The basic cue point
Every DJ deck and controller has a Cue button. When you press it, the track jumps back to a set point and waits. Hold it and the track plays from there; let go and it snaps back. DJs use it to find the first beat of a track, so the next mix starts exactly on time.
Without cue points, you’d be searching through the waveform every time you wanted to start a track. With them, you know exactly where the track will begin.
Hot cues and memory cues
Most modern DJ software, including Rekordbox, has two kinds of saved cue point.
| Hot cues | Memory cues | |
|---|---|---|
| How you use them | Press a pad and the track jumps there instantly | Skip between them with buttons, then press Cue |
| Best for | Jumping around a track, drops, vocals, tricks | Marking where to mix in and out |
| How many | Usually up to 8 per track | Many per track |
| Shown as | Coloured markers, often lettered A to H | Markers on the waveform |
How to set cue points in Rekordbox
- Load a track onto a deck in Rekordbox.
- Find the spot you want, for example the first beat of the intro. Zoom in on the waveform to be precise.
- For a hot cue: click an empty hot cue pad (A to H) or press a performance pad on your controller. It saves straight away.
- For a memory cue: pause on the spot and click the memory button next to the cue controls.
- Name and colour your cues so you can recognise them at a glance, such as green for a mix-in point and red for the outro.
Your cues are saved with the track. When you export to a USB stick for club CDJs, they come with it.
Where to put cue points
- The first beat: the most important one. It’s where you start the track in a mix.
- The start of the main section: useful if you want to skip a long intro.
- Before a breakdown or drop: handy for building energy.
- The start of the outro: a reminder that it’s time to bring in the next track.
Keep it simple. A few well-placed cues on every track are more useful than eight random ones.
Common beginner mistakes
- Setting a cue slightly before or after the beat, so the mix starts out of time.
- Forgetting to check the cues on a new track before a gig.
- Using hot cues for everything and jumping around so much the mix loses its flow.
Learn it properly
Cue points, beat grids and preparing your music in Rekordbox are all covered early on our Starter course, with a working DJ showing you on the equipment. Not sure which course fits? Try the course chooser.