Back in 2009, Pioneer—a household name for audio equipment and consumer electronics—released its flagship media player, the CDJ-2000 (or compact disk player). The player met design with functionality, and allowed DJs to select, mix, slice up, and analyze their music as they were playing.
What was even more thrilling was the simultaneous release of Rekordbox, an analysis program that let these media players compete with the ever-growing number of laptop DJs using competitor products. As we'll see, Rekordbox's multitude of features gives DJs complete control over the organization of their music.
What Is Rekordbox?
Together with French software development company MixVibes, Pioneer gave birth to Rekordbox, an analysis, song preparation, and music library management program.
Basically, after dragging and dropping all your music onto its user interface, you can use it to create folders and playlists, as well as search for music files stored on your computer and the platform.
Additionally, you can analyze files to look at things like the audio waveform, adjust the songs and their metadata, set cue points so you can play songs from a specific point in time, and much more.
In a nutshell, it's a wide-ranging tool that enables users to create a custom system of organization, and tailor their music to this system. It gives DJs an amazing level of flexibility, with all of its features contributing towards highly organized and highly customized ways of storing and sorting music.
Plus, its compatibility with the Pioneer CDJ and XDJ models means that you're able to sort and mix on the fly. This provides an excellent workflow, from finding the music on your computer to performing with that music onstage.
Rekordbox is free to get started with, but its features are limited under this plan. If you're serious about DJing, you'll want to look into some of its paid plans, which come with more advanced features.
Download: Rekordbox for Windows and Mac (Free, subscription available)
What Can Rekordbox Do?
Rekordbox has four modes in the newest version, Rekordbox 6. The first is Export mode, which is where you export your files and folders onto a storage device, like a USB or SD card.
Next up is Performance mode, which basically maps out all the elements on a CDJ, and displays them on your screen. This allows you to practice mixing and lets you familiarize yourself with the layout of these decks.
There's another mode for Lighting, which means that visual DJs (VDJs) can actually map out songs and sets to their lighting rigs. Finally, Rekordbox also has a mode for Editing, where you can chop and change songs to suit your sets better.
Rekordbox's functionality hinges on the type of Pioneer device you're using. From the basic (and now-ancient) CDJ 350 model, all the way to the high-end flagship model, the CDJ-3000, you can select and cue up tracks, and even set complex loops to mix in with other songs.
However, if you have a newer CDJ or XDJ model, all the functionality "in the box" will be unleashed when you're on the stage. This is one of Rekordbox's strongest selling points, as it connects your laptop and music with the devices you'll actually be using to play music on.
Why Do I Need Rekordbox?
Well, if you haven't managed to find value in having your DJ sets precisely organized and compatible with industry-standard media players, there are some other neat features that Rekordbox comes with.
The Cloud Library Sync feature enables you to sync your libraries over multiple different devices, and prepare tracks with ease from whatever device you're working from. Just keep in mind that it only works with Dropbox cloud storage right now. You can also sync your Rekordbox library to your iOS device, as long as it's on the same network.
In addition, Rekordbox has color-coordinated waveforms and can detect when vocals start in a song, allowing you to prepare for that moment in your mixes. You can even link it to Ableton Live—another industry-standard music production software—for mixing and arranging with creative flair.
It also has some neat samples and sequencing features you could use to spice up your sets. Additionally, Rekordbox has an intuitive user interface, and lets you practice DJing in the program when you don't have access to a player.
Rekordbox provides an easy-to-use way to get yourself organized for mixing at home or performing on the stage. But that's not all—it comes with a whole bunch of additional features that make DJ life more streamlined, colorful, and at the end of the day, more functional.
The Pros and Cons of Rekordbox
Pioneer media players have been the industry standard for what you'll find in a club or at a festival for many years now. Advances in its technology will probably only see that trend continue; this makes Rekordbox an important tool in your DJ arsenal.
However, Rekordbox doesn't come without its downsides. Let's go over the major pros and cons that come with using the software.
Pros:
- Easy to use program that helps you get organized with your music
- Creation of specific folders and playlists for mixing on the fly
- Free for the most basic version
- Great analysis of music so you can understand how tracks work
- Compatibility with all Pioneer CDJ and XDJ models, even into the future
- Cloud Sync features
- iOS compatibility
- Color-coordinated waveforms
- Ability to link to Ableton Live
Cons:
- Subscription model can be pricey, (starting at $9.99/month for the Core plan)
- Program can be quite slow at times, especially in export mode
- User interface can be a little clunky at times
- iOS or mobile integration is still not completely seamless
- Some additional accessories (mainly USB and ethernet cables) are necessary to connect to the app
- Only compatible with Pioneer projects
- Limited use as a standalone laptop DJ software; it's more for connecting to controllers or media players
Rekordbox Is an Incredibly Powerful Program
Overall, Rekordbox is an incredible way to organize and analyze your music. Geared towards new and emerging DJs, its wide range of features enables you to not only have an excellent overview of what you'll be playing, but can also help you figure out how you're going to play it.