It is an MPC replica that loads Akai drum kits - MPC was more or less perfected. Why do you want to bloat something that everyone loves. Not even the MPC has developed hardly any - they are making it more like groove agent.
The synthesis engine is cool but it doesn’t really have a place inside of groove agent.
The Ableton drum rack is about the only thing that beats Groove Agent. & here is where you missed the big update to Groove Agent. GA was always behind Drum Rack in modulation - now its there with the addition of modulators.
Why would Groove Agent go away? Sampler Tracks aren’t even close to Groove Agent. It is a basic tool that should remain forever in cubase.
For me where Cubase needs to get it together is the multi core performance.
Why did development of midi effects totally stop? Once they make something, they abandon it in favor of new devices rather than improving the older ones. Obviously they are doing something wrong because Ableton ate their lunch.
The logic, workflow and thinking behind Nuendo is different.
What I mean by that is it prioritises the action on the Screen , that is the Dialogue Editor or the Foley Director, ADR director, Location artist, Sound Designer and SFX artist. Music Director etc etc.
It’s oriented to cater to a different world with different demands.than cubase. And needs a team of dedicated engineers who think like the film and radio guys.
Let time to Groove Agent to get updated, as said Groove Agent is a vst, even if it’s have really cool connectivity with Cubendo it’s not really a part of Cubendo scheduled update.
And iam not sure we will have all functionality of Drum Machine inside Groove Agent but probably i hope some transfer Kit goodies and some few connectivity goodies between the 2 instruments
I see this new drum machine device/rack thing as a very streamlined and simple instrument to make Cubase more inline with DAWs like Ableton Live, and Bitwig. It’s more of a draw to people that do not need or want the complexity and extra cost of GA…either version. Same with the path they went down with the sampler track. As much I am liking what Groove Agent can do, to have a simpler way of sequencing drums/percussion is always welcome. That was my biggest complaint of getting into GA…it was just too complex or the GUI was not intuitive enough to do some basic drum sequencing or editing.
Looking at it from the programming coding perspective, GA is very old and trying to change code instead of starting from scratch with frameworks that are pretty easy to implement and test nowadays just makes more sense.
You can always sample/record the drum synth sounds from drum machine into GA.
Drum Machine is more a track type, as the sampler is versus being a VST instrument.
I’m not sure of the decision, but to me I see it’s purpose is more of a lighter weight, simpler to use, electronic drum machine based around an oscillator/synthesis approach.
Whereas Groove Agent is more suitable for a wider palette of sounds as it includes the acoustic drum engines.
I don’t know how the teams are divided up at Steinberg but I expect those responsible for VST Instruments such as what you find in the Absolute collection may be different than those who primarily work on Cubase features perhaps?
This then allows the Cubase team to work on an integrated drum machine/pattern editor without having to get approval for changes in Groove Agent where other third party DAWs have to be considered(?).
GA seems to be created for the music styles where drums are actually played live by a real person with all the expression & technical / recording nuances, like: jazz, rock, metal, etc.
DM seems ideal for electronic music, where the drums are rigid and sequenced, like: trance, techno, drum & bass, etc.
Obviously both can work both ways, but the feature-set and even the looks of GA and DM suggest they’re catering to different use-cases.
It seems to me that they don’t have a focus. Are people not using Groove Agent?
I will definitely upgrade. I like the modulation and finally Dorico replaces the very bad notation.
I will be using Drum Track. Is it true I can’t import my beloved GA presets which took me years to create? Who was the imbecile who decided this would not be included?
I’ve been using Cubase since the Atari version and most likely will buy every upgrade until I die. That is a large amount of money spent already. I think my opinions should count.
I strongly believe the person who made the decision to make a new device rather than improve GA does not use GA or even Cubase. This can’t be a true musician,
Load the kit into GA. Switch the instrument track from MIDI Part to Pattenr Event.
On the GA instrument track let Cubase create a Drum Map from GA.
Open the Pattern Editor - klick the + symbol to add new instrument lanes as many times as neccessary to have all your pads in there.
Have fun using GA with the new Pattern Editor.
You can even take it to another level: Let the randomize function of the pattern editor create some nice patterns for you. Draw the patterns onto the track, convert them into MIDI parts. Then drag’n’drop those onto the pattern pads in Groove Agent (SE). Easy way to create patterns for your kits in GA.
Just my two cents on the Groove Agent vs. Beat Machine:
I am personally happy to have now another plugin, which complements Groove Agent.
I would only wish, that …
Beat Machine would be an actual plugin, and not a track type (makes DAWproject interchange more difficult, and yes, I think the same of the Sampler Track)
Beat Machine would use VSTPresets (for MediaBay), and not Track presets
Beat Machine kits could be exported and imported into Groove Agent (converting the synth sounds into samples would be the only way at the moment)
I think they completement quite well, they also have relevant differences:
SOUND ENGINES
GA: sample based, not based on synthesis
Beat Machine: Synthesis based, with some sampling
both: multiple audio outs (great!)
PATTERN MANAGEMENT
GA: Drag´n Drop of Patterns to MIDI notes - nice for triggering and layering patterns
I normally use the MIDI plugin BeatDesigner to create patterns, so no big change for me there
BM: Using the new Pattern Editor, but no layering of patterns
MIDI OUT:
Groove Agent can send MIDI to other plugins/hardware synths
BM: possibly no MIDI out (haven´t checked, so it´s an assumption)
I’'ve been a big fan of Beat Agent in Groove Agent 4 and 5.
But using Beat Agent was not intuitive right from the start at all: you had to read the manual or watch tutorials to work your way into it. The overall functionality is excellent, but spread all over the place (like the tiny buttons down left to control midi behavior for pads and patterns, then lots of settings in sub-sub menus, cluttered zone functionality with completely different sizes for different functions etc.).
The workflow of the new Drum Machine Track, with easy access to all functions in good overview now is VASTLY superior to that of Groove Agent from my view. The only thing I see so far it does not deliver are multi-velocity drums - which are only casually used (mostly for acoustic kits) in drum machines. In other aspects it is MUCH easier and faster with the new Drum Machine to get going with e.g. a hi-hat pattern, random and probability settings, sound settings etc. all at your fingertips in good overview in the lower zone. Groove agent isn’t even half as good concerning overview and workflow!
So I will not shed tears for GA, but move to the new tool altogether very fast. And we can still have the GA browser open to drag and drop midi to rebuilt kits in the new Drum Machine.
The only real bummer for Groove Agent users with lots of custom kits is that the new Drum Machine has no function to load these kits (at least the raw samples to the pads) in one go. Having to recreate them one by one by drag and drop to each of the pads is really no fun.
The focus or mantra is interoperability between Dorico, Nuendo etc.and DAWproject interchange between DAW’s. This may require a unified codebase, and it may have already happened (Davinci Resolves style)
The current set will probably be further enhanced and some may even trickle down to GA.
I will not be surprised if there is something similar to Apple Intelligence called SI Steinberg Intelligence that take care of routine jobs and tie up things, gives your beats, bass lines a head start and tells you how to improve and fix things using 5000 years of global music evolutionary psychology.
