DJ Tool
Mix Timer
When do you have to start mixing in?
The tool — try it now
You're playing track A and want to mix in track B. This tool works out exactly when you have to start track B — based on the BPM and the intro length of track B.
What you learn with it
Planning the timing of transitions. A professional mix always starts at the beginning of a phrase — this tool helps you hit the right moment.
How to use the tool
Step 1: enter the BPM of the current track (track A)
Step 2: how long is the intro of track B? (choose 8, 16, 32 or 64 bars)
Step 3: press START exactly when track A reaches the start of a phrase
The timer shows: 'WAIT' → 'MIX IT IN NOW!' (yellow warning) → 'TOO LATE'
Goal: hit play on track B when the timer says 'MIX IT IN NOW!'
Most intro lengths are 16 or 32 bars. Look at the waveform in Rekordbox — the intro usually ends where the first drop visibly begins.
Common mistakes
Starting on the second rather than on the phrase. The arithmetically right moment is no use if it falls mid-bar.
Estimating the intro length instead of counting it once. Between sixteen and thirty-two bars lies almost half a minute.
Reusing the calculation after a tempo change. Every figure in seconds hangs off the tempo.
15–30 minutes
Take the time in one go — hearing and timing develop through repetition, not through reading.
You have it when you hit the start point on three transitions in a row without recalculating — and land on the start of a phrase each time.
Questions about this tool
How do I recognise the intro length of track B?
By the point where the music first becomes complete — usually bass and melody come in together there. In the waveform it is where the display visibly thickens. Count back from there to the start: almost always you land on sixteen or thirty-two bars.
Is starting too early bad?
Less bad than starting too late. Start early and two intros run alongside each other — thin, but not wrong. Start late and the end of track A meets the full entry of track B, and everything collides at once. When in doubt, one phrase earlier.
What if track A's outro is shorter than track B's intro?
Then the time does not stretch, and you have two options: leave earlier, fading track A out before its end, or skip track B's intro and come in further along. Both are common. What does not work is hoping it will fit — the bars are counted and they do not lie.
Do I have to work this out every time?
No, and that is the goal. The timer exists to build a sense of the order of magnitude: how long are thirty-two bars at your tempo, really? After a few dozen transitions you estimate that to within seconds, and then all you need is the start of the phrase.
Tool tried — what’s next?
“Using the outro of track A” is the matching lesson from phase 6: The First Clean Mix (8 lessons). The learning path builds on it: step by step, with comprehension checks and progress that is saved.
- —Progress, XP and streak are saved
- —12 phases from your first track to a club set
- —Free — no download, no payment details
The tools stay free to use without an account.
Embed this on your site
You're welcome to put this tool on your own site for free — blog, forum, course page, anywhere. Copy the code and paste it where the tool should appear.
The one condition: keep the credit line below the frame. That line is the part that points back to DJLearn — without it your page has a free tool and we have nothing.
<iframe src="https://djlearn.de/en/embed/mix-timer"
title="Mix Timer — free DJ tool by DJLearn"
width="100%" height="540" loading="lazy"
style="border:0;width:100%;max-width:480px"
referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin"></iframe>
<p style="font:13px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;margin:8px 0">
<a href="https://djlearn.de/en/tools/mix-timer?utm_source=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mix Timer</a>
— free DJ tool by <a href="https://djlearn.de/en?utm_source=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DJLearn</a>
</p>Where to learn this
Recording a mixtape