Groove Agent 7 feature requests: For the Sound-Designer/Instrument Builder/Custom Samples User

Virtual instruments Groove Agent
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As I’ve posted in another thread, the GA6 update while good for what it is, is not for me.

My use case is:

-Primarily use Pads/Layers to load my own library of custom recorded/edited/processed samples
-I do use the basic pad/layer parameters (pitch/filter/distortion) as well envelope programming.
-I don’t use GA integrated mixer often if at all - usually just Direct Out everything to Cubase and mix/refine/effect there.
-I usually don’t use Patterns/Integrated sequence, I compose in Cubase, sometimes use BeatDesigner MIDI plugin, and now the new lower zone sequencer.

Here is what would have made me personally excited and hit the buy upgrade button immediately

#1 Collapsible/Expandable Tree List Editor/Excel Sheet for drums.

Being confined to working with layers as tabs like internet browser tabs is not efficient. Being able to have 32 layers, but expecting users to work in these tabs efficiently is not 2026 UI/UX.

It should be a collapsible/Expandable list editor with elements as rows, and all parameters as columns:

  • Page - ——-——-| Volume | Course | Fine | etc
    • Pad - - - –—- | Volume | Course | Fine | etc
      • Layer 1 - – | Volume | Course | Fine | etc
      • Layer 2 - - | Volume | Course | Fine | etc

This would allow complex multi-selected editing. Absolute/Relative modes could apply across an entire page, pad, or layer. Layers on different pads could be selected.

Progressive Editing could be available for some parameters, for example Output Assignment, Volume, Pitch, etc.

Selective Randomization could be a thing - selecting specific layers across multiple pads across multiple pages, and randomizing pitch, or randomizing volume of layers from -off to +6 to get different combinations of layers.

This List Editor page could be opened up as a integrated side panel like the browser, or opened as a separate resizable window.

This is no good for my mind:

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#2 Easy Modern Sound-Export, Integrated Rendering for Resampling, External Editing

  • Drag & Drop sound rendering to Cubase audio tracks, SamplerTrack, DrumTrack, and other VSTis such as BackBone and Halion.
    • Drag multi-layer pad to Cubase and it renders all the layers to a single audio file. Options to render to track, SamplerTrack, or DrumTrack, or drag to existing DrumTrack pad.
      • Drag multiple pads to get multiple pads rendered as separate files.
      • Layers have the same functionality
  • Integrated Pad/Layer-Rendering
    • Render a pad to audio so that the user can then do further re-sampling/re-processing.
    • The ability to select multiple pads/layers and combine/sum-render them forming 1 pad/layer.
    • Give the user the option to also render include different Mixer stages sort of like Cubase Render In Place. (this could be an option for drag and drop rendering as well)
  • Full GA instrument Export to Halion for further instrument creation/finalization
  • External Editing to Wavelab, Spectralayers, etc.

#3 Envelope/Parameter Copy-Pasting from pad to pad, layer to layer, layer to pad/etc as well as easier reset

As described, easier copy/paste amenities as well as reset per envelope (maybe this was added in 6 but wasn’t focused in promos)

I want to be able to easily copy one envelope on a layer and paste it to another, or paste one envelop to multiple layers. There could be cross copy/pasting from different envelope types (volume to pitch for example)

I’d like the ability to also just ‘Copy All Parameters’ from one pad to another. Every envelope/parameter section should be individually copied and pasted.

#4 Sound Randomizer Pad Creator

This would be an extension to the sound-browser where a user can create a shopping cart of sounds that can be manipulated in certain ways to create pads.

The user would hand select sounds to add to this “shopping cart” and then before creating a pad or multiple pads could set both static and random creation parameters.

For example:

  • layer mode behavior could be set to static: Layer
  • Course Pitch: Random from -12 to +12
  • Layers Per Per Pad: 4

Then the user select which pad(s) and generates.

Sound Randomizer lists are saved with the GA preset, and Sound Randomize lists themselves have their own presets so users can recall their favourite randomization lists… Perhaps the randomization settings/parameters could be preset as well.

#5 Drum Synthesis…

…Is an interesting idea but not totally required. It would be interesting especially if they added my FR #2 Integrated Rendering.

I’m not sure how Drum Synthesis could be included to fit in with the rest of the GA eco-system and parameter editing so there is uniformity between Synth and Sample.

Are pads converted to synths which have their own module editor which then feeds into the GA envelope/current parameters? Or are synths added as Layers… Or both/either or? Not sure what that would look like.

Thanks,

devs PM me if you want me to alpha/beta test a version that goes in this direction.

Good work on the update, just not for me, will still upgrade eventually.

3 Likes
Rendering pads as separate samples
No improvements to custom instrument/layer editing/workflow? GA6 not for sound designers
Groove Agent 6 is available now
2

I’d actually probably put these at #5 ahead of synthesis, as I think improving what is already in GA is better than adding something entirely new - I have lots of synths that can create drum sounds.

#6 Trigger Linked/Grouped Pads (triggering one pad triggers others)

This is a great way of layering sounds quickly, and allows the user when entering MIDI notes to only have to enter 1 note for multiple sounds.

It’s a lot less cumbersome than always having to manually create layers or do MIDI programing in Cubase, or re-assigning MIDI notes per pad… Let us just multi-select a bunch of pads as ‘Trigger Group 1’ just like Choke Groups.

It would be great even if we could name our Trigger Groups - Kick, Snare, etc. (add renaming to choke groups)

There could be multiple types of Trigger Groups - Synchronized, Round Robin, Random

#7 Note Expression Support

It would be cool to be able to Note Expression pitch and some of the other parameters of pads.

As it stands, there isn’t a good way currently to pitch modify samples/individual pads as part of a composition, currently, I copy paste duplicate samples to multiple pads and pitch them as I want… But that takes up pads and controller performance space.

#8 Pad Colours Mirror to Cubase Piano Roll/Drum Grid/Pattern Sequencer/etc + Custom Colours

I usually have some logic as to how I colour code my pads - sometime as a visual ranking as best samples, sometimes as variations of the same sample, pitched chromatic sample across multiple pads, etc.

It would allow me to load up a kit of my custom samples of which I might not even remember how it’s organized, and just go straight to composing and have some idea based on colour where everything is MIDI note wise.

I could get a lot more organized with custom colours.

#9 Pad/Layer based FX

The problem with FX in GA currently, is they can’t be saved as part of a Pad Instrument Preset… and sometimes FX are as much of the instrument as the sample itself.

It would also allow for very cool FX programming and modulation - triggered FX. Envelope control, ADSR, velocity control, pad hold/release, etc.

There could be some cool routing options similar to backbone.

There could both be sends and inserts.

All sorts of cool programming possibilities like velocity based send amounts, so only a certain velocity level will send to an effect.

#10 Load our own convolution reverbs/IRs

I have 1000 of paid, free downloaded, and my own made IRs. Some of them are very cool effects.

1 Like
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#11 Save/Load Page Preset, Save/Load Pad Settings Preset (Filter, Pitch, Amp, etc)

It’s great that we can save shapes, but,

It would be great if we could Save pages entirely with or without shapes.

I definitely have my favourite settings, filters, etc that I use repeatedly. It would be fantastic to quickly save and duplicate them to other pads, even as starting points - instead of always having to choose filter type and start from scratch.

This also suggests we need the ability to Save and Load total pad/all page settings without the sample - and to be able to load them into pads with existing samples without losing the sample.

#12 Auto-Alignment technology.

Automatic timing alignment (adjusts sample start across multiple layers), Auto-Polarity and Auto-Phase Rotation across multiple layers.

This optimizes the phase relationship between multiple sources (layers in this case), especially important for sounds with low-frequency content.

#13 More/Deeper MIDI FX and Modulation of MIDI FX

  • MIDI Delay could have randomization
  • MIDI Delay could have various panning modulators that are constant and or triggered.
  • Panning could be its own module, for example round robin trigger (please have timer reset option on all Round Robin functions) based panning that goes Left to Right, Right To Left, or Random.
  • Logical MIDI FX functions, like controlling when a send is opened to Mixer FX.
  • MIDI Modulation of MIDI FX parameters, constant as well as trigger based changes (Like randomizing settings to a variable after each trigger).

edit

  • MIDI note remaping module - for example, using the MIDI Delay with Pitch, you could put a MIDI note remap module after the delay, so that all the pitched MIDI delays are confined to a scale/chosen notes.
5

That seems to be possible in GA6 already.

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2 Likes
6

okay good to know thanks

7

+1 (for GAs as well…)

Art

1 Like