How to · Engine DJ

Use key lock (Master Tempo) in Engine DJ.

Key Lock lets you pitch-shift a track's key independently from its tempo on Engine DJ hardware. Here is how to enable it, and how to prep your library so you need it less.

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Engine DJ software showing a track loaded and ready to play

Engine DJ 4.x on a standalone player, where Key Lock is a per-deck hardware control.

Use key lock (Master Tempo) in Engine DJ, step by step.

Key Lock in Engine DJ preserves a track's original pitch when you nudge the tempo up or down. It is a real-time control available on Engine DJ standalone hardware and media players. The desktop application (Engine DJ Desktop) is a library preparation tool and does not include Key Lock or live deck controls.

Load a track to a deck

Open Engine DJ on your hardware and load a track onto any deck. The Key Lock button only becomes active once a track is loaded and the deck is in a playable state. On hardware like the SC6000, the button is a physical control labeled Key Lock on the deck surface.

Enable Key Lock on the deck

Press the Key Lock button on your hardware deck. The button will illuminate to confirm it is active. Any tempo change you make with the pitch fader will now shift BPM without altering the track's original musical key. (Note: Engine DJ labels this button Key Lock, not Master Tempo, which is Pioneer DJ terminology.)

Adjust the pitch fader to match tempo

Move the pitch fader to align the track's BPM with the playing deck. Because Key Lock is on, the pitch stays anchored to the track's original key regardless of fader position. Engine DJ hardware pitch fader ranges are 4%, 8%, 20%, 50%, and 100% - there is no 6% option. For minimal time-stretch artifacts, keep adjustments within the 8% range setting.

Manually shift key if needed for harmonic mixing

Engine DJ also lets you nudge the key up or down in semitone steps independently of tempo, but this is a hardware-only touchscreen feature. First ensure Key Lock is enabled, then tap the key indicator shown on the touchscreen of your hardware deck. This reveals on-screen plus and minus buttons for incrementing or decrementing the key one semitone at a time. To reset the key, press Shift + Key Lock. To sync the key to match another deck's key, hold the Key Lock button for approximately two seconds. This key adjust feature is not available in Engine DJ Desktop.

The catch

Key Lock is a live performance control exclusive to Engine DJ hardware (SC6000, PRIME 4, PRIME 2, and compatible devices). Engine DJ Desktop is a music preparation and library management application that does not include Key Lock, live deck controls, or semitone key adjustment. All Key Lock and key adjustment features described here require physical Engine DJ hardware running Engine OS.

Find compatible

8A120–136 BPM

Where Vibes fits

Prep harmonically so you pitch-correct less at the decks

Vibes analyzes every track's key using the Skey neural network and displays results in Camelot notation, so you can build sets and find transitions where the keys already align. Less pitch correction means fewer Key Lock artifacts and cleaner mixes.

See how it works

Accurate Camelot key analysis on every track: Vibes uses the Skey neural net, not a basic autocorrelation estimator, so your key data is reliable before you ever touch a fader

Find Compatible: one click surfaces tracks in a harmonically adjacent Camelot position to the one you are cueing, so each transition is already close in key

Set Designer lets you sequence a set by BPM and key together, flagging jumps that would require heavy pitch correction and suggesting smoother alternatives

Export key metadata directly into your Engine DJ library so Camelot values appear on your SC6000 or Prime hardware without any manual re-analysis

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.

No. Key Lock is a live hardware control that only exists at the decks during performance. Vibes is a library prep tool: it analyzes keys, helps you plan harmonic transitions, and exports metadata into Engine DJ, but it does not play or mix audio.

Engine DJ's time-stretching algorithm handles small adjustments well, typically within plus or minus 6 percent. Beyond that, you may hear artifacts, especially on tracks with lots of transient detail like percussive loops or live drums.

Yes. You can nudge the key in semitone steps independently of Key Lock. However, moving the key while the pitch fader is also shifted will combine both effects, so enable Key Lock first if you want the pitch fader to only affect tempo.

Methodology