this busy style comes from some of the fusion 
records of the early nineties. MEB
1992 Trance
When creating this Trance style, I wanted to make room for catchy 
melodies, so the drumming is easy and not supposed to take too 
much room in a mix. Now, if you still think the drums occupy too much 
sonic space, tweak the knobs until your melodies become the main el-
ement again. DS
1993 Modern Soul
Straight and very well suited for slow pop and soul ballads. Modern 
Soul contains a hybrid of analog, processed sounds and electronic 
sounds. LW 
						

							Groove Agent 68 English
1994 Trip-Hop
This is a trip to the darker side of Trip-Hop. Picture yourself in a spooky 
attic late at night, on your knees looking for an old photo album in a 
worn chest. Suddenly the room comes to life, the floor squeaks and 
wooden toys start playing in a slow, rhythmic groove. What next? Get 
into the groove or run for your life! W
* Bristol Trip
Portishead was one of the bands that popularized Trip Hop. They 
loved to play their songs live with an acoustic drum kit and a tricky-
playing drummer. Be my guest! MS
1995 Busy Beat
A lot of 16th notes coming at you in this one, especially at the higher 
complexity levels. Busy Beat is a kind of modern funk style with plenty 
of ghost notes on the snare drum. I’ve been inspired by the groove 
from the Spin Doctors’ hit “Two Princes” as well as Candy Dulfer’s 
song “Funkyness”. If you listen carefully, the sources of inspiration 
should be obvious. Programming was made at 104 Bpm. FvW
1996 Drum’n’Bass
This style combines the use of high speed beats with a natural half 
tempo feel, resulting in a playful rhythmic ballet. Thunderdome sub 
basses push the speaker limits, while frantic high pitched sounds 
keep the flow going. NE
1997 Ambient
Time to chill with some ambient grooves and spacious rhythms. It’s 5 
am at the club and the previously crowded dance floor is visited only 
by a couple of slow dancers, chillin’ to the beat as the faint early morn-
ing light passes through the drapes. My favorite tempo for this style is 
somewhere around 90 BPM. Try experimenting with different combina-
tions of dry and wet sounds and alternative pitches. The long reverb tail 
on some of the low pitched drums can create a really nice rhythmic 
tension to dry high pitched cymbals or percussion sounds. W 
						

							Groove AgentEnglish 69
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1998 Hip Hop
Groovy, fat and heavy Hip-Hop with a modern sound in contrast to the 
Basic Hip-Hop style. It’s been programmed to sound a little “off” in the 
beat with a nice swing to it. Closely related to Modern RnB. New, fresh 
kick, snare and effects noises were designed especially for this style. LW
1999 2-Step
A very tiny and fast affair with high pitched sounds. There’s a slight 
swing factor in this mixture of 2-Step, Garage and early synth-pop. LW
2000 Tribal Techno
This style was programmed to fit the sound of modern techno. It has a 
lot of my own personality in it. This is my tribute to the underground 
techno culture. You may recognize some of the grooves. The name of 
the style says a lot. Listen to those tribal grooves and you will under-
stand the name. DS
2001 Nordic Pop
A straight and modern pop groove, inspired by the Nordic hit phenom-
enon during the past ten years or so. Steady, compressed and simple. 
New, fresh kick and snare were designed especially for this style. LW
2002 Nu RnB
An effective groove with poly-rhythmic fills for that special feeling. 
Modern RnB/Hiphop style with a compressed sound, if you like. Kick 
and snare were designed especially for this style. LW
* Kelly
This is a cool, yet energetic modern R&B-style. The basic beat is slow 
and heavy while the hihats and other small sounds play in double 
tempo, creating a dynamic contrast. Try using a lot of different fills to 
vary the formula. No feelings were hurt during the making of this style. 
NE 
						

							Groove Agent 70 English
2003 Mini Club
Again, a Moog-only built up sound bank. And again 5 different grooves 
with 5 complexity levels each. This style will hopefully find its way to the 
floor of the future dance club. Try the note-off dependant sounds, too! 
Every sound slot has to be active to make these rhythms complete. 
There are no special percussion add-ons in this one. Original groove 
was made in 120 BPM with absolutely no ambience, but personally I 
like the full ambience version just as much, especially since every sound 
has its own special FX treatment! dB