Steinberg Groove Agent 4 Manual
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Managing Your Sounds Managing and Loading Files21 Results List The results list shows all files that have been found according to the category filter. Text SearchIn the text search field on the results li st 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 de fin 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 Re sult Columns button on the toolbar. Results Counter The number of presets that match the filter criteria is displayed at the right of the toolbar. Configuring the Results List • To configure which attributes are sh own in the results list, click the Set up Result Columns button in the upper right co rner 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 in the column header shows the sorting direction.
Managing Your Sounds Managing and Loading Files22 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 le-click the kit in the results list. • Drag a kit from the results list to a kit in the kit rack or onto the slot in the kit slot section. If a kit is already loaded, it is replaced with the new kit. • Right-click the kit in the results list and select Lo ad Kit from the context menu. Importing Presets You can import presets from any file location using the Windows Explorer/Mac OS Finder. PROCEDURE 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. Editing Preset Attributes Presets can be described by using a predefined set of attributes. PROCEDURE 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. NOTE If you change the attributes for write-prot ected factory presets, these changes are only saved in the MediaBay database, not in the preset file.
Managing Your Sounds Managing and Loading Files23 Available Attributes The predefined media and musical attributes can be set in the results list and in the Save dialog. Media Attributes Name For user presets, you can edit the name via the context menu. For all other e lements, this attribute is display only. Rating Drag to set the rating. Comment Click to select, double-click to edit. Content Summary 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. Musical Attributes CategoryClick to select. Sub Category Click to select. Style Click to select. Sub Style Click to select. Character Click to open an editor.
Managing Your Sounds Managing and Loading Files24 TempoClick 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. NOTE 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 loaded kits. NOTE Samples can only be loaded for Beat Agent kits.
Managing Your Sounds Managing and Loading Files25 •Multis and kits. Path Section • To step through the recent locations, click the Previous/Next Location buttons. • To navigate to the folder one level up in the location tree, click the Browse Containing Folde r button. • The path field shows the current location. To specify a new location, enter or copy a new path. • To open the navigation history, click at the very right of the path field. 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 yo u added a new disk to your setup or created a new folder on the hard disk.
Managing Your Sounds Managing and Loading Files26 Rescan DiskRescans the selected element in the tree. The corresponding files are op ened, the information is extracted, and the database file is updated accordingly. Quick Rescan Disk Rescans only the folders that have changed since the last scan. Show in Explorer (Win)/Reveal in Finder (Mac) Shows the location of the selected file on your system. Locations Locations are folders or directories on yo ur system that contain media files. By setting up locations, you can organize the files that are available in the results list according to context. 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 loca tions, click in the text field. • To add the current folder to the favorite locations, click the Add Select ed Media Node as Favorite Location button. You can keep the folder name or specify a new name for the location. • To delete the current location from the list, click the Re move Favorite Location button. 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.
Managing Your Sounds Managing and Loading Files27 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 re sults list using the text search function. This way, you can search for files with spec ific 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 Text button. 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. PROCEDURE 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 to search for samples, kits, or all types. 4. To start the search, press [Return] or click the Search/Stop Search button to th e right of the search text. The files that match the search criteria are listed in the results list. NOTE 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.
Managing Your Sounds Managing and Loading Files28 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 Plays back the focused sample. Stop Stops playback. The play locator ju mps back to the sample start. Pause Pauses playback. Click again to continue. Auto Play Automatically starts playback of the selected sample. Loop Playback If this button is activated, the select ed sample is played back repeatedly. Play Position Displays the playback position within th e sample. To select another position for playback, click on the slider or drag the handle to the new position. Missing Samples 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. R ELATED LINKS Finding Missing Samples on page 99
Managing Your Sounds Managing and Loading Files29 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, or onto a pad. NOTE This replaces the current sample s and resets the sound settings. Some file types are not supported. In this ca se, 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. NOTE You can also replace samples that are part of the factory VST Sound content. PROCEDURE 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. NOTE 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.
30 Common Editing Methods 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 fo r positive values. Most of the editing methods are the same for encoders and sliders. • To adjust a value, click an encoder or a fader and drag up and down, or use 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 mo use wheel. • To restore the default value for a parame te r, press [Ctrl]/[Command] and click on the control. 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 fr equency encoders shows a range from 1200 to 2500. The corresponding field show s the value of the focused pad in red. NOTE More complex controls, such as the envelope editors, only show the values of the focused pad.