I recently talked to a friend who’s a software engineer, and he told me that it blows his mind how Rekordbox has so many problems, given how dominant they are in the space.
We both think it would be more productive to slow down development and deliver more quality software. Or make it beta, so we’re not regularly dealing with a defective product.
It is true that with every new version, an improvement is made. Still, nevertheless, mysterious random issues with Rekordbox keep some DJs from using it professionally and sticking with Serato for the time being.
There are plenty of reasons why Rekordbox may not act smoothly. In this article I’m going to try to detect them and present fixes for those issues.
What to Do If Rekordbox Is Glitching
With Rekordbox, you’ll sometimes experience an audible glitch sound when you load a song, even though you have a lot of storage available on the hard drive.
Rarely when it’s glitched out, some people also hear the audio in the headphones, even if all channels are turned off.
In addition to that, when you’re playing a track, the audio will crack and jump. As this occurs, you’ll notice the ‘beat loop’ and the ‘reloop/exit’ buttons will flash simultaneously with the audio distortion.
A red bar with a note sometimes pops up on the bottom of the software, but it closes so fast you can’t read it.
After you make sure you’re working with the latest firmware and software versions, the first thing you’ll need to do is adjust the latency and unplug all other USB devices.
I used a Behringer Xenyx 12-input mixer as the audio device for Mac, and I could set my latency decently low.
An internal sound card could require you to modify that to higher latency. Further, don’t turn on Master Tempo if you don’t require it for a song, and close the related songs subpanel section.
Try switching the USB cable or USB port. Glitching could be a problem with the DDJ dropping the connection, possibly due to the power provided over the USB.
If that doesn’t work, try these other fixes we’re about to go through.
Turn off wifi, and Bluetooth, as well as spotlight indexing. Only have the bare minimum of programs you need on the laptop. Run a risk patch and restart the device.
Next, head to Rekordbox audio preferences and adjust the buffer size.
If it’s a crackling issue, 640 might be a bit too much, but even that could work.
When you increase the latency, the glitching will probably be minimal and bearable.
Solutions to Lagging Problems
It’s so annoying for Rekordbox users when the whole user interface starts lagging. For instance, waveforms are lazy, responsiveness is also slow, and you’re not able to set loops correctly.
When trying to play a track, sometimes it will be extremely delayed when you hit play and then just stop and continue being strangely wavy.
My friend had an issue with this and asked Pioneer for help. They advised him to turn off Intel Turbo, but that didn’t work. He switched over from his laptop to his gaming computer to check if his laptop couldn’t handle the software, but the same problem persisted.
It doesn’t have to be a problem with your computer’s specs, or the controller.
If you’re using the latest version of Rekordbox and thinking about downgrading to an older version, don’t! Try all the solutions in this article first.
- Ensure the video and lyrics functions are turned off in the settings.
- Run the test for missing files.
- Try leaving it working overnight or for a whole day – it may be analyzing songs.
- Don’t set the waveform speed on low. Set it on medium or high.
If nothing doesn’t work, back up your library (from the File menu – apply the setting without the tracks and backup your music independently), then uninstall and install Rekordbox again.
Does the new install begin overly consuming the CPU? If not, try restoring your library.
In the browser, try hiding the column that displays the preview waveforms. Irritating, but it will provide you with a whole bunch more performance. Additionally, setting it to the old RGB waveforms rather than the three-band ones benefits too.
Lastly, the simple solution that you could be missing. Head to audio settings and change the audio output from [the name of your controller] WASAPI to speakers.
Master Lagging, What to Do?
Not so long ago, I had a live set coming up, and before that, my Rekordbox had gone nuts.
It had been working flawlessly for a few years before that, and then suddenly, I had a lag with the Master in the speaker output (behind the cue and the waveform) by roughly a bar or such.
I was afraid that my DDJ had died and gone to DDJ heaven, and I’d have to try to repair it or replace it.
I’ve tried updating DDJ-1000 firmware, updating Rekordbox, working with an older version that I didn’t have problems with before, and replacing each cable, including USB and RCA, but nothing worked.
Normally, these problems arise from the DAC in the amp or (Bluetooth-enabled) speakers.
Here’s what helped me.
First, make sure that your controller is not plugged into the computer, but rather running directly through the speakers, as that could cause a delay.
Try using a separate laptop and modifying the buffer size (test all various sample sizes!).
If your speakers are Bluetooth, those are normally lagging even when connected with RCAs. See if there’s a delay also happening when cueing in your headphones.
Changing your amplifier to “source direct” mode will resolve the issue if you’re using an amp. The output will be quieter, but that’s less of a problem.
Freezing Issues
Sometimes Rekordbox works perfectly well at first, but after playing a few tracks, the waveforms will freeze every few seconds.
When Rekordbox freezes, the audio sounds fine, but it becomes hard to pick the next track.
If you’re running a laptop with really great specs, you can immediately exclude the system when detecting a problem.
When you’re having a problem with the browser freezing on Rekordbox 6, try turning off the ‘Preview’ and ‘Artwork’ sections in the browser view.
I managed to get my library working about as well as it did in the previous versions of Rekordbox by turning off those sections, at least while I’m in performance mode.
I utilize the preview a lot, and it is the single criticism I have regarding the Rekordbox.
It can also be a problem with the library. When your library is too big, while you scroll through the lists, Rekordbox will start freezing.
Scrolling all the way through all your very long lists will make Rekordbox load all the info and tags. Do this before starting to mix.
If nothing works, try disabling the turbo boost. It’s a strange setting in Windows that causes your CPU to try to work in overdrive. You just want to change a setting from 100% to 99%.
By default, the max CPU value is 100%, and Intel Turbo Boost kicks off when the processor enters 100% usage. If you set the max CPU value to 99%, the Turbo Boost technology is turned off.
Rekordbox Not Responding or Quits Unexpectedly
After a few hours of playing Rekordbox and having no problems, it will sometimes randomly stop working.
You get a ‘not responding’ note in the interface. You can then still use knobs, and faders, the current track still plays, but you can’t select any tracks or interact with the Rekordbox in any way.
Also, sometimes when you try to open the software, you’ll get a ‘quit unexpectedly’ error report, and it won’t open at all.
This issue can also happen when you’re streaming SoundCloud through Rekordbox.
If you just close the software, you’ll have to restart the computer to re-open it, but if you force close it with Task Manager, you can re-open it without trouble. But it’s better to solve the problem once and for all than always close and open Rekordbox.
In task manager, head to the services tab and find “Nahimic Service.” If it’s running, close it and re-open Rekordbox. This service is recognized to create problems with Rekordbox and has been a problem for users many times where Rekordbox would stop responding on launch.
If this doesn’t help, try the following:
- Decrease graphic levels in Rekordbox
- Remove any additional devices or adapters
- Try to put an older version of Rekordbox back (see if will it work better)
Another message that you can receive when you try to open Rekordbox is “unexpected application error.”
In that case:
- Uninstall Rekordbox. Reboot.
- Momentarily turn off any third-party protection software.
- Right-click on the Rekordbox installer on your computer and choose “Run as administrator.” Let the installer work till completion. Reboot.
If it’s resolved, then re-enable protection software one by one as required.