Groove Agent sample truncation is bad....very.

Virtual instruments Groove Agent
1

I’m not sure who to address this to at SB, but I would like to point out that the QA on sample truncation is not good.

For instance:

  1. Using a MIDI track to generate a printable click via Groove Agent.
  2. Choose Classic 80s Kit with Rimshot sample. Sounds pretty good for a click.
  3. Notice the click sounds late. Not a little, a lot. Enough to quasi-flam with Nuendo Click.
  4. Do a Render In Place on the MIDI/Groove Agent track.
  5. Notice the rendered Rimshots are almost 10 milliseconds late. 10 MILLISECONDS!!! Seriously? So I wonder if there is lag in the Virtual Instrument Render process.
  6. Then notice that the Rimshot sample in the Classic 80s Kit starts about 400 samples after the left side of the Groove Agent Sample Edit Display. What the…???
  7. I then use the GA Editor to correctly truncate the Rimshot sample.
  8. Problem solved. MIDI Click Render In Place is now spot on.
  9. Check other samples in Groove Agent. They are all over the place. Loose as a goose.
  10. To get a solid preset it’s necessary to truncate it accurately yourself and then save it as a User Preset.

So, maybe we can encourage the people assembling these samples into kits to pay a little more attention to their truncating? 10 ms is a huuuuuge amount of error in a drum sampler. Unusable in a professional setting, for sure.

2

Are you talking about Groove Agent or Groove Agent SE?

3

Thanks for checking in, Steve.

This was using GA SE, included with N7.

So, as it turns out, after looking around through a number of kits, the truncation isn’t that bad. Some places seem 1 or 2 ms loose to me, but overall not so shabby as I thought.

However, it just so happens that the Rimshot and Kit I tried to use for a click are THE WORST of all the truncations. No kidding, almost 10 ms. Spooked me. That one obviously slipped through the cracks. Really bad first impression since I kind of never use Groove Agent SE. Sorry if I overreacted.

Seriously though, pull up SE with Classic 80s Kit and look at the Rimshot. If that was the first thing you pulled up in GA SE…well? :wink:

4

The Classic 80s kit is one of the Groove Agent One kits that were included in Groove Agent 4 SE so they wouldn’t have to include both VSTs in the Cubase 8 install. It’s very old so it’s not a very good representation of the current quality of Steinberg’s samples and QA.

5

Good to know. But it still has a pretty good sounding Rimshot for use as a Click track! It’s just that 10ms late thing you’ve got to watch out for. :smiley: