Rekordbox 7 Announced - Important Details Inside!
Noah Feasey-Kemp
It's an exciting time for rekordbox users! AlphaTheta has announced open beta access to the upcoming rekordbox v7 update!
Any rekordbox subscribers can get stuck in with the beta and start trying out the new features before the main release. Act fast though, because the beta will only stick around until Feb 19th.
I've been digging into the update to bring you all the important information about what you can expect in the upcoming 7th version.
TL;DR - rekordbox 7#
Notable new features include Intelligent Cue Creation, improvements to the Related Tracks systems, and a new Collection Radar.
rekordbox 7 feels and looks a lot sharper than the previous version, with upgrades to the UI.
We'd still like to see some more features improved, like stem separation.
DJ.Studio will retain all of its powerful integration features over to rekordbox 7 (and it currently even works with the beta).
New Features in rekordbox 7#
I spent a couple of hours exploring the rekordbox 7 beta, it doesn't seem like a huge update, but I did spot several exciting new features.
rekordbox is one of our favorite live DJing apps, you can see all our software reviews here:
Immediately the look and feel of the software is an improvement over the earlier version, and overall it seems more polished, which I think does make the overall experience a bit slicker and more pro feeling.
Here are the most notable updates:
Intelligent Cue Creation#
One of the largest and most exciting updates is the new Intelligent Cue Creation feature.
In essence, it analyses tracks and automatically places hot cue markers in the most important places. To activate this feature, right-click a track in the library, and select Analyze > CUE(auto).
It takes a little while to analyze the file for this function (hopefully they can speed this up later), but I was impressed with the results, as the cues were placed in useful places, and very accurately.
For example, in one track it placed a cue directly at the start of a track, another right at the start of the first drop, second drop, and final drop, and even one a the beginning of the outro.
This can also be customized in the Analysis tab of the preferences panel, where you can control certain factors of the intelligent cue placement, like whether it overwrites your existing cues, how long to 'phrase cues', and the cue types.
I'm fairly impressed with this feature and see its use for DJs when experimenting with new music - but the slow analysis time means you can't use it during a live show.
Learn how to Use Cue Points Like A Master DJ!
Collection Radar & Streaming Radar#
The other most notable additions are the Collection Radar and Streaming Radar, which are completely new track suggestion features in rekordbox.
These connect with rekordbox's integrated streaming services like Beatport, Tidal, and Soundcloud, to suggest new songs for you to play based on the track you're currently spinning.
They base this suggestion using AI to find songs that other DJs commonly play after the track you're playing. You can also filter these with other information like key, BPM, and mood.
This is a neat feature to maximize your use of AI and cloud DJing, although I think it has limited use if you're the type of DJ who is more planned in your setlist building.
Updated Preferences Panel#
Finally, rekordbox has updated its retro preferences panel, now making it look way more professional and clean. (I think the old version was pretty ugly, to be honest).
The preferences are much easier to read and navigate, and it's generally just laid out a bit better.
All the same preferences are in there so you won't have to relearn any terms, and there are a few extra tabs now based on the new features.
User Interface Tidy Up & Performance Boost#
Being a stickler for clean user interfaces, I was immediately happy to see that rekordbox 7 has gone through a pretty major overhaul in their UI. Everything is in the same place and works in the same way, it's just much cleaner and tidier. The fonts look a lot sharper, the graphical interface is cleaner, and the overall interaction feels a bit snappier and more responsive.
The playlist library also has a bit more functionality, including a sleek new column view.
They also have seemed to tweak a few things under the hood, as I found the general performance to be a bit smoother and more stable, which is a promising sign given that this is a beta version and probably isn't running at full capacity yet.
New Export Mode Layout#
For fans of Rekordbox's Export Mode, you now have a new layout to prepare your tracks for USB and hardware. The Dual Player mode helps to keep your workflow rolling by letting you prep multiple tracks at the same time.
Other Features and Notes#
That covers the most exciting bits, here are some other notes:
Now includes native support for Apple Silicon.
It's still a beta, available from February 6, 2024 – February 19, 2024. Be careful, backup library, don't use it live, it's still buggy.
There's no word on the main release date, but we'll keep you updated!
How To Get rekordbox 7#
The rekordbox 7 beta is only available to paying subscribers. You should see a notification when you open rekordbox 6, or you can find it here > rekordbox 7 news.
DJ.Studio & rekordbox 7 Integration#
We're big fans of rekordbox here at DJ.Studio, so we've built in a bunch of powerful features to seamlessly integrate our software with rekordbox. DJ.Studio is the perfect companion for rekordbox, and gives DJs new powers for experimenting and preparing their set.
We'll make sure these all work with rekordbox 7 (I checked and it already works with the v7 beta).
Here are the most notable DJ.Studio x rekordbox features:
Library Sync - You can connect your rekordbox library to DJ.Studio, letting you easily browse your playlists, import tracks, and use the phrase analysis created by rekordbox.
Export DJ Set - Prepare your mix in DJ.Studio using the harmonic automixer and powerful timeline editor, then export it to rekordbox. This includes all the track information and ordering, and it even generates hot cues to indicate when, where, and how to perform your transitions using your controller. Watch the video above to see this in action.
Export M3U - DJ.Studio can export M3U files, which can be sent into rekordbox to rebuild your prepared mix as an ordered playlist.
Coming Soon: Beatport Streaming Export - Our Beatport Streaming integration is currently in beta. You can use Beatport Streaming in DJ.Studio to experiment with songs and craft your mix. Then you can export it to rekordbox's Beatport Streaming integration to mix live, without buying a track!
These are just some of the neatest features offered with the rekordbox and DJ.Studio integration, so explore the rest of this website to find out more details.
Finally...#
That's my analysis of the latest features released in rekordbox v7. Note, that this may not be a complete review and more features may be added later. You can find out more on the rekordbox website rekordbox V7 Press Release.
This should bring even more functionality to the already powerful DJ.Studio and rekordbox hybrid studio/live workflow!
Try this collaboration yourself with the DJ.Studio free 14-day trial.
FAQs about rekordbox 7
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