Mixing & Performance

Doubles

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Playing two copies of the same track to juggle, loop, or extend it.

Spinning doubles means loading the same track on both decks so you can bounce between identical copies, extend sections, or perform beat juggles, a staple of hip-hop and turntablism.

Why it matters

Doubles let you rework a single track live, holding a loop or rhythm indefinitely, which is a performance skill worth the prep of having clean copies ready.

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

Playing doubles means loading the same track on two decks simultaneously so you can juggle, loop, or extend it. It is a classic hip-hop and turntablist technique where the DJ switches between the two copies to keep a break or sample playing longer than the record allows.
On vinyl you traditionally needed two physical copies, which is where the term comes from. On digital setups you can load the same file on two virtual decks from one library, so a single digital copy is enough.
A loop repeats a section within a single deck using the software or hardware looping function. Doubles use two separate decks both carrying the same track, letting you manually crossfade between them for more expressive, human-timed juggling that a loop cannot replicate.
Ben Modigell

Hey, it's Ben Modigell 👋

I DJ and produce as so I so — downtempo, minimal, dub house, tech house, and techno (releases on Spotify and SoundCloud, links above). Everything I write here comes from my own gigs, studio sessions, and library cleanups: the rules I follow, the failure modes I've actually hit, and the workflow I use when nobody's watching. If a technique didn't earn its place in my own sets, it doesn't make it into a tutorial.

DJingMusic ProductionTech HouseMinimal HouseDub HouseTechnoDowntempoLibrary Organization