Where to set your Hot Cues?! 

Hey Luke, I just wanted to tell you how helpful, insightful and fantastic your vlogs are! You share so much amazing information and you are one of the most honest, helpful and best DJ's/Producers! I love your music and sets and wish you all the best in the future! Please keep up the great work Luke :)

Quarantine days brought me back here to improve my DJ skills ! Thank you!

I do exactly this as well. But then again i got the idea from you 2 years ago :-) I use different colours, but it just makes so much sense to do this. As long as you have your cue points set this way you dont even have to know the track that well. If you hit Yellow for example, you know you have the vocal section.

Well said Luke. The art of DJing or becoming an expert DJ does take lots of practice, searching for music old and new. Specifically learning to read a crowd weather its a nightclub, rave, bar, lounge, festival or renegade party. The skills of an expert DJ will develop over time as more people hear you play a musical journey that is carefully mixed, beat-matched, blended, faded, layered, processed and properly eq'd. Moreover becoming a expert DJ also means remembering to have fun. A expert DJ will not only sound amazing he will more often then not have a blast doing so.

I admire LL for his positivity and energy just as much as his music. Great shares !!

Thanks Luke!! I just got my DDJ 400 today and this video will help me so much

Love watching how other DJs use cue and hot cues for mixing. This is a great video because he shows you how he sets them with the context of other tracks and how he envisions mixing them. One thing I would recommend for DJs learning is to focus on mapping tracks out with cues first for navigation purposes and over time developing your hot cue game based on your own style. Never just blindly follow another DJS hot cue technique without staying true to your own style. Learn from them, don't emulate them.

As someone who just started out with dj'ing this helps out tremendously! Maybe you've already done this but an idea for a new vlog, you can explain how new dj's can get their first gigs and get their name out there. Thanks Lucas!

Useful tips there for speed mixing ! Creative way to set up hot cues. For normal mixing I will prob go for Intro,Vocal & 8 bars Instrumental hot cue for each track. But then again it can be a breakdown process if you have a large amount of tracks and when you spend hours of finding those tracks...

New subscriber here, new dj here. I'd be interested in your views of a 58 year old DJ :) . I just found your channel and I really appreciate this video that's 1.5 years old given that cue points, where to set them, and intro, chorus, outro sections are extremely important to learn. Consider me a blank slate with no preconceived ideas of how to DJ. My old school skills from over 30 years ago will help me to match beats by ear, but today's DJ is a complete show that blows away anything we could even conceive of attempting back then. I could share a ton of stories as to why today is better, but then again. I would just sound like an old "boomer". Keep up the great work and I plan on viewing more of your videos. I took up learning to DJ using modern equipment as a way to reconnect with my old friends (and new friends) in the music world. I just purchased a DDJ 800 to restart my hobby of reconnecting with music!

Luke, can you please do a vlog on organizing music library/crates?

Hello Luke thank you, I was happy to see that we set Hot cues in a similar manner and use the same colors with some of the same reasoning. This video gave some other ideas and I appreciate all that you share for those of use trying to make. Maybe I can give you a suggestion I use purple for my outro so I wouldnt get confused, maybe that can help but again thank you, I wish you had a techno label L's Up

i will use this to fix my cue point I am glad I found your videos😁

Took me a while to develop my own system by watching how others do it. I think over all consistency was key. I kept my methodology consistent with every song then it became second nature like a riding a bike!

I have gone through many DJ's online Mixing Techniques (Lessons), But the way you explain things, All beginner can understand easily. Thanks for Sharing Techniques.

Damn Luke please release some updated versions of your classics! That would be sick :)

Hey luke, Just started learning to DJ and while I have a musical background, like any new skill it takes time. But your videos are incredibly inspirational and helpful. Thanks for that :)

You mentioned, climax, count, drop, second break. Could you, please, make a video explaining the parts of the song?

No Joke, I unironically use this method on all my tracks to this day!

Hey Luke! Can you do a vlog where you explain how do you organize your crate/music file, thanks!

Thanks for yet another vlog. It's amazing that you take the time out to put this stuff out for free. I'm a House/Techno Dj, and always trying to fit in more mainstream EDM music into my sets, to diversify my sets, and also to demonstrate it's about the music, and doing away with genre wars. Lucky, I have found a couple of tracks from your latest Mixmash radio show, which will be on my next House/Techno podcast. Will be nice to see how Drumcode, Defected, and Mixmash sound together in one set :). Thanks LL. Kunal.

Could you do another video on how you utilize hot cues to shorten/skip portions of songs. And or how to drop mix?

Lukeee! You are my mentor! Loved the video, it helped me a lot! Thank you so much!

I like this, I needed this a year ago :D I personally color code more, like the 4 beats before the drop I code it Hot pink (or Purple if I were on engine prime) as it's close to red. I also differentiate the climax as Cyan. A dedicated color (in my case yellow but can do orange I guess) to warn I need to be careful using the hotcue, like if it's off beat or off bar or off phrase etc...

Knowing song structure over equipment functions all day thx big bro

Thanks for your videos Luke - I've just received my first controller (which your channel made me buy) and I'm beginning the DJ journey :D I really appreciate them and all of your knowledge that you are sharing with us!

Very informative and helpful. Thank you. There’s so many tutorials out there and this one was simple to follow and get into your head

Yes!

Luke!!!! Thanks I literally asked for this I think a few days ago on one of your old vids. This is a great foundation to go off of. Needed this thanks!

Hey Laidback Luke, TSAS here. Very helpful video. I loved this tip in mixing EDM, where you have a DROP (usually short) and jump to the OUTRO sequence of the song, using the Hot Cue, so the crowd keep on dancing. This way I avoid making unnecessary "edit" versions of the tracks. Thumbs up! Best.

hey Luke , u can also make a video on how to mix tracks using cue point :)

I've recently gotten into color coding my hot cues in a very similar way. Stuff I add are cool one shots (blue), kicks (purple), and snares (orange) for when I want to turn a track I to a finger drumming routine.

Heres another one you should do a vlog about is active loops for when the other track is running out and have a loop that is ready when you press play so its on the active loop

Thank you Luke for these tutorials! I was inspired to implement the same cue colors to understand what was going through your mind in your sets and once I saw how flexible it was, I've pretty much stuck with it since haha

Congrats on 15 years!!!!

Wow. Im glad I found this channel!

Literally just setting my cue points for a gig on the weekend and wanted some pointers so thought id check an old video on cue points and yours pops straight up, always a DJ life saver! :) Thanks Luke!

Wow wow!!! This is the best about Cue Points......Thank You much!

Keep up the good work Luke... been watching your videos for a while ... those cue points comes in really handy... i use them to skip long tracks & hit the breaks & outro points quick... im gonna change it up a bit to be more creative... Learning more in the production side of things myself... great videos...

I've tried to follow multiple DJs methods of cue points. What I've found is that the only system that matters is your own, because if your hot cues are not where you need or want them then they are of no use to you. There is merit to most systems, but unless your style doesn't match that system then you'll only be working against it. The most useful thing I took from this video, which isn't really mentioned, is the number of points. It's useful for certain performances to have a full set of cues so that you can juggle the track just the way you want. But are you really going to remember all 8 (or 16) points on all your tracks over time? It's more useful to know that, like Luke is suggesting, 1 is always the first break, 2 is first climax, and 3 is first drop. And so far, color coding points is not standard, and unless you're bringing your own gear (or you're far enough up the food chain to be able to demand something on your rider) there might not even be colors where you're playing. So even if all your drops are red, what good is it if they're all shown as green? Then again, you could just re-check all the points while cueing, if you have the time =) Most important thing: You do you and what works for you and make sure you have fun. And prepare for the eventuality that nothing works =)

Thanks Luke

Hey Luke!! Love your channel and your vlogs. Extremely helpful. What do you think about the new Denon DJ Prime 4?

Almost thought my Friday night was not gna be complete... 😮 LUKE!!!

"Snow disaster" in Finland is called Thursday. Sorry Luke , but that picture looked like normal winter day here :-). Thanks for this vlog anyway. This was good view how you handle those cues!

thank you very much your vlogs are amazing

Laidbackluke can you make a vlog how your organize your music library / preparation prior to Dj Set?

Nice and helpful video! Thank you so much

Awesome video. Just getting into the controller/digital aspect of DJ'ing have only been using vinyl for years so this is a whole new world.

Great insights as always. New enough that your tips here will force me to go back and change my cues... AGAIN :) but always enjoy learning new tricks, getting better, and moving forward, Thanks again! :)

Nice to see Symphonic Rock in LL library too :D

How about a video on how to mix in key using the prime series 🙏💥🎉

So sick! I love this guy. If you haven't been to one of his shows, its a must on your bucket list.

The most helpful tutorial as always is the case with most of your tutorials. Thanks a lot for sharing.

Sad that you had to postpone your show at echostage last friday! :( BUT! Looking forward to February 15!

I would love to see another video on this topic but more geared towards wedding and small event DJs who are playing mostly Top 40 and hip hop as those song structures are different than EDM.

hello Luke, when will you do a video of the new denon prime 4 controller???

Thanks Luke Now I am one step further in playing with music. Really helped me

Hey luke, thank you very much for your tutorials, we all appreciate so much the hours you put into this tutorials even though you are a very busy man. I would like to ask you a tutorial on sound distortion, since that has been my main drawback while playing my sets, (i am a amateur bedroom dj by the way)

Thanks laidback luke helps a lot love from the philippines

Congratulations on 15 years...Much success to you, Your business and everyone Involved, Keep up the the Good work and giving your insights, Much Appreciated.

Thank you

This was again a real amazing vlog. More kind like this. Dealing with cue points even if you can have more than four of them could be really messy. Congrats again for the best DJ/Producer vlog here on RU-vid.

Hoi Luke, ik heb recent je tutorials ontdekt, erg inspirend om te zien wat voor technieken jij gebruikt dank voor het delen 😁

Can't wait to get my first Denon Controller and start learning djing. This one will help 👍

Thank you for the great knowledge, Luke. Big love.

Hi Luke always watch your vlogs lots of respect..... any time will DENON let you play with the Denon prime 4 , looks amazing

One of best tutorial channels, keep up and ty alot! Can i send u one of my tracks. I really want to hear your feedback.

Hey laid back luke this video really help me understand how to set my hot cues for my mixes. Can you do a video on how to fix the beat grid of a song I found this out a couple months ago but don't really understand how its done it will be a big help thanks...

Love the content and advice you give the community enjoyed ur show in dc

Hey Luke when are you coming to South Africa again

Hahaha. Why didn’t you post this video last week? I swear I watched your transition video and Los Angeles video 50-100 times comparing the cues to how I set them as I was working on a mix. Thanks bro!

Really good video for explaining how to do hot cues.

Been catching up on all the vlogs and Luke, this one is GOLD! Very helpful! Thank you.

Hey Luke, I appreciate the knowledge. Your teaching style is on point. Keep it coming.

Nice! I would love to see a video on where you get all your music and how you get so much music without spending too much money?

Hope You keep up those informative videos!✌😊 They are so helpful!❤

sneak peak/Unbox/Overview the Denon DJ Prime 4 please! :)

I’ve been waiting for this one! Thank you Luke!

Who does your design for the covers for your tracks on your different labels

A few hours before you uploaded this video I searched if there is a video like this on your channel 😅😂

Fantastic vlog. Very insightful, very helpful. Thx!

Awesome tutorial! Thank you from Houston Texas!

REVIEW THE PRIME 4!!!!!

Your log s are very usefull . It improves my DJ skill

Lovin' that artwork on the back wall!

That's is a real info that I needed today! Thank you Very much

First of I’m sure many tutorials I’m about to watch from you learned a lot thank you 🙏

Super Helpful thanks for this tutorial :) Would you be able to do a video like this but on Eq, Master and Trim Levels on a mixer?

I love these videos so much! You are so awesome!

A trance in my mind 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Hi Luke, new to the world of DJing i came across this video and wanted to understand a couple of points. 1) You set the cue points right on the drop, does this mean you mix in from that point, or do you mix out. Up until seeing this video, I was setting a cue point 8-bars before the drop, to allow for beat matching and then bringing in the second tune. 2) Could you flip into dual deck mode (Denon prime) and show how you'd executed these songs using the cue points, again someone new to this world, seeing how these would work in anger would real help with my understanding.

Nice!!!

Wow I really like Engine Prime. I use Reckordbox with a Pinoeer XDJ-RX2. Curious to see if it will let me colorize/label cues. I think it'll do colors...? I spend a lot of time pre-processing my sets. I like your workflow/organization.

So helpful. Thank you.

I do something like this on my Nexus. Sadly, I only have 3 Hot Cue points that I can program on this particular unit. I always put them as A = bass drops, B = a breakdown, or acapella, and C = my Emergency Anti-Trainwreck Outro point.

it's word up. funky fresh to see a D.J. and "DEDIDCATE4D DAD" who is so professional as well as "LAID BACK" . it's a true testament to your D.J. handle but also just a person who gives back to the D.J. community. it's phenomenal and fantastic.. from your boy DEE-JAY FIFTY CAL- in Los Angeles CALIFORNIA. KEEP SPINNIN!!

Man good timing! I was doing exactly this in Engine Prime - prepping for the DJ Prime 4 :)

Grande. Luke !!! Excelente. Como usar los hot cue !!!

Thanks Luke, Exactly what i needed.

Love your tips, stay doing It!