Vibes Software 1.2.6 with Engine DJ
Let me start by saying that I like the core idea behind Vibes. Software that helps DJs organise their libraries, explore relationships between tracks and prepare sets has a lot of potential.
I tested Vibes with an Engine DJ library containing nearly 2,000 tracks. Analysing the entire library took approximately ten hours on a regular laptop.
User interface
Visually, the software makes a good first impression, but the interface still feels immature and inconsistent in places.
For example, the grid headers use a mixture of text labels and icons. The icons themselves are not always consistent either: the BPM icon used in the grid header differs from the one used in the filter section. Alignment also varies throughout the interface.
The date column currently displays three dots instead of the actual dates, which makes the column effectively unusable.
The preset Vibes are useful for getting started. The visually focused tiles look attractive, but I would also like to see a more compact, minimalist grid or list layout. After adding only a third Vibe category, I already needed to scroll to see the Vibes I actively use. This does not feel like an efficient use of the available screen space.
Vibe Sort
The keyboard shortcuts in Vibe Sort are useful, and the different screen layouts are a welcome addition.
The Auto-tag feature is less clear. It is not immediately obvious what it does, how the tags are determined or how the results should be used. This feature would benefit from a clearer explanation and more visible feedback.
Set Builder
The Set Builder is decent and visually appealing. However, because it only supports a single linear sequence, the visual node-based presentation does not currently add much functionality. In its present form, a simple ordered list could achieve almost the same result while using less screen space.
The feature would become much more useful if it supported alternative routes, optional tracks or multiple possible transitions. That would justify the visual approach and better reflect how DJs actually prepare and adapt their sets.
Suggested direction: Performance Mode
Rather than treating the Set Builder as a completely separate preparation tool, I think Vibes should explore ways to connect it to the actual performance workflow.
One possible solution would be a Performance Mode within the Set Builder.
During a performance, Vibes could listen through the laptop’s microphone and identify the currently playing track from the prepared set, using an approach similar to music-recognition applications such as Shazam.
Once the current track has been recognised:
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If a next track or node exists, Vibes could display the notes for that transition.
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Users should be able to attach notes to every transition, such as mixing instructions, cue points, loop suggestions or reminders.
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If no next node exists, Vibes could automatically open the Track Finder and suggest suitable follow-up tracks.
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The DJ could select the next track manually in Vibes or simply find and play it on the Engine DJ device.
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Vibes could then recognise the newly selected track through the microphone and continue following the set.
This would allow DJs to use Vibes not only to prepare a set, but also as an enhanced version of Engine DJ’s Match functionality during an actual performance.
The main limitation is that the suggested track would still need to be located manually on the Engine DJ device. A deeper integration with Engine DJ would therefore be ideal, but even microphone-based recognition could already create a useful connection between preparation and performance.
Conclusion
Vibes has a strong core concept and some promising ideas. The current release looks good and offers useful tools, but the interface needs more consistency and several features require further explanation or development.
The biggest opportunity is to connect set preparation with live performance. A Performance Mode with track recognition, transition notes and intelligent next-track suggestions could turn Vibes from an attractive library tool into a genuinely useful DJ performance companion.
