Recording GA4 in Cubase 8

I have the trial version of GA4. I can drag the patterns from GA4 onto a midi track… haven’t learned how to get more than just the loop. The midi doesn’t look exactly like what I hear. After adding some bits in the Performance section I want to take a much longer midi section to Cubase. Possible.

I want to record or export the audio from GA4 to a Cubase 8 audio track. I am a simplistic user of Cubase but I’ve been at it a long time and can always find a way to do what I need to do and I’m not a complete idiot… why can’t I do this? Please tell me how.

The dragged midi files sound different, because some patterns are combinations of several agents. You have to create a midi track for every agent and drag every pattern from all active agents to the connected track.

Thank you. That is a start. I only set up a kit in Acoustic agent… hadn’t occurred to me that some other guys were sitting in.

Also, of all of the patterns there is not one in 3/4 time. 4/4 seems to be the only time sig in demand.

Maybe there are some 3/4 time patterns in the additional instrument sets for the GA4? I haven’t checkend this so far.

I think there MUST be a simple way to record GA4 audio into Cubase 8 but I’m finding nothing about it in the manual nor in the online tutorials… so far. This forum hasn’t addressed that question as yet but I’m still hopeful. It must be such a simple thing to do. I find the manual too vague and the tutorials very impressive and somewhat helpful but too fast and assuming of a top technical engineering expertise. Where is the step by step guide for the professional musician that struggles a little with the initial learning curve? I only need a little kick start and I’ll be away. I wish I could trial the Songwriter’s patterns before I have to commit to buying… that is my primary reason for trying GA4.

Route GA4’s output to a group track in Cubase. Create a new audio track and choose the group as its input.
Record it.

Bingo! Thank you! … I never would have thought to try adding a group track in the mix. It’s like trying to get from A to B but you have to go to C first. The learning curve took a turn for the up.

Now, I have a GA pattern all set up with intensity and complexity where I want them and fills every 8 bars (simple, I know, but it took me two days to get there!) and now I can record that. BUT what if i want to get 64 (or more) bars of the midi into a midi track in Cubase so I can add my own frills… how do I do that?? I know I can drag the bits over and I suppose I can reconstruct but that seems unduly labour intensive. I just want to drag the whole thing over or export it as a midi file to Cubase. Possible??

Record it in GA4 Standalone. Then export the midi file
and import it in Cubase.

Or record the MIDI out of GA4 VST on a MIDI track and
then use bounce in place to get your audio file.

Edit: New features in Groove Agent 4.2 - YouTube Have a look at 03:40

Thank you for your help. It is moving the rock slowly up the hill.

The penny begins to drop, but each answer leads to more questions. I don’t even know how to set up the Cubase tracks for GA4 like in the video and I’ve been setting up tracks in Cubase since Cubase was a puppy.

I don’t know what makes Standalone different or what it really means but I think I can figure that out from the manual. I find trial and error the most useful method.

I’m not sure if the GA4 trial I have is 4.2 so unsure that I have midi out. But if I can just record midi out onto a Cubase midi track then I am in my element and can do what I want with midi and the audio recording is redundant since I can always export the Cubase midi file as audio when I’m done. I’m not sure what the term “bounce in place” means.

Can I trial Songwriters with my trial GA4?

No, there are no trials for content. Just listen to the example audio files on the website.

I don’t know if there is a trial version for Songwriter’s.
As it is just an extension, I don’t think so.

To make sure that you have 4.2, check out if there is the
“Perform”-button between the “Mixer”- and “Options”-button.

Bounce in place is a very handy new feature of Cubase 8.
Let’s say you’ve already recorded the MIDI out of GA4 and
now you want the audio files of the performance. You’ve
already routed the single signals (kick, snare, hihat etc.) to
the individual outputs of GA4, so there’s a channel in Cubase for
each of it. When you right click your MIDI event now and choose
bounce in place, you’ll get one audio track for each signal.

Standalone is the version of GA4 that you can use without a
Host Software like Cubase or Logic. GA4 Standalone has a
scratchpad on top of it there, that let’s you record MIDI.
You have to choose if you want to install it when
you install the VST.

This thread is the most help I’ve had and I need to cement the results in my brain with practice. That will take 3-4 days as my time is in demand for other things too. I think GA4 is worth my money even thought I have found it a battle to get my head around to even this small degree, and Songwriters seems like it is meant for me. I will be back with more questions soon, I’m sure. Thank you.

Ok, I couldn’t wait and had to try this now. Fell at the first in a way, but there is progress. I’m in midi world now which I think should be easy as I’ve been using and editing midi guitar for years. Need to think in terms of GA4 101 though. I set up Acoustic agent with a pattern, added a little reverb to the snare in the mixer, and set up auto fill for every 4th bar. I then used the midi track I created when I opened GA4 as a rack instrument and put the input routing in the inspector on GA Kit 1 and the output routing on GA Main.

I recorded the midi track and, lo!, got a recording of the pattern with fills. BUT GA4 now runs with Cubase even when I have the Follow Transport button deselected. Hmmm… what have I done?

I tried various things that I can’t remember or describe here now. I am a pretty old dog trying to learn new tricks and I have another 28 days to work with this so any very simple and fundamental help learning how to best set up Cubase and GA4 to record midi is much appreciated. I’m happy to have every thing record on one midi track in Cubase because I have far too many guitars and voices, etc, to use a lot of monitor real estate for GA4 and I can edit midi quickly and easily.

I don’t know where the midi section in GA4 is

Have a full watch of the tutorial I’ve posted you above.
The problem might be that you’re now triggering GA4 with
your recorded MIDI part. A question:

Have you recorded the trigger-notes of the patterns or did you
actually see the notes of the drums in the recording?

Another thing that’ll make your life easier: Create drum map
from instrument.

I’d really like to give you a small youtube tutorial but I’m moving
into an other studio and right now I only have a MacBook with GA4
Standalone with me. But Steinberg already gave us a
lotta tutorials when they released GA4.

Have a look at YouTube and search for Steinberg Media and Groove
Agent 4.

I ain’t giving up yet!

Have you switched on the pattern midi port (second button in the left button corner on the pattern page)? Then the patterns use a different midi port and will not be triggered from the instrument midi port.

Yes… helpful, thank you.