I have mainly been using NI Maschine and Battery 4 for groove making on my Windows 10 PCs so far. But this has happened with a lot of letdowns for a Cubase user:
Machine integration as a plugin in DAWs like Cubase is possible, but it’s just utterly lame in workflow, and means resource overload, with an overproportional Maschine sequencer within my Cubase sequencer. I’ve been looking for a less annoying alternative for some time now, testing other options like Arturia Spark etc., but never found anything completely to my liking
while in Battery 4 I do not have all the superfluous and cumbersome Maschine integratiion circus, I also can’t build, pre-listen and edit grooves within the plugin: that’s another kind of lame.
In contrast to such setups, the combination of Cubase 10 and Groove Agent 5 is just a dream IMO:
Groove Agent 5 with Beat Agent makes it possible to have all I need to build grooves directly in Cubase:
from a (if I want freely floating) Mediabay window, I have all my groove content (not just that of Cubase) in direct access, integrating favorite folders with my own sample content at will, being able to preview all of their sample content with a mouse click, or just by scrolling up and down in my folders with my keyboard arrows
samples can be pushed directly onto the pads as one-shots, or layered, or as (up to 32) velocity layers (automatically even grouped or manually adjusted).
each Beat Agent offers several pad pages to occupy (if you want to have access to various Future Bass foley pads, along with the main drum pads, for example), and you can use up to 4 different Beat Agents (eg one with melodic or bass content) if required, within one Groove Agent 5 Track
all of this can be routed internally within the Beat Agent, with Cubase effects, to different outputs. Or you route it as usual to multiple Cubase outputs, then with any effect plug-ins you wish, for separate routing of kicks, snares, hats or whatever: maximum routing flexibility, until your drum set sounds exactly the way you like
if you want - you can preview all drum samples, while running a midi groove: you simply swap them in the selected Beat Agent pad in the current loop by clicking on another sample in the Media bay:
this way you are not only are able listen to different kicks within the groove, but if you notice, that your kick has punch, but a too weak attack, you just switch back from the pattern to the sample view of the pads and throw a layered pulse on the kick pad in layering mode.
you can play in your own grooves with a controller of your choice (in my case I can still use my NI Maschine Micro MkII controller for that), including building top loops matching your song in slow midi tempo
then you add all grooves of your choice to your own GA midi library
last but not least, the midi-grooves can easily be exchanged forth and back between Cubase tracks and Beat Agent midis. So within Groove Agent, you will be able to gradually build a complete groove library, for your favorite music styles,
you then just throw them into your drum track(s) at will, as you make and record your songs within Cubase, fine tuning them within song context.
You still keep the ability to listen to loops and swap sound content at will, until all fits in the process of your groove making and song writing process to the end
While doing so, you don#t ever have to get around translating anything from one midi format (Maschine or whatever) to another. You’re always at home in a fantastic sequencer/drum plugin tandem, which has no midi adjustment issues or routing complications.
Along with all other Cubase 10’s workflow enhancements, this groove building and songwriting workflow is simply outstanding and a pleasure. I use it since some days meanwhile and have never seen or used something remotely as convenient for groove making and song writing, as Beat Agent 5 within Cubase 10. I have completely abandoned Maschine and Battery 4 since, and only use their content in Groove Agent 5 from now on.
So frankly, I have problems understanding some of the small minded bickering I see here. My impression is, that most who complain, perhaps haven’t even remotely understood what they got in their hands at all.
I fully agree but my issue is with the upgrade pricing (even though it has all those added features). It should be 49.99 instead of the 99.00.
The 99.00 does not warrant the limited features that have been added. I do not mind spending money but the upgrade price is not warranted in my opinion.
I’ve had some closer look at “The Kit”: it’s a new (and for my taste the best so far and quite versatile) complete acoustic Pearl/Yamaha drumset, completely miked with high quality gear and different mic positions. A comparable Toontrack expansion kit alone costs what? 69€for their new hard rock EZX drumkit alone? And 45€for their Black Friday offer of the Rock Solid kit?
On top of that you get over 30 new Beat Agent kits (for EDM etc.), along with 20 new Midi Style packages. One Maschine Expansion costs what? 50€ - and still 25€ with rare casual 50% offers like Black Friday now. I know what I’m talking of, having bought quite a lot of these, some at half and some at full price.
Workflow: You now get the option to route to 32 different outputs, get super easy new drag&drop options between Cubase and Groove Agent, incredibly speeding up your workflow, get export mix options to Cubase 10 audio tracks, new on the fly prelistening functionality, better Mediabay filtering etc.
Sampling: you get new sampling functionality like live sampling, decompose (= splitting up loops for further groove making purposes), better sampling drag&drop funcionality and better pitch envelope handling.
All this should not be worth a 99€ upgrade???
Well, to me it certainly was and is. And most of all, I finally have the groove making and songwriting workflow I have been hoping for since years, now finally with GA5 in Cubase 10.
Lets not forget a lot of us already had that groove making and songwriting workflow for a few years with GA4. And some don’t even use it in Cubase all the time. When I apply your math, the Groove Agent update itself - without the content - is worth -€20,- to €25,-. And I think you nailed it there. The update itself isn’t worth €99,- and value was added by adding content. However not everybody wants or need that content because they are content creators themselves. That’s why we buy the products to supply us that groove making and songwriting workflow.
You only have a part of that groove making workflow in GA4, as is obvious from my points 3 and 4. These alone are worth 99€ to me (not to you obviously), and I welcome the addional content on top of it. Groove Agent 4 would NOT deliver the (to me) ideal groove making solution I have now, so I have been more than willing to get there at this price. And I’m simply enjoying the Cubase10/GrooveAgent 5 tandem day by day, both making songwriting and recording a lot easier for me.
also don’t forget a lot of this is included for no cost with GA 5 SE in Cubase 10. I am trying to figure out what is in GA 5 above SE 5 other than stand alone version, percussion agent and the ability to run 4 agents at once.
All good stuff; though I’m curious on the specific point I’ve highlighted - namely, is this ONLY possible with ‘The Kit’ (like it is in Groove Agent SE 5).? Or is it available across other Beat/Percussion Agents.? When you’re next working in GA5, I’d be interested in your observations…
I tried an export GA mixer to C10 mixer yesterday and it didn’t sound very good. Noticeably different than how it sounded in GA5.
I’ll try to figure out why later today. There was nothing on my master out either.
Understood - thanks for the info both; interesting that the sound/mix should change between inside GA and exported to Cubase. Wonder what you’ll find out…?
Odd, when I drop midi file from a loop pad, it places some midi notes in the midi block on a key that plays a loop, something I don’t want it to do. Did GA4 do this too?