In the upper-most panel, I’ve defined the filter conditions to select exactly what I want from my MIDI part. There are many options, but the screenshot illustrates what’s possible. Some Logical Editor presets are provided (they’re in the MIDI menu), but none is ideal for our purposes, so we need to open the Logical Editor itself. You configure filter ‘conditions’ to select certain MIDI notes/events (including by position, pitch and velocity) and transform the selection by applying actions (including changing the velocity or note position settings). As Mark Wherry described in SOS January 2006 ( ), this is essentially a MIDI equivalent of your word processor’s ‘search and replace’ tool. Logical Editorįor subtle random variation to timing and velocity, Cubase has just the tool: the Logical Editor. Note the colour (velocity) variations also added for the snare and kick hits.
#Cubase 8 quantize groove agent 4 manual#
Some basic manual editing, as shown here for the hi-hat lane, can be used to further emphasise the accented hits within a pattern. Try to avoid simply duplicating these ‘human’ touches copy your finished pattern and then apply further tweaks to the copies. In bar four, low velocities were applied to the ‘ghost’ notes while the very simple snare roll was given higher velocities, with a ‘ramp’ towards the end of bar eight. I’ve done this in the screenshot example, and my manual velocity editing also included the few ‘decorative’ snare hits in bars four and eight. You can select a drum lane in the Drum Editor and adjust the individual velocity of each hit by hand - this doesn’t take long if you’re working with only a few patterns, and allows you to accent specific beats to change the rhythmic feel. Varied VelocityĪs with timing variations, there are a number of potential levels (no pun intended) at which velocity variation can be created. As mentioned last month, you can also add random timing variations using the Quantise Panel, but I’ll discuss a more sophisticated approach later. A more powerful option is the Groove Quantise feature - see the article in SOS July 2012 if you wish to explore that further. The strength with which they’re ‘magnetised’ to the new grid can be moderated by engaging the Iterative Quantise option and adjusting the Iterative Strength value.
Hit the Quantise button and the notes will align to this new grid. Adjust the Swing setting, and you’ll see the grid display start to change, with alternative off-beat grid lines moving. I set Grid to 1/8, as most of the hits in my pattern were placed on eighth-note intervals the chosen setting is reflected in the Drum Editor’s grid display. Once you’ve selected the drum hits to which you want to apply some swing, there are several interacting settings to be aware of. To explore swing/groove, start in the MIDI Drum Editor’s Quantise Panel.
The Drum Editor’s Quantise Panel can be used to add a subtle groove to the programmed pattern. For timing, we can manipulate two elements: first, we can emulate the swing or groove that a human drummer supplies, where notes are deliberately pulled/pushed against the ‘grid’ and second, we can add random timing variations to mimic human ‘imperfections’. To transition our pattern from ‘robot’ to ‘human’, we need timing and velocity variations. It’s a solid enough groove, but it doesn’t sound very ‘human’. In the example, I’ve opted for a simple eighth-note hi-hat pattern, with a classic rock-style kick and snare. My preference is to start with patterns that are at least eight bars long, as this helps to reduce obvious repetition. If you decide instead to ‘play’ the initial pattern in via a MIDI keyboard or drum pads, then (aside, perhaps, from some initial quantising) the subsequent steps could be very similar. I’ll use a pattern I programmed using the MIDI Drum Editor, as described last month. As this last point is really significant for non-drummers, this month I’ll discuss various other ways to make your programmed performances more realistic. Last month ( ), I took you through the MIDI Drum Editor’s core features, its enhancements since Cubase 8 and its links to Groove Agent SE, and touched on how the Drum Editor can help ‘humanise’ programmed parts.
#Cubase 8 quantize groove agent 4 full#
My initial programmed drum pattern - not exactly full of ‘feel’!Ĭubase has all the tools required to add a human feel to your programmed acoustic drum parts.
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