As a DJ using both systems, I find synchronizing bit cumbersome.
First Step is to export RekordBox playlists as XML’s - which is no biggie.
Import XML to Engine DJ - which is no biggie.
Now it gets frustrating
Updating existing playlist(s)
eDJ does not automatically sync RB-Collection XMP to it’s own collection
I cannot drag the whole existing RB-Collection to eDJ and let it sync automatically
I cannot drag existing playlist to eDJ to let it sync automatically (per playlist)
Basically I need to delete the old list on eDJ and import it again from RB collection - which is just stupid. These would most definitely need some kind of linkage between each other. Maybe a setting that would work like: “include [select source] content in this playlist”.
Solution one that came to mind: I will use the Create Smartlist function. But alas, I cannot use Recordbox playlist as a reference/source so that Smartlist would see new songs within a RB-playlist and add them automatically. This would have been too easy.
Why has this been so overlooked?
I would imagine this kind of automatic feature would be most appreciated by DJ’s using both systems. One could manage main stuff in RekordBox and then import stuff to Engine DJ and finalize what ever they need (Stems, etc).
Not sure, but this kind of things are the “final step” why people do select Pioneer over Denon. It is too difficult to work with both. And as we do not live in Utopia in which Denon is the industry standard this kind of stuff should need to be paid extra attention.
Type of things I’ve been asking about since I switched to engine back in 2020. They never really consider paths of least resistance. Welcome to engine dj.
There is absolutely no reason why Denon could not update or develop this feature. It has also been requested multiple times.
It would advance Denon’s sales as it could be used for marketing: “Keep your Engine DJ synced with Rekordbox!”
That would immediately lift one big barrier and motivate people to (try out) and buy prime-players, as they would know that both systems can be kept synced without issues.
This is demanded as you cannot go on a gig anywhere in the world without using Pioneer. Just facts. (unless you carry your console all over the world - I won’t).
That is called whataboutism. Subject in this thread is features of Engine DJ and how to make it better.
Fact #1: DJ’s need to use Pioneer gear in multiple gigs
Fact #2: Therefor DJ’s need to use also Rekordbox
Fact #3: Only viable process is to manage basics with RB and export/import it to EDJ (and add Denon related attributes afterwards).
The faster this is understood at the management level, the faster we get Engine-DJ to actually support DJ’s by removing reasons why people still choose Pioneer gear over Denon.
Pioneer pricing is currently over the pain limit - this would have been the best opportunity for Denon to do heavy marketing and get people to try out how good their decks are in use. When you conquer DJ’s home’s it is just a matter of time before venues need to start buying the same gear.
RB doesn’t do it, but if they did they would do it right. Engine always offers part solutions, only enough to get people to spend their money. Then buyers always run in to difficulties like this one. The fact is RB wouldn’t advertise such a solution unless they knew they could do it well and that’s why they don’t offer it. This is the big difference between the companies.
Clearly something pulled you away from opting for pioneer, or pulled you toward Denon DJ. You don’t seem like a gullible sort, so it’s not likely to be “Engine lures me in with features which weren’t there” so it’s some other reason; couldn’t afford Pioner, preferred the higher ratio of “bang for your buck” on Denon DJ gear - or maybe you’d already bought pioner gear in the past and found some of their problems weren’t to your liking.
Wanted a stand alone players but didn’t want to spend the money for cdjs in my case. Not mad at my purchase but after using both RB and engine these are the differences I began to notice. Happy with my 6000s but engine desktop could definitely get better. Been waiting for streaming to get on desktop since I joined engine.
Maybe if InMusic hiked up the price of each of their prime products by 40% above what the players fair price is, like puoneer do (in my opinion) then Engine DJ software might have dozens of extra features, like rekordbox
Yeah that wouldn’t have worked. They were and still are trying to gain ground in the market. But the dj market has grown and plenty of people have bought in music gear. maybe they will reinvest that money soon and bring engine dj up to par with their competitors.
As someone who uses Rekordbox to manage my collection I can relate with the inconvenience. I settled on exporting my music from Rekordbox directly on the thumb drive. I find that just importing the Rekordbox collection on the device is easier than trying to sync with engine dj, even if it means I have to analyze the songs everytime I luat then and also won’t be able to sync back any new cue points or beat grid corrections. I got used to this
I was not demanding anything. I stated that one cannot deejay anywhere without using Rekordbox, hence there is a general demand that these two software should be usable “together”.
Improving usability and UX is not to come up with alternative solutions, but instead designing a better process and implementing it.
Denon cannot sell their equipment by instructing users to use Lexicon - they can sell their equipment by removing barriers.
But I kind of understand that you do not want Engine DJ to be better as it is now. There might be changes and those are frightening.
when you stop and take in the bigger picture. Not every DJ is trying to make it “big” in clubs or be the next headline festival mime Artist.
There are hundreds of DJs in each town, there are thousands of DJs in citys and omg there must me hundreds of thousands of DJs in bedrooms around the world, if not millions … as we found out during Covid - who will never have a rekordbox based de j between the audience and them - they’ll be on their own choice of manufacturer… all except the sheep will have chosen their weapon of choice by its features rather than it brand siren. For all those DJs in this paragraph, rekordbox compliance won’t be a requirement, as they’ll all be out (or indoors) rockin’ punters in their pubs and bars and hotel function rooms on non-rekordbox kit.
For them, they’ll want the r&d teams time spent on the other requests that users have made.
If some DJs needs two way rekordbox translation there are already tools available (lexicon) to achieve this - reinventing the wheel helps no-one - if some DJs wanna be niche then they should expect that their niche-ness may have a price tag associated with it - that’s if the free version of lexicon doesn’t do everything they’d like. Free is nice, but it’s not a case that everything will always be free
It’s crazy that every time this conversation pops up there seems to be a theme of completely ignoring all the millions of vinyl DJs out there who won’t use Rekordbox or even Pioneer gear at all, all the Traktor users in the prog/techno scene who won’t touch it and then most of all the millions of turntablist type DJs who use the worlds number one DJ software that is Serato, and not forgetting to mention Djay Pro/VDJ users too.
This illusion that somehow Rekordbox owns the scene and is the defining factor on usability of DJ gear is completely laughable. It’s not even good software, in fact I’d go as far as saying it is largely something that rhymes with the word ‘hit’
Scenario: You’re an open format resident dj in a “cluster of pubs and clubs” in which there are a mix of people of all ages and groups from different countries. You never know what type of people you will have in that night. ( Friday I had mostly pop & trap listeners, Saturday I had drum & bass and house crowd. You play it safe with comercial music, but so are the other pubs and clubs nearby and people bar hop. One wrong song and half the club leaves and go to the next bar. Occasionally you play at other clubs for various events with various themes.
You need A LOT of music and you need a system that helps you organize it efficiently so you can find tracks fast.
You know what’s slow? Manually typing tags in comments or manually updating playlists.
I use Rekordbox tags for all types of scenarios (genres, themes, language, if a song is an A,B or C tier, if a song is comercial, underground or bridge (catchy underground)) I then create smart playlists based on every combination I need of these attributes.
I even have a smart playlist for imported tracks and after I tag it with the attributes I have one last tag called “Checked” which removes it from the “inbox” playlist.
I don’t encourage “demanding” for features. But people should also stop with the vinyl DJs or laptop/traktor techno DJs examples because the above scenario is not for them. A vinyl dj would go bankrupt trying to compete with the amount of new music other DJ’s can play and people will get bored of their selection pretty fast when they have the option to walk 20 meters to the next club.
That wasn’t the point being made at all, I was simply addressing the below, which is just untrue. There are literally millions of different venues, events and DJ gigs where Rekordbox is irrelevant.
Vinyl DJs and Traktor DJs are 100% relevant to this comment.
Well in certain situations it’s true. When I dj as a resident or other events where I play alone I use Denon. But I also play at least once per month at other parties with multiple DJs and it was always Pioneer setup. Even if other DJs have their own gear from other brands, nobody wants to deal with switching setups mid party so they export their music from Rekordbox and we all use Pioneer.
At the moment there is no better free alternative than Rekordbox for an in depth library management that is compatible with Engine OS.
I had to sacrifice stems and other Denon features just for having my library organized and have it available for both Denon and AlphaTheta gear.
