Drums for someone who simply lacks the ability to drum

Virtual instruments Groove Agent
1

Hi all, I own a ton of drums, most the NI kits, Groove Agent 5 Pro etc, my problem, is, I lack the ability to create decent drum patterns.

I only make music for myself (retired, just having fun) , but when it comes to creating into’s. fills, choruses etc, I seem to fail miserably.

Yesterday I downloaded the trial of Ezdrummer3 and have been having a play.

I really really like the song creator function where I can drag a midi file, and it comes up with a ton of suggestions for intros, versed, fills etc etc

However, as I own Groove Agent 5 pro, Komplete 14 collectors edition, Arturias V collection etc, buying Ezdrummer 3 and a couple of expansion packs for £225 (or £129 for just Ezdrummer3), kind of seems like a waste of money if I can get Groove agent to do similar?

I either tend to play synth music (think Gary Numan) or piano (blues, light rock).

I could spend £21 on the blues expansion for Groove went, but it’s the making off an entire songs drum beat that I really struggle with.

I realise that with Ezdrummer all I’m ending up doing is dragging midi loops into Cubase, but it’s the ease in which it finds suggestions for the entire song that I really like.

Anyone got any advice? Is there something I’m missing with how Groove Agent works?

Obviously it’s up to me, but if I could stick to groove agent, I would prefer to spend the money on other expansions.

Then there’s the fact that Groove Agent 6 pro must be due any time now with the release of 6SE

I know I’m asking an impossible question but any input is greatly appreciated

Thanks

2

Hi,
Groove Agent is capable of all the rhings you are asking for and then some.
However, there’s a learning curve involved and the manual is not a fun way to get to know these features. I suggest watching related episodes from “One Man and His Songs” Groove Agent tutorials on Youtube.

GrooveAgent is very powerful, it’s worth diving into if you are up for it!

4 Likes
3

Well yes, it does sound somewhat like an impossible question. You also seem to be familiar with various drum programs so I’m not quite sure why you’re having the problems you’re having. Using preset patterns and then massaging them to get the results you want isn’t that difficult.

1 Like
4

Indeed, and here’s the link to the playlist on YouTube:
Steinberg Groove Agent 5 Tutorial

2 Likes
6

Thanks,

I have severe (non terminal) health issues meaning I often only have a short time each day where I’m able to play, hence the reason I liked Ezdrummers song creator, but @Easto is right saying using preset patterns and manipulating them is easy, I jut liked the way Ezd showed various compatible patterns from my own midi file.

That said, I’m using the trial and I may find that in no time I find Ezd song creator isn’t as great as I first think, hence my question

But I think I’ll watch the one man and his songs tutorials and stick with it

Thanks

7

I wish you the best of luck.

1 Like
8

While Groove Agent will not analyze a midi file for you and propose drum elements, certain presets are designed to be a full replacement of a drummer.
For example:

grafik
grafik1409×616 174 KB

This is the preset “An AcousticAdventure” from the kit “The Kit”.
If you make sure you are in the pattern’s section you can press the Play button and select any of the yellow main pattern pads.
This wheel/knob in the middle allows for some nice settings in order to avoid a too boring repetition. Anthony from One Man and His Songs has a video for the details reagrding the settings.

But this is actually the easiest way to get a drum accompaniment.

1 Like
9

It’s the Acoustic Agent you need. That is Groove Agent’s Drumkit specialist. Head over there, put a Style in loop and the vary the parameters in the Style window. There is also Percussion Agent which gives you a bit more control over individual “instruments” (meaning souds).
Acoustic Agent is a very steep learning curve if you go deep it’s defintely worth it, its so musical, when you understand it. Worthy of a goto.
Keep an eye on me, in a day or two I post a thorough walk through. Maybe later today even…

Z

1 Like
10

There is an excellent tutorial series by Anthony, one man and his songs utube

1 Like
11

Many thanks, I’ve started to watch One man and his songs, but it seems very very complex, almost like learning a piece pf programming software.

I will persevere though, I’m sure I’ll get there

One thing I noted, he said that changing complexity does nothing for the fills, when I try, there is a difference.

It’s also a bit of a pain as a beginner trying to copy what he’s doing when his screen looks different to mine, I can’t get my browser screen to look like his at all, still it’s not a major thing.

I’ll look out for your walkthrough

From my point of view, playing around with groove agent for a couple of days, I put grooves into Cubase with a simple melody, I then put that melody into Ezdrummers song creator, I got my wife to listen to them both and she said there’s simply no comparison (liking EzD)

Currently I agree, I have 7 days left of my Ezd trial, hence I’m giving myself 7 days to get somewhere near what Ezd can produce, with groove agent.

Hopefully I’ll get there

12

Maybe have a look at JamStxi, if you haven’t already. I used to use it a lot, until I switched to GA.

Free cut-down version.

2 Likes
13

Jamstix is a great drum plug-in, but two things to note:

  • the author (Ralph) hasn’t been heard of for years and nobody knows why development suddenly stopped, or how the website continues to function
  • there is no VST3 version and it seems unlikely there ever will be one
1 Like
14

I take back what I said!

15

That said, there is a free version of Jamstix which is totally functional (with documented limitations) and doesn’t time-out, so that may in fact be what @Ojustaboo is looking for. It can also trigger sounds from other plug-ins, including Groove Agent. Just remember that it’s a VST2 plugin, so that will have to be enabled in Cubase 15 before it will work.

1 Like