Tracked - the latest in DJ tech and culture, curated from inside the booth. A new Latest DJ Mods section on the community firmware scene for older CDJs and XDJs, plus the usual run of headphones, software and Mixxx forum builds and mappings.
🛠️ Latest DJ Mods #
New this edition. Community modders are releasing custom firmware that adds features to older CDJs and XDJs at a fast clip. Much of it is built with AI assistance of course (some posters even say so outright). I am watching the scene closely and will be following up with some of the most promising mod projects soon.
Where a modder has published a download page or builder on their own site, the item links to both the Reddit thread and the site. These are unofficial community projects. Claims below are attributed to the people who posted them and have not been independently verified, and flashing any firmware carries risk to your gear, so treat this as reading, not a how-to.
Dual Deck: Two Tracks Playing From One CDJ-2000NXS2 u/P2GR’s Dual Deck mod lets one CDJ-2000NXS2 play two tracks at once, with the digital output carrying the second deck, so both digital and analogue outputs need to reach the mixer. Per the poster, it’s available through the patcher on their site, which also lists NXS1 mods, and NXS2 stems are coming soon. One commenter reports it didn’t work after patching from 1.85 to a modified 1.87, and the poster is investigating. Read the thread → · Visit the site →
Fully Custom Open-Source Firmware Boots on the CDJ-2000NXS u/gpot97 shows firmware written from scratch in Rust, not a patch of Pioneer’s, booting on the CDJ-2000NXS. Per the poster, it replaces only the GUI board for now, isn’t available yet and will be posted to the thresholdrecords GitHub account. The aim is a Rockbox-style project for legacy Pioneer decks, and the poster strongly advises against trying this without the gear to recover a failed flash. Read the thread →
XDJ Mod Studio: Free Open-Source XDJ-700 Mods, No Flashing u/Some_Cryptographer_9 released a free, MIT-licensed Mac app (Windows beta in the comments) that loads mods into the XDJ-700’s memory over USB, so a power cycle returns it to stock. Per the poster, RGB and 3-band waveforms, live key shift, stems, themes and beat jump pads are tested on a real deck, while 8 hot cues and FLAC/Opus have only run in the emulator. Windows testers report mixed results. Read the thread → · Visit the site →
XDJ-700 Mods Ported From the XDJ-1000MK2 u/pieterv1 shares early XDJ-700 mods that install permanently on the internal flash, with the DSP engine left stock. Per the poster, they port XDJ-1000MK2 features including beat jump, RGB and 3-band waveforms, hot cue colours and two phase meter types. There’s no public release yet, and FLAC and 8 hot cues would need DSP changes. Read the thread →
Also:
- The XDJ-700 mods repo linked by the poster in the comments. View the repo →
Community Firmware Running on Four CDJ-900NXS Players u/Zonbra-Music reports community mods working on four CDJ-900NXS players, including two-decimal BPM, an RGB scrolling waveform and a new phase meter. The comments are mostly feature requests, with FLAC support coming up repeatedly. Read the thread →
Also:
- The CDJ-900NXS mods repo linked by the poster in the comments. View the repo →
Pionaarr Mods 1.0: A Modular Firmware Builder for the CDJ-900NXS u/Givou releases a web builder for picking individual CDJ-900NXS mods, building on arnoldasr’s RGB waveform, phase meter and extended BPM work. Users supply Pioneer’s official 1.31 firmware themselves. Hot cue recall and delete and save are flagged experimental because they can add up to two seconds to track loading. The poster says they used Claude heavily and that everything is use at your own risk. Read the thread → · Visit the site →
💿 Pioneer / AlphaTheta #
AlphaTheta Introduces the HDJ-F9 Wireless DJ Headphones AlphaTheta has announced the HDJ-F9, a professional on-ear wireless DJ headphone built around its SonicLink ultra-low-latency wireless technology. AlphaTheta positions it at DJs who want high-quality sound and reliability without being tied to a cable. Read the announcement →
Also:
- AlphaTheta’s Studio Plan: The Fader reports it lets DJs edit and remix their libraries. Read the article →
🎧 General DJ #
Serato DJ for iOS Review: Tested From Phone to Turntables We Are Crossfader tested the new Serato DJ app for iPhone and iPad four ways, from the phone alone up to a full DVS setup, to see how it compares with using Serato on a laptop. Read the full review on We Are Crossfader →
Also:
- Serato DJ 5.0 beta closed: Serato says the beta has ended and DJ 5.0 is available to download. Read the announcement →
- Serato DJ for iOS - hardware compatibility and pricing explained: Read the announcement →
Rekordbox MyTag vs Comments vs Real Tags: Where to Store Track Info Lexicon breaks down the three places rekordbox lets you store track info (MyTag, the Comment field and standard file tags), what survives a USB export or a move to Serato, and how to tag once without losing anything. It also covers keeping a studio desktop and a gig laptop on one shared library using rekordbox Cloud Library Sync, a DIY Dropbox setup and Lexicon. Read the full piece on Lexicon →
⚙️ Hardware #
Numark Party Mix III Mapping for Mixxx A forum member’s first mapping, at iteration 101, covers custom synced lights, fade FX and stems on the Numark Party Mix III and works with the Mixxx 2.6 beta. The author says there are no remaining issues or limitations they can find, and that it could be adapted for the Party Mix mk2 or mk1. Read the thread →
Also:
- Pioneer DDJ-1000 Mapping Pull Request for Mixxx: SergioAlexo has opened a pull request adding a DDJ-1000 controller mapping. View the pull request →
🌐 Software & Open Source #
rbxport: A Free, Open-Source Rekordbox Alternative for USB Prep EDM Life looks at rbxport, an independent project with no connection to AlphaTheta that handles one job: library prep for USB DJs. Because it reads your existing rekordbox library there’s nothing to migrate, and it can run alongside rekordbox when you need both. Read the full piece on EDM Life →
Mixxx’s Record Feature Can Also Create CUE Files A forum member shares that recording inside Mixxx has a preferences option to create a CUE file, which splits a single-file mixtape recording into separate tracks so listeners can jump to their favourite segments. They say it’s probably old news, but they hadn’t considered it. Read the thread →
Also:
- TriMixxx: The open-source CDJ alternative View the project →
- NauticMixxx 2.0.0 released: an open-source edition of Mixxx 2.5.6 with an XDJ-RX3-style workflow. Read the thread →
- Mixxx Feature suggestion - unify Crates and Playlists: adds folders, smart lists and a category browser. Read the thread →
That’s Tracked for this edition. #
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