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How to · Rekordbox

Use stems in Rekordbox.

To use stems in Rekordbox, switch to PERFORMANCE mode, open [Preferences] > [Extensions] > [STEMS] and tick [Enable the STEMS Function]. Stem buttons then appear on the deck, mixer and effect panels, and each track splits in real time into VOCAL, DRUMS, INST and, in 4 Stems mode, BASS. One limit worth knowing first: it never works on Apple Music or Spotify tracks.

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A track open in Vibes with its energy curve and detected sections marked along the waveform

Rekordbox does the splitting live. Knowing where the vocal sits is prep work.

Use stems in Rekordbox, step by step.

STEMS is a PERFORMANCE mode function: with stems, Rekordbox does the separating itself, live, on your own processor, which is why AlphaTheta publishes a recommended CPU list for it. Eight steps take you from the checkbox to a controller mapping.

01

Switch to PERFORMANCE mode

STEMS lives in PERFORMANCE mode only, so you will not find it in EXPORT mode. Open rekordbox and pick [PERFORMANCE] from the mode selector in the upper-left of the screen. The deck, mixer and effect panels that carry the Stem controls all belong to this view.

02

Tick the STEMS checkbox in Preferences

Click the settings icon in the upper-right of the screen, or open [Preferences] from the menu. Select the [Extensions] category, open the [STEMS] tab, and check [Enable the STEMS Function]. That one checkbox is all it takes to enable stems in Rekordbox. The manual is explicit about what happens next: the buttons for the function appear on the deck, effect panel and mixer panel.

03

Pick 3 Stems or 4 Stems, and MUTE or SOLO

Stay on the same tab. Under [STEMS Mode], choose [3 Stems (VOCAL, INST, DRUMS)] or [4 Stems (VOCAL, INST, BASS, DRUMS)]. Under [ACTIVE STEM Setting], choose [MUTE] to switch parts on and off one at a time, or [SOLO] to jump between all Stems and a single one. [STEMS Analysis Process] also offers [Prioritize sound quality], which asks more of the CPU.

04

Analyze playlist in Rekordbox, or one track at a time

Rekordbox calls the separation an analysis process, and its settings sit on that same STEMS tab. Make sure the music itself is analyzed too. You analyze tracks in Rekordbox from the [Track] menu or the right-click menu with [Analyze Track], or automatically when [Preferences] > [Analysis] > [Track Analysis] > [Auto Analysis] is set to [Enable]. To select multiple tracks in Rekordbox, click into the track list and press [Ctrl+A].

05

Mute and solo parts on the deck (ACTIVE STEM)

Load a track and look at the deck. Each Stem has a STEM MUTE button: on outputs that part, off mutes it. Kill the VOCAL Stem for an instant instrumental, or mute everything except VOCAL for an acapella. With the [SOLO] setting instead, you switch between hearing all Stems and hearing one.

06

Blend instead of cutting with STEM ISO

On the mixer panel, turn the STEM ISO mode button on. The channel knobs stop working as HIGH, MID and LOW EQ and become volume controls for the INST, VOCAL and DRUMS Stems, so you can ride a vocal down rather than cut it dead. Switch STEM ISO off and the knobs go back to EQ.

07

Effect one part only with STEM FX

In the effect panel, switch on the STEM FX button for INST, VOCAL or DRUMS. The effect then lands on that part alone. The manual notes that all effect types can be applied here, including BEAT FX, SOUND COLOR FX, PAD FX and MERGE FX, so a long reverb on the vocal leaves the drums completely dry.

08

Map the Stem controls to your controller

Some DJ equipment has STEMS controls built in and needs no setup. For everything else, use MIDI LEARN to assign each Stem function to a pad or knob, or PAD EDITOR on controllers that support it. MIDI LEARN requires a Core plan or higher, or a Hardware Unlock device connected to the computer.

The catch

Separation runs on your own processor while you play. AlphaTheta lists a far higher CPU bar for STEMS on four decks than on two, and rekordbox will refuse with a not-enough-free-memory message on a tight machine, so a laptop that handles a normal set can still stutter with Stems on.

bass
mids
highs
lead
intro
verse
buildup
drop
breakdown
outro

Where Vibes fits

Know which tracks are worth a stem move before you load them.

Vibes does not separate stems, isolate vocals or build mashups. It analyzes the files you own for BPM, key, energy and sections such as intro, buildup, drop, breakdown and outro, including where the lead and vocal regions sit. That tells you which tracks carry a usable acapella and which ones fall apart without their drums. Tag those into a vibe, export the playlist back to rekordbox, and do the splitting there.

See how it works
Track analysis for BPM, Camelot key, energy curve and section markers on every file you own
Lead and vocal regions detected, so a usable acapella is visible before the track is loaded
Tag the stem-friendly tracks into a vibe by hand with Vibe Sort or in bulk with Auto-Tagging
Export the vibe back to rekordbox as a playlist folder; the separating still happens in rekordbox

Organize in Vibes, export to Rekordbox.

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 by Artist A

Track 001

Artist A

128
3A
Track 002 by Artist B

Track 002

Artist B

124
5B
Track 003 by Artist C

Track 003

Artist C

132
8A
Vibes App
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.

Yes. STEMS is built into rekordbox 7 for Mac and Windows, and the plan comparison lists it on every tier. You use stems on Rekordbox in PERFORMANCE mode: tick [Enable the STEMS Function] in [Preferences] > [Extensions] > [STEMS], load a file from your collection, and the Stem controls appear on the deck, the mixer panel and the effect panel. Tracks from Apple Music and Spotify are the exception; everything else in your prepped library is fair game.
Rekordbox stems split the playing track into separate parts: VOCAL, DRUMS and INST, or VOCAL, DRUMS, BASS and INST in 4 Stems mode. AlphaTheta describes it as splitting a song in real time so each part can be handled on its own. In a set that means instant acapellas, instant instrumentals, drums-only intros, and an effect that hits one part while the rest stays dry. Rekordbox 6 called the same feature TRACK SEPARATION, and the official FAQ still uses both names.
One checkbox. Open [Preferences] with the settings icon in the upper-right, select the [Extensions] category, open the [STEMS] tab, and check [Enable the STEMS Function]. To turn on stems in Rekordbox with four parts instead of three, set [STEMS Mode] to [4 Stems (VOCAL, INST, BASS, DRUMS)] on the same tab. The Stem buttons appear on the deck, effect panel and mixer panel right away.
Rekordbox runs the separation itself. Its controls sit in [Preferences] > [Extensions] > [STEMS] as [STEMS Analysis Process], [Multi-thread] and [Memory]. Your part is the ordinary track analysis that also produces BPM, key and phrases: select the track and choose [Analyze Track] from the [Track] menu or the right-click menu. Guides that say analyse tracks in Rekordbox mean that same menu item, spelled the American way in the app.
Usually one of four documented reasons. The function is still switched off in [Preferences] > [Extensions] > [STEMS]. The track came from Apple Music or Spotify, where STEMS is not permitted. Rekordbox reports that there is not enough free memory, which AlphaTheta answers with a smaller buffer size and clearing [Increase the memory size of the analysis process]. Or the computer sits under the recommended CPU, which shows up as noise and dropouts.
Yes. The plan comparison shows STEMS on every tier, the Free plan included, so nothing extra is needed to get stems on Rekordbox. What the Free plan leaves out is MIDI LEARN, so mapping Stem functions to a controller wants a Core plan or higher, or a Hardware Unlock device. Clicking the Stem buttons with the mouse works on any plan.
Many do not. The Free plan handles library management and performance with Hardware Unlock-eligible equipment, and STEMS is included. Paid plans add MIDI LEARN and DVS control, and the higher tiers add EDIT mode, where you edit tracks in Rekordbox itself. If you would rather pay nothing at all, VirtualDJ is free for non-professional use, separates stems in real time, and will auto fade in VirtualDJ Automix between tracks.
They are built differently. Serato DJ Pro separates in real time into vocals, bass, melody and drums, offers a Stems crate for preparing tracks in advance, and Serato DJ Lite has Stems too. Rekordbox gives three or four Stems plus STEM ISO on the mixer, STEM FX in the effect panel, and DRUM CAPTURE, which lifts a drum loop out of the track; the closest move in Serato is to use Serato Sampler.
Whichever one your hardware unlocks. Serato DJ Pro and DJ Lite separate the moment you trigger a Stems function, so there is little to analyze in Serato in advance. Traktor Pro 4 splits four stems with iZotope RX. Engine DJ renders stems on the desktop for standalone players, which we cover in the Engine DJ guide. VirtualDJ is free for non-professional use and its Layout menu lets you add more decks in VirtualDJ, so DJs who use 4 decks in VirtualDJ get stems on all of them.
Yes, if the computer can take it. For STEMS on four decks AlphaTheta recommends an Intel Core i9 (9th generation or later), an AMD Ryzen 7 7000 series or later, or an Apple M1 series chip, against a lower bar for two decks. Deck count is not a layout question here: to make 4 decks in VirtualDJ you switch Layout to 4-Deck Mode, while rekordbox flips between its 2 deck and 4 deck layouts on the same screen and asks for processing headroom instead.

From a Vibes customer

The import worked perfectly. Have created several sets now and my life is so much easier
Danny

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Methodology

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Every step is checked against the current version of Rekordbox.

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Last reviewed June 2026.

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