The Difference Between Hot Cues and Memory Cues

Browse topics show

What is a Hot Cue?

A hot cue is a marker you can lay down at any given time within a track, when you press the hot cue the software will jump straight to this marker and play from that point. It’s like having up to 8 additional cue buttons for each track that you can name and customise with colour. You can save loops to hot cue pads, skipping to the desired beat and activating the loop when you press the hot cue.

What is a Memory Cue?

Memory cues are points in a song that are useful to work from. Stored in chronological order, you can skip through the track with ease to points of interest and then set a normal cue point and play as usual. You also have the ability to store loops on memory cues and chose to turn them active, meaning they will automatically activate when the track reaches that point.

How to use a Hot Cue

Adding hot cues couldn’t be simpler and works pretty much the same in every DJ software. Simply find the place in a song you’d like to place the hot cue, then press a blank hot cue either on the screen or on a pad if you are using a controller. If you are unhappy with a certain hot cue you can delete it by either holding shift and press the pad or by clicking the little X icon in the corner of the hot cue on screen.

How To Use a Memory Cue

To add a memory cue, scroll to the part of the track you would like to add a memory cue on press cue. Then press shift and the right arrow. This will then store the memory cue into the bank, these automatically organise in chronological order. To add a loop first create a loop and then press shift and right again to add it into the bank. To make the loop automatically trigger (active), press shift and exit loop button.

When to use a Memory Cue over a Hot Cue

Memory cues can only be used when the track is paused, meaning they are a useful tool to skip large chunks of tracks out. Creating shorter versions of tracks by skipping sections out is easier with memory cues, as is creating helpful loops that automatically activate.

When to use a Hot Cue over a Memory Cue

Hot Cues can be used much like memory cues, however with the ability to activate them at any point. For this reason hot cues act more of a performance feature than helpful tool. Stabbing melodic notes of a track or triggering vocal loops is only achievable with hot cues. By using memory cues properly we can leave more hot cues free to use in performance situations.

Video Tutorial

Want To Learn More About DJing With Rekordbox?

Below are a selection of our dedicated industry-certified Rekordbox DJ courses! But you can take your learning so much further!

Jump on to our Complete DJ Package and get skilled up on practically any DJ equipment or software, with personalised ongoing support, for life!

With access to our entire DJ course and bonus content catalogue, you can learn at your own pace. And come back time and time again to build on your skills and acquire more, keeping your game fresh!

All subscription-free, for a one-off fee! And we’re so confident you’ll be mixing like never before, we’ve also included a no questions asked, money-back guarantee!