Rekordbox Cue Setup That Makes DJing Easier - Tutorial By Fallenchest
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Fallenchest
DJ / Producer / Educator
00:00:01
Hello guys, Today I'm going to show you how I make my hot cues and memory cues before going to my DJ set. So let's get into the video.
Due to copyright issues, I have selected my own tracks for the reference. This is a techno remix and this is my tech house track.
For this track, I have selected like five hot cues. This is my standard hot cue number for all of my DJ sets. Where I'm going to place these hot cues is really important. I have selected when the main kick is happening, the portion where the bassline comes in, and the breakdown.
Whenever I want to switch to another track, I usually use this intro as my bridge and move to the other track's breakdown. I have placed Hot Cue A on this particular portion, Hot Cue B on the breakdown portion, Hot Cue C on my first drop, Hot Cue D on my second drop, and this extended drop acts as the outro of this track.
00:01:12
For this techno track, I have already added the hot cues, so I'm not going to remove that one. For the example, I'll choose this track. We can see three drops in different portions.
I'm going to choose my first Hot Cue on the first drop, and this will be my transition point to the other track. I chose this as my transition point because this drop is not having that much energy. My Hot Cue B will be at the end of that first drop — this will be the transition point.
If I'm switching from one track to another, I'll transition into this track's buildup. Hot Cue C will be on my second drop, Hot Cue D on the third drop, and the outro starts from that portion. So anyway, five hot cues.
00:02:29
If you ask me where I use memory cues, I would say in house music we don't really need that many memory cues. You can use memory cues as a loop or triggering point if you are a performance DJ.
For example, if I want to transition from here and I don't want to transition from the A point all the time, I'll add one memory cue on the A point and another memory cue on the buildup. So these will be my two memory cues.
If I want to transition in the buildup, I can trigger this memory cue on the CDJ and just play it. If you're a performance DJ and want to loop this, memory cues are useful especially in pop or rock music that doesn't have a proper intro for transitions.
When you toggle it in the CDJ, it will be in loop mode. If you don't want that, just cancel it or delete the loop and add it as a normal memory cue.
00:03:47
So these are my ways of adding hot cues in my DJ sets. Whether it's an extended mix or short intro mix, I follow the same method. It will be five hot cues, and the rest can be used for performance.
If I want to loop something and trigger it anytime, I'll use additional hot cues for performance. Most tracks won't have the extra hot cues unless I add them during the set or in my laptop.
I used to add all eight hot cues before, but I found five works best for me. Here's why:
- Hot Cue A to B → Transition points
- Hot Cue C and D → Drop points
If I don't want to play the first drop and want to go directly to the second drop and outro during fast-paced mixing, I'll skip Hot Cue C and trigger Hot Cue D instead. Then I'll switch to another track at Hot Cue E.
00:04:58
So these are my methods. I hope it helps.