Steinberg Groove Agent 4 Manual

Common Editing Methods
Buttons31
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.
• To adjust the upper limit of the range, hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] and 
 drag 
the corona.
• To adjust the lower limit of the range,  hold d
 own [Alt]/[Option] and drag the 
corona.
Buttons
On/Off Buttons
These...

Common Editing Methods
Using Key Commands32
• 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...

Common Editing Methods
Presets33
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 reca ll 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....

Common Editing Methods
Presets34
Saving VST Presets
PROCEDURE
• In the header of the plug-in panel, click the Preset management button next 
to the preset name field and select  Save Preset. 

35
Working With Pads
The Pad section on the left can show the in strument pads or the pattern pads.
• To switch between the instrument pa ds and the pattern pads, click the 
corresponding button above the pads.
Transport Controls
• 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
 de button.
R
ELATED LINKS
Recording MIDI Events Live on  page 60
Jam Mode on  page 39 

Working With Pads
Instrument Pads36
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 so unds. 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...

Working With Pads
Instrument Pads37
• 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 Se ttings (Beat Agent Only)
• You can lock the color and output sett ings 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...

Working With Pads
Instrument Pads38
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 pl ay simultaneously with other 
patterns.
If  Ex
clusive  mode is activated for a...

Working With Pads
Instrument Pads39
Velocity ModeSpecifies how the velocity of the notes that you play affects the notes of the 
pattern.
•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...

Working With Pads
Instrument Pads40
The jam state is indicated by different icons in the upper left corner of the pads.
Pads in Standard , Next, Return , and Stop mode.
Using Jam Mode
PROCEDURE
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...