Applies to: DJ.Studio 5.0. Using 4.2? Most of this works the same, but the zoom and scrolling are different
The Studio is where you edit your mix or mashup: you move tracks, shape transitions, add samples and effects, and change the tempo. This article walks you through each part of the screen.
You may also be looking for: studio, timeline, zoom, scroll, lanes, playhead, eye icon, view options, tempo lane, BPM, middle bar, transition tab, track tab, effects tab, master tab, EQ knobs, mute, solo.
There are several sub-sections and tabs within the Studio view. Each will be explained in detail below.
Quick answers
Question | Answer |
How do I zoom in and out? | Hold Cmd/Ctrl and scroll, or use the zoom buttons in the top right of the Studio. |
Scrolling moves the lanes up and down instead of zooming. | That's the 5.0 default. To switch back, go to Settings > Interface > Studio scrolling. |
Clicking a track doesn't move the playhead. | In 5.0, a click often selects a phrase. See the FAQ below. |
Where are the view options (markers, cue points, sample lanes)? | Under the eye icon in the top right of the Studio. |
I turned an EQ knob while playing, but nothing changed in my mix. | While the mix plays, you only hear a preview. Pause first, then turn the knob. See below. |
How do I change the tempo of a track? | Set the Tempo lane to Manual. See below. |
Why is a transition red or green? | Red: tempo sync is off. Green: the transition is locked. Blue is the normal state. |
How do I change the volume of one track? | Open the Effects tab and use the Volume slider. |
How do I change the order of my tracks? | In the Tracklist, not in the Studio. |
The top of the Studio
Bars or time? Use the Bars/Time toggle in the top left of the timeline to show bar numbers or the time of your mix on the ruler.
The small ruler above each track shows bars by default.
To show the time from the start of that track instead, turn on Track time on track ruler under the eye icon.
1. Overview bar
The bar at the top shows your whole mix, so you can find your way around quickly:
Click anywhere in the bar to jump to that part of your mix.
Drag the bar left or right to scroll through your mix.
Drag the bar up or down to zoom out or in.
2. Selection level
How precisely you select follows your zoom level. You can see the current level next to the overview bar. Hover over it for more information.
Phrases (zoomed out): selections snap to phrases, like the intro, verse or chorus. Handy for arranging the structure of a transition.
Bars (medium zoom): selections snap to whole bars.
Beats (zoomed in): selections snap to single beats, for fine-tuning.
To change the level, zoom in or out. Phrase-level selection only works on tracks with phrase data: if you don't see phrase labels (INTRO, VERSE, CHORUS) under a track, there's nothing to snap to. See Phrase Detection in DJ.Studio.
3. Zoom in timeline
Zoom in and out of the timeline.
4. View options (eye icon)
Click the eye icon in the top right of the Studio to turn these on or off:
Snap transition to phrases
Collapse empty sample lanes
Number of sample lanes
Input lane
Beat markers
Cue points
Markers for this project. Markers also need to be enabled at Settings > Interface > Enable Markers. See Markers.
5. Stems options
Preload the stems for this project, and choose high quality or preview quality while you work. Exports always use high-quality stems.
6. Zoom lane heights
Pick a zoom level from the dropdown to change how all the lanes are shown at once.
In DJ.Studio 5.0, the lanes in the Studio scroll, so every lane keeps its full height. That gives room for up to 10 sample lanes.
Scroll to move up and down through the lanes.
Hold Cmd/Ctrl and scroll to zoom the timeline in or out.
Click and drag an empty part of the timeline to move the view left or right.
Prefer the way it worked before 5.0? Go to Settings > Interface > Studio scrolling and choose the setting you like.
Lanes and the controls in front of them
In front of each deck you find knobs and buttons that work like a DJ mixer:
Filter: turn left to filter out the highs until only the bass is left. Turn right to cut the bass and keep the highs. In the middle, the sound is unchanged. Double-click to reset.
EQ (High, Mid, Low): turn right to boost, left to reduce. Double-click to reset.
S (solo): play only this deck, and mute the other one.
M (mute): mute this deck.
A (automation): [verify item 4]
With the automation dropdown, you choose which automation lines you see, and add or remove automations.
Good to know: the knobs sit in front of the deck, but they only change the track at the playhead, not the whole lane. You can see this from the automation line that's drawn on the track when you turn a knob.
A whole deck is greyed out? Solo is probably on for the other deck, or Mute is on for this one. Click the button again to turn it off.
Lane settings: right-click a lane to resize it, give it a color, pin it, or move it.
Preview or edit: why your change isn't saved
While your mix is playing, turning a knob is only a preview: you hear the change, but it isn't applied to your mix, and no automation line is drawn.
To make the change part of your mix, pause first, then turn the knob. A dotted automation line appears on the track. Click the line to add automation points, and drag them to shape the change.
Or use Record in the middle bar to record your knob movements while the mix plays. See Automation Editing.
Timeline Editor
Moving and editing audio
The timeline is not where you change the order of your tracks. You do that in the Tracklist. In the timeline you can:
Move a track: drag the yellow header at the top of a track left or right.
Select part of a track: hold Shift and drag over the waveform. Or use shift + click. Then:
press Delete to remove it,
press Cmd/Ctrl + C to copy it,
press Cmd/Ctrl + V to paste it at the playhead.
Adjust a transition: drag the transition frame and its handles. See Transition Editor.
See Editing Audio Files - Cut/Copy/Paste for all the editing options.
Moving the playhead
Click in the timeline to move the playhead there. On a track in 5.0, a click may select a phrase instead (see the FAQ).
Double-click a phrase or an energy block to move the playhead to it.
Use the keyboard shortcuts to jump between cue points and phrases. See Keyboard shortcuts.
Transition colors
Blue: a normal transition, with tempo sync on.
Red: tempo sync is off for this transition. You can change this per transition in the top right of the Transition tab.
Green: the transition is locked, so Harmonize won't change it.
The beat grid
When you zoom in, you see the beat grid: how DJ.Studio analyzed the beats of the track. If the grid is off, tracks won't be beat-matched correctly. Hover over a beat to open the beat grid editor, where you can adjust single beats, shift the whole grid, set the downbeat, and more.
See Fixing Beat-Grid Issues and the video How To Fix Beatmatching Issues: Nudging The Beatgrid.
The Tempo lane
The Tempo lane shows the BPM of your mix over time. In front of the lane you choose how the tempo is handled:
Auto: each track keeps its own tempo, and DJ.Studio handles the tempo changes in the transitions.
Manual: you control the tempo of the whole mix yourself. This sets the whole lane to manual: you can change every transition, but nothing changes automatically anymore.
Fixed: one tempo for the whole mix, or a gradual change from a start BPM to an end BPM.
Changing the tempo by hand
Set the Tempo lane to Manual.
Click the line to add a BPM point.
Drag a point left or right to move it in time, or drag the line between points to move it up or down.
Right-click a point to set its exact BPM, with the arrows or by typing a value.
Click a point again to remove it.
The tempo changes smoothly between BPM points.
In Manual mode, right-click the Tempo lane for more options:
Add BPM point.
Set mix BPM: set a start and end BPM for the whole mix, for a steady ramp up or down, or the same value twice for one constant tempo. This video shows how.
Set BPM range: set a minimum and maximum BPM for your tracks.
Restore mix BPM: remove all BPM changes, so every track plays at its original tempo.
The middle bar
The bar in the middle of the Studio has the playback controls and other buttons. Some buttons change depending on the tab you have open. On Windows, use Ctrl instead of Cmd.
Button | What it does | Shortcut |
Add Tracks | Opens the window to add tracks from your library. |
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Harmonize | Opens Harmonize. See Harmonize. |
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Undo / Redo | Undo your last action, or redo it. | Cmd + Z / Cmd + Y |
Split | Place one split marker to split a track in two, or several markers to select the part between them. |
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Edit | Cut, Copy, Paste, and a Delete menu for audio, automation and edits. | Cmd + X / C / V |
Center playhead | Keeps the playhead in the middle while the mix scrolls by. Press again to let the playhead move across the screen. | Escape |
Record | Records your knob movements as automation. |
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Play / Pause | Starts or stops playback. | Space |
Repeat section | Loops the current transition, or a part you mark, so you can listen while you work on it. |
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Previous / Next transition | Jumps to the previous or next transition. |
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Solo | Switches solo between the two decks. |
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Metronome | Plays a click on the beat grid. Drag up or down to change its volume. |
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Shortcuts | Shows all keyboard shortcuts. |
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Collapse / expand | Hides or shows the tabs at the bottom of the Studio. |
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The tabs at the bottom of the Studio view
Zoom
Collapses the tabs, so the timeline uses the whole screen. Handy for detailed edits and automation.
Tracklist
Shows the Studio at the top and your tracklist below it. Here you change the order of your tracks or delete them.
Lock or unlock all transitions at once: click the first track, hold Shift, click the last track, then right-click and choose Lock or Unlock.
Transition
Controls for building your transitions quickly with presets. See Transition Editor.
Track
Information about the selected track, plus a few settings for it.
Pitch mode: how the track sounds when its tempo changes.
Re-Pitch (default): the track keeps its original key when the tempo changes. Best for harmonic mixing.
Vinyl: tempo and pitch change together, like on a turntable. Faster sounds higher, slower sounds lower.
Beat Slice: cuts the audio into small pieces along the beat grid. Keeps drums and percussion tight with big tempo changes, but can sound a bit "digital" on melodies.
Formant correction: keeps voices sounding natural when you speed them up or slow them down, so you don't get "chipmunk" or "monster" voices. Only available with Rubberband in Re-Pitch mode.
Stabilize tempo: for older tracks whose tempo drifts. It straightens the track out to one steady tempo, so your loops and samples stay in time with it, instead of following its drift.
Beat grid: [Verify item 2. Suggested for 5.0: "DJ.Studio uses the Smart Beatgrid, which adapts to each track. If you edit the grid yourself, it shows Manual. If you use rekordbox beat grids, it shows rekordbox."
Track details
Shows and lets you edit the details of a track: title, artist, genre, star rating and notes. It also shows the album art, length, key, import date, file type and size, and how many projects use the track.
Video
Create a video for your mix. See the Video Creator article.
Effects
Change the sound of the track at the playhead:
Volume: pull the slider up or down, or double-click the value below it to type a number.
Compression: evens out the loud and quiet parts within the track.
EQ: adjust the low, mid and high frequencies.
Noise: add a noise sweep, for example to build up to a drop.
Pitch: correct off-key vocals or create harmonies.
Stereo: move the track to the left or right.
Filter: high-pass and low-pass filters cut the low or high frequencies. Q sets how narrow or wide the filter is.
Echo and Reverb: add space and depth.
FX Pack: more effects, available as a separate extension. See FX Pack.
VST: use your own effect plugins. Part of the Ultimate plan. See VST3 and AU effect plugins.
Master
Settings for your whole mix:
Limiter: sets a maximum volume for the whole mix, so it never gets too loud or distorts.
Compressor: makes loud parts quieter and quiet parts louder, for a more even sound. Useful when your tracks or samples vary in volume.
Frequency spectrum: shows how much low, mid and high there is in your mix.
Samples
Your sample library, sorted into tabs. See Samples.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Studio view
Clicking on a track doesn't move the playhead
In 5.0, tracks are divided into phrases. A click on a track often selects a phrase, and selecting comes first, so the playhead stays where it was. To move the playhead, click in the ruler above the tracks, or double-click a phrase.
Scrolling no longer zooms
In 5.0, scrolling moves the lanes up and down. Hold Cmd/Ctrl while scrolling to zoom. To get the old behavior back, go to Settings > Interface > Studio scrolling.
How do I make a lane bigger or smaller?
Pick a zoom level from the dropdown in the top right of the Studio, to change all lanes at once.
Drag the line between two lanes on the left up or down.
Right-click a lane to resize it.
Collapse lanes you don't use, for example empty sample lanes (under the eye icon).
Open the Zoom tab to hide the tabs at the bottom and get more space.
Can I make the Tracklist tab at the bottom bigger?
Not in 5.0 yet. This was possible in 4.x, and it's coming back in a later update.
I want to change the EQ of a track
Pause the mix first. Then either:
turn the EQ knobs in front of the deck, or in the Effects tab. A dotted line appears on the track. Click it to add points, and drag them up or down; or
click Record in the middle bar, play the mix, and turn the knobs to record your changes.
If the mix is playing while you turn the knobs, you only hear a preview, and nothing is saved.
My mix is longer than my tracks
If there's empty space after the last track:
Select the last track of your mix.
Click Add Tracks and add any track.
Select the track you just added, and delete it.
The empty space is then removed. This video shows how.
How do I see the duration of my mix?
You can find the duration of your mix in the top-left corner of the Studio view.
Why are all the stem lanes on one track greyed out?
When you solo a lane, DJ.Studio greys out the waveforms of the other lanes, so you can see at a glance what you are hearing.
To turn solo off:
Find the stem lane with the highlighted S button.
Click S to unsolo the stem.
How to get the zoomed-in waveform white instead of colored?
In 5.0, when you zoom in, the waveform is colored by frequency (RGB), like in rekordbox.
Prefer the plain white waveform? Turn off Settings > Interface > Waveforms > Colored zoomed waveform.
This only changes the waveform when you're zoomed in.
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