DJ Software for Producers: How to Play, Test and Edit Your Own Tracks

If you make music and also DJ, your DJ software is more than a way to play other people’s records. It is where you test your own tracks on a real system, try new edits before a gig and turn your productions into a set. This guide is for producers who DJ. It explains which DJ app fits the way you play, how to prepare your own tracks so they mix well, and how to connect your DAW to your DJ setup.

Why Producers Should Test Tracks in DJ Software

A track can sound great alone in your DAW and still fall apart in a set. Loading your bounce into DJ software and mixing it with tracks you love shows you things your studio session hides:

• Level and energy: does your track sound quieter, thinner or less punchy than the record before it?
• Low end: does the kick and bass hold up next to professional releases on a club system or good headphones?
• Arrangement: is the intro long enough to mix in, and does the drop arrive when a DJ expects it?
• Transitions: can another DJ mix in and out of your track without fighting the melody or the vocal?

Make a habit of testing every new track in a short mix before you call it finished. Write down what stands out, then go back to the mixdown.

Choose the App That Matches Where You Play

The right software depends less on features and more on where your music will be played. All of the apps below can play your own WAV and AIFF files.

• Club booths with CDJs: rekordbox. You prepare your tracks, cue points and playlists, then export to a USB drive that works on Pioneer DJ and AlphaTheta players in most clubs.
• Scratch and open format sets: Serato DJ Pro, with broad controller and club mixer support and digital vinyl control.
• Live remixing with effects: Traktor Pro 4, known for its deep effects and remix decks, and sold as a one time purchase.
• Mobile gigs with video or karaoke: VirtualDJ.
• No laptop: Engine DJ, which runs on Denon DJ, Rane and Numark standalone hardware.
• Phone, tablet or headset: djay Pro.
• Free and open source: Mixxx, which also runs on Linux.

Tip: if you plan to send your music to other DJs or play in clubs, learn rekordbox even if you practice on something else. It is what you will meet in most booths.

Prepare Your Own Tracks So They Mix Well

Export at full quality and tag your files

Bounce your tracks as WAV or AIFF, not MP3, so you keep full quality on a big system. Fill in the artist, title, BPM and key. AIFF stores tags reliably in most DJ apps, which makes your own tracks easier to find and sort in a crowded library.

Make a DJ friendly version

A radio or streaming edit often starts right on the hook. A DJ version usually starts and ends with 16 or 32 bars of mostly drums, so it is easy to blend. Keeping both versions saves you from cutting the track up live.

Check beatgrids and set cue points

Let the software analyze your track, then check that the beatgrid lines up with the kick through the whole song. Tracks with tempo changes or live drums may need adjusting. Serato DJ Pro 5 added beatgrids that can follow tempo changes. Then set cue points at the intro, the first drop, the breakdown and the outro, so you can jump straight to them in a set.

Use key analysis

DJ apps detect the musical key of each track. Mixing tracks in the same or related keys keeps melodies and basslines from clashing. Knowing the key of your own productions also helps you plan which tracks to play next to them.

Use Stems to Remix Your Tracks Live

Stem separation splits a track into parts such as vocals, drums, bass and melody. Serato DJ Pro, rekordbox, Traktor, VirtualDJ and djay all include it. For producers this opens up a lot:

• Play the vocal from your new track over the drums of another record.
• Drop out your bassline and let another track’s bass take over for a smooth handover.
• Test a new arrangement idea live before you change the project in your DAW.

For cleaner results with your own music, you can also export real stems from your DAW. If you work in Ableton Live, version 12 Suite includes stem separation for preparing edits of other tracks.

Connect Your DAW and Your DJ Setup

Sync tempo with Ableton Link

Ableton Link keeps the tempo of different apps and devices in sync over a network. Serato DJ Pro, rekordbox and Traktor support it, so you can run a drum machine, a synth app or an Ableton session in time with your DJ set.

Plan mixes on a timeline

DJ.Studio lets you arrange a mix on a timeline, like a DAW, and try transitions before you play them. You can export the finished audio for a podcast or radio show, or send the set to rekordbox, Serato or Ableton.

Go hybrid with Ableton Live

Some artists skip DJ software for part of their show and play from Ableton Live, launching loops, stems and synth parts alongside full tracks. It takes more preparation, but it lets you perform your own music in a way a regular DJ set cannot.

Build Your Own DJ Tools

DJ tools are short tracks and loops made just for mixing: drum intros, risers, impacts, acapellas and loops you can lay over other records. As a producer you can make your own in an afternoon, and they make your sets sound different from everyone else’s.

• Transition FX: the Optimal FX Sample Pack includes 100 risers, 59 fills, 25 downlifters and 25 impacts, from 1 to 16 bars long. Bounce a few at your set’s usual tempo and load them on a spare deck or sampler.
• Drum intros and outros: build 32 bar drum loops from our sample packs and construction kits to extend tracks with short intros.
• Edits and mashups: construction kits give you separate loops for drums, bass and melodies, so you can build live edits that fit your style.
• Ideas on the go: the EDM MIDI Collection gives you chord and melody ideas to turn into new tools in your DAW.

Before you play or release anything built from samples, check the terms in our license.

Quick Checklist Before You Play Your Own Music

• Full quality WAV or AIFF files, tagged with artist, title, BPM and key
• A DJ friendly version with clean intro and outro
• Beatgrids checked and cue points set
• Tested in a short mix next to tracks you trust
• Exported to USB and checked on the gear you will use, if you play on CDJs
• A backup copy of your set on a second drive

Still building your studio? Read our guide to choosing a DAW, our list of free VST plugins and our music production tips for beginners.