Groove Agent 3 - Your unbeatable virtual drummer

Groove Agent 3 is the third incarnation of Steinberg’s phenomenally successful Groove Agent virtual drummer VST instrument, and is a major step up from previous versions. Groove Agent 3 combines a huge library of drum and percussion sounds with a range of player technologies to give you dynamic, ready-to-go drums, beats, rhythms and percussion in only a few mouse clicks. Top-quality drum samples and live recorded drum performances in a massive number of variations cover 123 different styles from over 50 years of music history, automatically synced to the song tempo. And Groove Agent 3 also features more kits and sounds, including 3 new top-rate acoustic drum kits, as well as the ability to import user samples in wav and AIFF format for even more flexibility.

Groove Agent 3 adds two new agents to the Classic Agent seen in previous versions: Special Agent and Percussion Agent. While the top-notch Special Agent adds an astoundingly realistic studio drummer complete with new acoustic drum kits to Groove Agent 3’s arsenal, the Percussion Agent is specialized in red-hot percussive grooves and beats. The new Dual Mode puts any two of the three agents together in the recording studio for scorching virtual drum and percussion sessions – all within one single VST instrument. And while Groove Agent 3 breathes new life into any production with its inspiring and inventive drum performances, it’s also an ideal sparring partner for practice or jam sessions.

• Add inspiring live drum patterns and percussion performances in real-time to your song and quickly record the result.
• Covers almost any style: 123 styles total - 108 Groove Agent and 15 Special Agent drum styles plus hundreds of percussion performances played by professional studio drummers - automatically synced up to song tempo.
• Variations with 25 complexity levels in each style, including fills, intros, endings and half tempo feel variations.
• Huge audio library: 10 richly detailed acoustic kits and 9 drum machines plus a vast array of acoustic and electric percussion sounds in outstanding quality.
• Classic Groove Agent module offers fully editable drum styles with corresponding kits and FX.
• NEW - Special Agent module features 15 complete live drumming styles, each containing 75 different performances.
• NEW - Percussion Agent module with 8 groups of red-hot recorded percussion grooves with hundreds of percussion performances.
• NEW – Dual Mode combines the breathtaking creative power of two Agents playing side by side within the same VSTi.
• NEW – flexible User Import Sample feature (wav/AIFF) - Create your own kits.
• NEW - Realistic rolls and paradiddles thanks to Alternating hits for each drum on every note. This means no more machine gun effect.
• NEW - Auto Fill functionality and useful Speed control for jamming and practicing.
• RealAmbience technology offers true recorded ambience for drum kits to perfectly blend into any mix.
• NEW - 9-band EQ and compressor for each of the 12 stereo outputs, useful Presets included.
• Record Groove Agent beats to a MIDI track with Cubase and Nuendo or export Groove combinations to a MIDI file for further editing in any host.
• Supports all major formats: VST, DXi, AU + Rewire for easy Pro Tools® integration.
• Standalone version with multiple-output support included.

New features in Groove Agent 3

The new Special Agent

Special Agent is an all new module in Groove Agent 3 which adds live drum styles. It does not rely on MIDI sequences and triggered drum samples but rather on drum and percussion audio loops played live and recorded especially for this application..Although these are live drum recordings, the same variation and flexibility found in the classic mode styles are attained.

We recorded a total of 15 new styles, each with 25 levels plus 25 fills and 25 unique half tempo feel renditions, all made accessible in a Module inside Groove Agent 3. And as if that weren’t enough, we also took the time to record a bagful of percussion instruments. Again, these are live grooves that can be arranged into traditional or complex patterns.

The best thing about having recordings of a live drummer inside a drum machine is the feel. The Classic Groove Agent approach of using MIDI-controlled samples is great, because you can compose and edit patterns any way you want. Patterns recorded live, on the other hand, are not as flexible, but they feel great.

The new Percussion Agent

The second great innovation in Groove Agent 3 is the all new Percussion Agent. As with the live drumming in Special Agent, it features an exciting variety of audio material played and recorded live. Congas, Bongos, Claves, Bells and much more are available, all in superb quality.

Percussion Agent can be seen as an ensemble consisting of up to eight percussionists (one per channel) playing together. Each player has an instrument playing a particular groove, or rather five variations of a groove. For each player you can adjust the shuffle factor, tuning, amount of ambience plus pan and volume. Each channel can also be assigned to any audio output.

When arranging the percussion part(s) for a song, users can add some inner dynamics by moving the Groove Offset for one or several percussion channels around. The results can be very rewarding.

Dual Mode

Another big step forward in Groove Agent 3 is the new Dual Mode. It allows users to work with two modules simultaneously in any combination. Users can combine “classic-style” Groove Agent drumming with Special Agent, the new live drummer module. Or base one drum track on Special agent and add a Percussion Agent.

It’s also possible to work solely with percussion, building up exciting, slowly evolving grooves (with help from the Random button) and add Groove Agent kick and snare at a later stage. Or make two Groove Agent drummers compete.

While the screen layout is different from Classic view, all the same controls are still there. Groove Agent behaves like before, but the control surface has been slightly modified to accommodate two modules in one screen. The central Control Strip allows two units to be controlled with very little mouse movement and the transport buttons are split into three sections – Upper, Lower and upper & Lower – for super-fast access.

When using two drummers, it’s easy to make only one of them play a fill, or to pause the lower drummer only. Creative use of these buttons will make any drum track sound more dynamic. To find the ideal mix or to create a dramatic fade from one kind of rhythm to another we’ve included a Balance fader as well.

Complete Dual Mode setups with all corresponding settings can be saved and later used in another song.

Effect Section

One more great innovation in Groove Agent 3 is the new FX section with major enhancements: at last, multiple built in effects. First there’s an Equaliser – or EQ. Nine bands that cover the entire audio spectrum allow you to make minor adjustments or go wild in the name of creativity. The Compressor intelligently compresses the sound without adding distortion. The harder the Compressor works, the “louder” and more compressed the sound will be.

Brand new styles and sounds

Groove Agent 3 offers 42 brand new additional styles. Every style includes 25 variations as well as fills and half tempo feel versions. Three new acoustic kits and a range of new vintage electronic kits including the famed Linn LM-1 drum computer add additional top quality sounds to the already extensive Groove Agent arsenal. The sumptuous sound quality of the new studio-grade kits are ideal for modern rock and pop productions. Groove Agent 3 also includes a huge palette of new percussion sounds with the new Percussion Agent /see above).

User Sample Import

The new user sample import utility makes it easy to use your own samples inside Groove Agent. Any user sample can be imported in WAV or AIFF format and moulded into custom drum kits! The User Sample Import feature even offers separate dry and ambient versions for every drum instrument.

Alternating Hits

Groove Agent 3 now offers “Alternating Hits” for the most important acoustic instruments in the new kits, namely snare, hihat, toms, kick and cymbals. Much like a real drummer, this feature eliminates the “machine-gun” effect by alternating hits for each drum on every note. Realistic rolls and paradiddles are therefore now very easy to achieve.

Auto Fill Feature

This is another tool to make life easier. It can automate the way fills are triggered and makes it easier than ever to setup Groove Agent as a live drummer for jamming along and practicing without static beats.

Real Ambience

The Real Ambience feature offers true recorded ambience that can be perfectly blended into any mix or production. Using no artificial reverb, Real Ambience builds an extraordinarily convincing drum room environment with fully adjustable wet/dry balance for each individual drum kit piece.

More stereo outputs

Version 3 of Steinberg’s virtual drummer instrument offers even more output busses. All of 10 stereo outputs are now available, feeding directly into the mixer of the host application, such as Cubase 4.

What is Groove Agent?

Need a real drummer for a song, but don’t have time or space for a complex recording session? Don’t know a drummer who can do the job right now? Groove Agent 3 is the perfect solution. Steinberg’s virtual drummer can play drum grooves and accompaniments in music styles from the last 50 years of music history. Groove Agent 3 gives you complete drum tracks in just a few clicks that sound as dynamic, lively and fresh as if you had a real session drummer playing in your song. The huge number of variations, fills, complexity levels, drum kits and the almost limitless combinations will fuel your imagination as well as your songs. Groove Agent 3 is also the ideal sparring partner for practicing your instrument – or as a drummer for your jam sessions with other musicians.

How does Groove Agent 3 work?

The classic Groove Agent concept (called Classic Agent in Groove Agent 3) is based on 1000s of MIDI sequences, which were played by top studio drummers especially for Groove Agent 3. With an extremely easy-to-use slider, you select a music genre, another slider sets the complexity of the groove being played. Each complexity level has its own drum fill, halrf-tempo and sidestick variations. The Edit area lets you change sounds or swap instruments around.

Special Agent and Percussion Agent use a different concept. These 2 Agents feature styles directly recorded as audio loops in a huge array of variations. They aren’t quite as flexible as Classic Agent, but give an even more authentic sound.

The Styles

Groove Agent 3 features 123 dynamic and ready-to-go drum styles from the past 50 years, with 42 new in this version, each including up to 25 variations and its own drum kit assigned to it.
Up to 25 complexity levels serve to select different variations of the given style. In addition to variations on the basic rhythmic pattern, fills and halftime grooves suitable for each style are also available. Random and auto fill functions liven up the proceedings, while the Shuffle and Humanize knobs add a dash of swing and natural feel to the rhythm recipe. G

roove Agent 3 suits almost any musical style from classical to contemporary, capturing the full sonic palette of several high-quality drum kits and digital drum machines. This makes it a rich and versatile instrument and style library. one that sounds just as powerful and emotive in the context of a heavy rock song as it does in a dance music production.

The Sounds

The sound library of Groove Agent 3 was created to cover as many musical bases as possible. Authenticity was also a key issue: the idea was to tailor drum kits and percussion instruments to a perfect fit for each musical style, as well as to capture natural room ambience for every sound.

What’s more, special stylistic devices were employed during the recording of drum sounds to invoke the spirit of the given era and lend these sounds authenticity. Case in point: ‘50s-style kits were played with brushes and mallets, while ‘80s-style kits featuring additional piccolo snare drums were played with rods.

Rather than recycling a sample library for the contents of Groove Agent, every drum sound was recorded in a pro studio in Sweden using high-quality analog equipment. All sounds were recorded with multiple microphones to capture the room’s natural sound, which can be added to the VST instrument using the Ambience control. Contemporary electronic sounds feature standard studio effects such as reverb and echo.

Groove Agent Analog Kits:

• ‘50s Jazz Kit - Slightly dampened, a relatively open and loose-sounding drum kit
• 60s Pop Kit - A heavily dampened kit, recalling a time when towels were draped over toms.
• ‘70s Rock Kit - Loud, deep and resonant, this kit sounds enormous.
• ‘80s Studio Kit - Retro, hip sound as featured on contemporary CDs
• Studio Kit - A top of the line set with some of the best drums and cymbals around: punchy, clean, modern.
• Heavy Kit - This drum-set is intended to fit many of today’s Metal and Rock styles, where busy bass drumming is a vital ingredient.
• Noisy Kit - We wanted to create a modern drum sound using traditional drums, with very small instruments but combine with a boom-box effect they sound much bigger than they really are.
• *Gula - It looks a bit odd with its extended bass drum (two kick drums mounted head-to-head), but the sound is easily recognized as the very popular sound found on many hit songs recorded at Gula Studios in Malmö, Sweden.
• *Clean Adult Fun - The second kit was a set with pinstripe heads, tuned to produce a dry, clean, elegant and widely-useful sound, hence the name “Clean Adult Fun”
• *Fula - For the third set of recordings, we moved into the reverberant Stone Room and used an old, precious kit from the early sixties, nick-named “Fula”. Mother-of-pearl finish, white heads and almost no damping gives a very dynamic jazz-to-pop sound that can be used in a wide variety of situations.

*New in Groove Agent 3

Percussion

Groove Agent 3 offers a wealth of various percussion instruments in its sound library’s treasure-trove. Alongside standard GM sounds, a battery of intriguing instruments, including African drums, rain stick, tambourine, cascabeles, and many more are included. We included lots more Percussion sounds in Groove Agent 3 which play hand in hand with the all new Percussion Agent.

Some of these beauties are over thirty years old. We think we’ve managed to capture and re-package the better part of the magic of these drum machines of yesteryear. These vintage drum machines get their ambience from a vintage plate reverb unit. In Groove Agent 3 we also spiced up the sonic palette with some very well known digital drum machines from the eighties.

Real Ambience Technology

The Real Ambience feature offers true recorded ambience that can be perfectly blended into any mix or production. During production of the Groove Agent 3 library, the natural ambience of different recording spaces was captured using special microphone techniques. Using no artificial reverb, Real Ambience builds an extraordinarily convincing drum room environment with fully adjustable wet/dry balance for each individual drum kit piece.

Minimum System Requirements

The minimum system requirements state the minimal specification your computer must have to be able to use the software. A more powerful system may be required for certain tasks or larger projects. You can find more information about computer system specification and setup here.

Mac

• Mac OS X version 10.4
• Power Mac G5 2 GHz or Intel Core Solo 1.5 minimum (dual core processor recommended)
• 1 GB RAM (2 GB recommended)
• 4 GB free HD space DVD drive required for installation
• CoreAudio compatible audio hardware is required
• Steinberg Key (copy protection device) and USB port required*
• Internet connection required for license activation
• For using as plug-in, a VST (VST 2.3 or higher) or AU compatible host is required (AU hosting is compatible with Logic 7.7.3). For using as Rewire slave device, a Rewire compatible host is required.

PC

• Windows XP Home, XP Professional or Vista 32-bit
• Intel/AMD processor 2 GHz minimum (dual core processor recommended)
• 1 GB RAM (2 GB recommended)
• 4 GB free HD space
• DVD drive required for installation
• Windows MME compatible audio hardware is required (ASIO compatible audio hardware required for low-latency operation)
• Steinberg Key (copy protection device) and USB port required*
• Internet connection required for license activation
• For using as plug-in, a VST (VST 2.3 or higher) or DXi2 compatible host is required. For using as Rewire slave device, a Rewire compatible host is required.

*The Steinberg Key (USB copy protection device) required to run this product is not included. Customers who do not own a Steinberg Key must purchase one separately. The same Steinberg Key copy protection device is then used for all Steinberg products that require it.