Can Rekordbox make intro edits?

Not by itself. Rekordbox can set loops and hot cues, but it can't separate an instrumental, build a run-up of whole bars and save it as a new file. For that you need an editor; IntroEdits reads your Rekordbox playlists directly so you can edit from the library you already play from.

Does IntroEdits change my Rekordbox library?

No. It reads your Rekordbox library read-only and never writes to it. Each edit is saved as a new file next to the original, so the original track, its cues, its beatgrid and its place in your playlists are untouched.

Does it use my Rekordbox beatgrid?

Yes. If Rekordbox has analysed the track, the edit is built on that same beatgrid, so bar one in the app is bar one in Rekordbox. Only tracks Rekordbox hasn't analysed get a grid worked out from the audio.

Which versions of Rekordbox does it work with?

Rekordbox 6 and 7 on a Mac, including smart playlists. It reads the library Rekordbox keeps on your computer, so you don't need to export anything.

How do I get the edit into Rekordbox?

The edit is saved in the same folder as the original. Drag it into your collection or playlist like any new file and let Rekordbox analyse it.

How To Make Intro Edits For Rekordbox

Rekordbox can loop and cue but can't build an intro version of a track. How to make intro and outro edits straight from your Rekordbox playlists, on your Rekordbox beatgrid, without a DAW.

Rekordbox is where most DJs prep, and it’s great at it — grids, hot cues, memory cues, loops. What it can’t do is make a record start differently. If the vocal comes in on bar one and there’s nothing to mix over, no amount of cueing changes that. You need an intro edit: a version of the track with a run of clean beat in front of the drop.

Here’s how to make them straight from your Rekordbox playlists, without exporting anything or opening a DAW.

What you need

Your Rekordbox library, as it is — Rekordbox 6 or 7 on a Mac.
The IntroEdits desktop app. It reads your Rekordbox playlists directly, read-only.
About a minute per track.

Step by step

1. Open a playlist you actually play from

IntroEdits lists your Rekordbox playlists — smart playlists included — as they are in Rekordbox. Start with the one you’d play this weekend rather than a “fix one day” folder.

2. Pick a track that starts cold

Anything with the vocal in straight away, or an intro too short to beatmatch. Open it in the editor.

3. Choose Intro, Outro or Both

Step 1 asks what you’re making. Intro for a run-up to mix in over, Outro for clean beat to mix out over at the end, Both for a record that needs help at each end. There’s more on outros in what an outro edit is.

4. Set the drop

Put the moment the record should land on the white line and press Set the drop here. The bar lines you see are your Rekordbox beatgrid, so bar one lines up with what you already play to. If your drop is a little off a bar line, the app asks before moving anything.

5. Choose the length and make it

8, 16 or 32 bars — 16 is the safe default (how to choose). Preview it if you like, then Make the edit. The app separates the instrumental, loops it to length, carries any words that start just before the drop over the tail, and lands the drop on the one.

6. Listen to the changeover, then save

Changeover (on the listen step) plays the last bars of the run-up into the drop — the only part that can give an edit away. Happy? Save it. It goes in the same folder as the original, named with your DJ name, as MP3, FLAC, WAV, AIFF or the same format as the original.

7. Add it to Rekordbox

Drag the new file into your collection or playlist and let Rekordbox analyse it. Your original — its cues, its grid, its playlists — hasn’t changed.

Why not just loop it in Rekordbox?

You can set a loop on the first bar and ride it. But a loop of the full mix repeats the vocal, sits on one bar rather than a phrase, and ties up your hands mid-mix. An edit does the work once, before the set, with the vocal taken off — so the record mixes like it always had an intro.

Working through a playlist

After the first few: pick, set the drop, 16 bars, make, listen, save. A playlist of 30 cold-starts is an evening. Do the must-plays first — the tracks you already force into sets are where an edit pays off most.

Try it

Your first three edits each month are free. Download the Mac app, point it at your Rekordbox library, or try one in your browser first at introedits.com/lab/try. Using Serato instead? See intro edits from your Serato crates.

How To Make Intro Edits From Your Rekordbox Playlists