Don't let your set die: USB & rekordbox basics

When you move from a controller to club CDJs, your music lives on a USB stick that you prep in software beforehand (rekordbox is the standard). Get this right and you plug in and play; get it wrong and your set dies in front of a room. It's easy to get right.

Prep the stick, not just the tracks

• Use a fast, reliable USB. A cheap slow stick will stutter or fail to load at the worst possible moment. This is not the place to save five dollars.
• Analyze your tracks in rekordbox. It sets the beat grid and BPM, which is what makes sync, quantize, and clean beat-jumping work on the CDJs. Un-analyzed tracks are a fight.
• Set your cue points. Drop a cue at the start and a hot cue on the drop so you can jump straight in.
• Export properly (rekordbox/"export" mode) — don't just drag audio files onto the stick; the CDJs need the rekordbox database to read your cues and grids.

The rule every working DJ learns the hard way

Carry a backup USB with the same library. Sticks die, get left in cabs, get corrupted. A second one in your pocket is the difference between a laugh and a disaster. Eject properly, and label your sticks so you're not squinting at three identical black rectangles in the dark.

Quick tips

• Fast, reliable USB — twice. One's a backup.
• Analyze + set cues in rekordbox before you leave home.
• Export in rekordbox mode, not raw file drag.
• Eject properly; label your sticks.

A couple of CDJ-ready USB drives is cheap insurance for every gig.