What Is An Intro Edit? The DJ Version Explained
An intro edit is a version of a track with an instrumental run-up added to the front, so a DJ has something to mix into. What it is, why DJs use them, and how it differs from the other versions in a pool.
If you have ever downloaded a track from a record pool, you have seen the list: Clean, Dirty, Intro Clean, Intro Dirty, Quick Hitter, Acapella In/Out. The “Intro” versions are the ones working DJs reach for most, and they are the least explained.
The short answer
An intro edit is the same record with an instrumental run-up added to the front. Usually that run-up is 8, 16 or 32 bars. It gives you something to beatmatch and blend over before the song itself starts, so you can bring the track in on the phrase instead of cutting to it.
Nothing else about the track changes. Same master, same key, same tempo. It just no longer starts cold.
Why the original doesn’t already have one
Radio and streaming edits are built for listeners, not DJs. A listener wants the hook quickly, so a lot of tracks start with the vocal on bar one, or with a two-second intro that is gone before you have found the beat.
That is fine on a phone. In a mix it means you either:
- cut to it and hope the drop carries it,
- play it from somewhere other than the start, or
- leave it in the crate, which is what most DJs end up doing.
The intro edit exists to get that track out of the crate.
What a good intro edit sounds like
You shouldn’t be able to hear where the edit is. A good one:
- starts on bar one of a phrase, so it lines up with whatever you are mixing from;
- is built from the record’s own instrumental, so there is no clash of key or sound;
- lets the vocal walk in, often with the lead-in riding over the end of the run-up rather than the song appearing all at once;
- lands the original back on the one, to the sample, with no click at the join.
A bad one gives itself away at the seam: a lopsided loop, a flam as the original comes back, or a tick on a loud system.
The other versions in the pool, briefly
| Version | What changes | When you’d play it |
|---|---|---|
| Intro | Instrumental run-up added to the front | Mixing in on the phrase, most of the time |
| Clean | Explicit lyrics removed | Weddings, radio, daytime |
| Quick Hitter | Cut down to the best 1–2 minutes | Fast, high-energy sets |
| Acapella In/Out | Vocal-only section at the start or end | Mashups, layering over another track |
| Extended | A longer arrangement, usually from the producer | Long blends in dance music |
There is a longer comparison in intro edit vs extended mix vs clean edit.
Where to get them
For current releases, record pools are the easy answer: they cut intro versions of what they’re pushing that month.
For everything else, the older records, the regional hits, the tracks you love that no one else is playing, you’ll need to make your own. Pools edit what is current, and they’re not going back to 2004.
Making one by hand means a DAW, stem separation and roughly an hour a track the first few times. The steps are in how to make an intro edit.
Or you can do it in a few clicks. In IntroEdits you pick the track, set where it should drop, choose 8, 16 or 32 bars, and it builds the run-up from the record’s own audio, lines up the join and lets you hear the changeover before you save. Your first three edits each month are free, on the web or in the desktop app.
How long should it be?
16 bars is the safe default: about 30 seconds at 128 BPM. 8 suits quick cuts, 32 suits openers and long blends. There is a full breakdown in how many bars a DJ intro should be.