DJ.Studio Sample Lanes
You can add additional samples to your mix, at any point in the timeline.
This can be at the same time as two songs playing - meaning that in your mix projects there can be a total of 13 different audio tracks playing at once (2 songs + 10 sample tracks + 1 input lane).
Check out this video for a detailed tutorial on how to use the sample lane feature:
Note: This video was recorded in DJ.Studio 4.2. The workflow still applies, but the interface looks different. Follow the steps in this article for the current version.
How to enable Sample Lanes and the Input lane:
Since version 5.0 sample lanes are automatically visible. There are two ways to control which lanes are visible in the Studio.
To read more about how to add and edit sample lanes check out this article
To view the input lane do the following:
Click the View button in the studio toolbar (or the eye icon in the top right corner of the Studio).
Turn Input lane on.
Read this article to learn all about how the input lane works
Adding samples to your project
There are several ways to get a sample into your project. Open a DJ mix project, head over to Studio View and now you want to add Audio Samples to your project.
1 - Drag files in from your computer
Drag an audio file straight into your project onto a sample lane. DJ.Studio will now analyze and add your sample to the sample lane.
2 - Drag samples from the samples tab
3 - Creating Samples From Tracks
You can create samples from sections of tracks in the timeline. This is useful if you want to move pieces of a song elsewhere in the project or sample a vocal/drum break, etc.
Highlight the section you want to sample by Shift+Clicking and dragging the mouse over the area.
Right-click the selected area and choose Save to Sample
This opens a save window where you can pick if you want to add the sample to your mix or to your sample library only
After selecting the area, you can also click Copy to sample lane to copy the selection directly
4 - Creating Samples with Stems
If you have access to the Stems feature, you can create isolated stem samples from your tracks.
Vocal Isolation (Acapella Creation)
You can use the Stem technology to isolate vocals from a track and create a new acapella vocal sample. This is useful if you want to create mashups and remixes, or use vocal slices from one track in other parts of your mix.
Highlight any section of a track with shift+click
Right-click the section, and choose Copy stems > Copy vocals
This will create a new audio sample in the Sample Lane, containing the isolated vocal elements.
You can then copy this, move it anywhere on the timeline, and apply automated effects.
Instrumental Isolation
The Stem Separator can be used to create samples from any of the audio types. This is another fun way to create exciting remixes, mashups, and new isolated samples based on your chosen layer.
Highlight any section of a track with shift+click
Right-click the track and go to Copy stems, choose either
Copy Drums - Isolates the drums and percussion of the selected section.
Copy Bass - Isolates the bassline.
Copy Melody - Isolates melodic and harmonic elements, like the synths, keys, guitars, and other instruments.
Copy Instrumental - Isolates the drums, bass and melody together
This will create an audio sample on the Sample Lane based on your chosen element.
Moving Samples
After adding a sample to your mix or mashup, you can move it anywhere on the timeline to match your arrangement.
By default, samples snap to the beat grid, making it easy to align them with the rhythm of your mix.
If you need more precise placement, hold Command (Ctrl on Windows) while you drag. This releases the sample from the beat grid, so you can position it between beats with much greater accuracy. This is ideal for placing samples at positions such as 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, or 1/16 of a beat, or wherever they sound best.
To move a sample:
Select the sample on the timeline.
Drag it to a new position.
For sub-beat precision, hold Command (Ctrl on Windows) while dragging, and release the mouse when the sample is exactly where you want it.
Tip: Zoom in on the timeline before making a fine adjustment, so you can see exactly where the sample lands.
Moving multiple samples - If you want to move multiple samples in your DJ Mix at once, you can follow the steps below:
Pressing the Shift key on your keyboard
Click the mouse in the grey background of the sample lane.
Drag the mouse to the bottom right of the screen to select all the elements. You will see that all the headers of the selected samples become yellow.
Grab one of the yellow headers and drag all of the selected samples to the left or the right at once.
You can unselect the samples by selecting another element by clicking on the header.
Moving multiple samples that are not next to each other - If you want to move sample 1 and sample 3 and not change sample 2 that is located in between, you can follow the steps below:
Click on the fist sample so its header is highlighted in yellow.
Press the Shift key on your keyboard
Click the mouse in the next sample you want to select
Grab one of the yellow headers and drag all of the selected samples to the left or the right at once.
Options on the Sample
Every sample on the timeline carries its own set of controls. Most of them appear when you hover over the sample, so the timeline stays clean while you work.
The three view icons in the sample header are always visible. Everything else - the volume readout, Q, the extend and trim handles and the loop handle - shows up on hover.
Extend and trim samples
To extend a sample use the [> <] arrow cursors, then click and drag to lengthen or shorten the sample frame.
Volume
The dB value in the bottom left corner sets the level of the sample itself.
Click it and drag up or down to change it - a circle appears while you drag.
This changes the sample's own volume without creating an automation line. If you want the volume to change over the length of the sample, use automation instead.
Quantize
Q turns quantizing on and off for that sample, without opening the Sample details window. When Q is underlined, quantizing is on.
Turn it on for rhythmic samples like drum loops, and turn it off for sounds you do not want changed, like a voiceover.
Loop a sample
Use the circular arrow mouse cursor at the end of a sample. Now drag the mouse to loop the sample.
Fade in and fade out
In the two upper corners of a sample you see volume automation points, which you can drag to create a fade in or fade out. Drag the point to set how far the fade runs.
An additional point sits midway along the fade line. Drag it to change the shape of the curve, so the fade can be gentle at the start and steeper at the end, or the other way round.
Sample views
The three icons in the top right of the sample header switch how the sample is drawn. You can view it as a plain waveform, split into instrumental and acapella, or split into its separate stems.
Note: This is not available on stems that are already copied samples
Key
The badge in the top left of the sample shows the key of the sample. You can click it to transpose the sample.
For more on changing key, see How to change the Pitch or Key of tracks and samples.
Automating samples
Each sample has its own independent effects, and any of them can be automated over the length of the sample.
Click on the sample you want to edit.
Go to Effects and move the control you want to automate - the volume slider, or one of the EQ or filter controls.
You will now see a line appear on the sample.
Click on the line to create movable points. Here you can change and automate the value over time.
Repeat for each control you want to automate.
To set a sample's overall level without any automation, use the volume readout on the sample itself or the gain in the effects tab.
Bouncing multiple samples into one
Working with a section full of repeated samples, like a loop that plays several times in a row? You can bounce those samples into one single sample. This makes it much easier to work with the section as a whole: instead of adjusting every sample separately, you can add effects or volume automation to the bounced sample in one go.
Hold Shift, click in the grey background of the sample lane and drag across the samples you want to combine. The headers of the selected samples turn yellow.
Right-click one of the selected samples and choose the 'Bounce selected samples' option from the menu.
In the Save your sample as window, give your new sample a name. You can always change it later.
Choose where to save the sample:
Library: the sample is saved to your Library, so you can use it in other mixes too.
Mix only: the sample is only available in this mix.
Choose a processing option (see below).
Click Save to create the bounced sample, or click Replace selected to replace the samples you selected with the new bounced sample.
Processing options
Processed: the bounced sample includes the effects and automation (such as volume changes) that were on the original samples.
Dry: the bounced sample contains only the original audio, without any effects or automation.
Processed + Master: the bounced sample includes the effects and automation on the samples, plus any effects on the master lane.
Good to know
When you bounce with Processed or Processed + Master, effects and automation are baked into the audio of the new sample. They don't show up as effect blocks or automation lines that you can still adjust afterwards. If you want to keep the option to change them later, keep your original samples (click Save instead of Replace selected) or choose Dry and add effects to the bounced sample afterwards.
Other sample functions
Deleting Samples - Click a sample, and press DEL/Backspace to remove it from the timeline. Alternatively, right-click the sample and select "Delete Sample" from the menu.
Solo Sample Lane - Sample lanes can be temporarily soloed, so you can isolate the sound and silence everything else. Click the S Icon at the top right of the sample track controls. Click it again to unsolo it.
Samples linked to incoming track
In DJ Mix mode, when you add a sample to a transition, it automatically gets connected to the incoming track. This means that if you move or reorder your tracks in the playlist, the samples will move along with them.
Note: This is different from Mashup mode, where samples are independent and not linked to any track.
Adding Voice-Overs
You can record voice-overs and other audio directly inside DJ.Studio using the Input lane. The Input lane is side-chained to the master, so the music volume automatically ducks when a voice-over plays.
To get started, enable the Input lane via the eye icon in the top right corner of the Studio and select your input device at Settings > General > Audio > Input Device.
For full setup and recording instructions, see the Input Lane article.
You can also import audio recorded in an external app and place it in the Input lane for automatic ducking.
Frequently Asked Questions about Samples
I have some DJ Drops in MP3 format. How do I save them as samples so that I can later add them to my mixes?
This is how you can add samples to DJ.Studio so you can later add them to your mixes:
Go to the studio and select the samples tab at the bottom.
Click add and select your samples. If you want your samples also to be available in other DJ mixes, choose to add them to your Library, otherwise just add them to your mix.
Don't forget to switch off the Quantize function for DJ drops or voice-overs. When you want to add the DJ drops to your DJ mix, you can best use the input lane.
Make sure you enable the input lane at Settings > Interface.
When you add the DJ Drop in the Input lane in the Studio, the sample will automatically get side-chained on the master track.
How do I stop samples from being quantized? How do I keep samples at their original BPM and beat?
To stop samples from being quantized you can:
Hover over the sample and deselect the Q.
2. In the samples tab you can also deselect Q behind a sample.
3. Go to sample details and deselect quantize sample
How do I enable sample tracks? I can't see sample tracks in DJ.Studio
To enable sample tracks, navigate to Settings > Interface > Show Sample Lanes.
How do I record my voice with a microphone?
You can record voice-overs and other audio directly inside DJ.Studio using the Input lane.
See this article on how the input lane works