How to · Engine DJ

Manage hot cue colors in Engine DJ.

Engine DJ gives you eight color-coded hot cues per track. Set them in the desktop app during prep, and they travel to your standalone players when you sync your library.

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Engine DJ desktop showing a waveform with colored hot cue markers

Hot cues in Engine DJ display as colored markers on the waveform and trigger instantly from pads.

Manage hot cue colors in Engine DJ, step by step.

Engine DJ 4.x supports up to eight hot cues per track. You assign colors and labels in the desktop app, and those carry through to your SC or Prime hardware when you sync your library.

Open a track in the Engine DJ desktop app

Click any track in your Engine DJ library to select it, then load it into the waveform view using the load button or by double-clicking the track (depending on your layout preference). The full waveform, beatgrid, and any existing cue markers will appear. No audio hardware needs to be connected.

Drop a hot cue at the position you want

In the desktop waveform view, move the playhead to the position you want, then click one of the eight numbered hot cue pad buttons in the cue section of the interface. A colored marker appears on the waveform at that point, assigned to that slot number.

Change the cue color and add a label

Right-click the numbered cue pad button (not the waveform marker) for the cue you want to edit. A menu or panel opens where you can pick a color from the available palette and type a short label such as Drop or Intro. Confirm your changes to save them.

Sync to your device or standalone player

Use the Sync Manager in Engine DJ desktop to push your updated library to a USB drive or directly to a connected Prime or SC player. Your hot cues, colors, and labels transfer with the track so everything is ready at the booth.

The catch

Engine DJ has hot cues only: there are no memory cues, so every marker you set occupies one of the eight hot cue slots. You cannot add or rename cues directly on standalone hardware - all color and label changes must be made in the desktop app and then synced.

bass

mids

highs

lead

intro

verse

buildup

drop

breakdown

outro

The faster way

Arrive at your gig with cues already placed and color-coded.

Vibes analyzes each track and detects structural sections including intro, buildup, drop, breakdown, and outro, then exports those positions as hot cues directly into your Engine DJ database. You skip the manual cue-dropping session entirely.

See how it works

Track analysis detects downbeat-locked sections and places auto cue points at each structural boundary

Exports write directly into your Engine DJ m.db, so cues appear in the app the next time you open it

Section labels (Intro, Drop, Outro) are embedded with each cue, matching what you would type manually

Analyze your whole library in one batch and export to Engine DJ in one pass, not track by track

Organize in Vibes, export to Engine DJ.

Your playlists, tags, ratings, and cue points travel back to the gear you play on, so nothing you do in Vibes is locked away.

Track 001

Artist A

128

Afterhours

Mysterious

Introspective

Track 002

Artist B

124

Cozy Floor

Peaceful

Home

Track 003

Artist C

132

Rave

Aggressive

Festival

Build & Release

Playlists

Vibes

Mood

Aggressive

Euphoric

Melancholic

Mysterious

Peaceful

Playful

Tense

Function

Arrangement

Sets

Club Night 12/28

NYE Closing Set

Rooftop 01/04

Frequently asked questions

The honest answers, including the trade-offs.

Not entirely. Vibes exports hot cue positions and labels into your Engine DJ database during prep, which removes most of the manual work. But you choose final colors inside Engine DJ desktop itself, since color assignment is part of the Engine DJ interface. Vibes handles the analysis and placement; Engine DJ handles the color palette.

No. Engine DJ 4.x supports hot cues only, up to eight per track. There is no separate memory cue system like Rekordbox has. Every cue point you set occupies one of those eight colored hot cue slots.

Yes. Use the Sync Manager in Engine DJ desktop to push your library to a USB drive or a connected standalone player. Hot cues, colors, and labels all transfer with the track data and are available immediately on the hardware.

Methodology