How to Find Seamless Loops Automatically (Rekordbox, Serato, Traktor)

Step by step

1. 1

   Turn on loop detection

   Open MixGoat → Prepare → Cues & Loops, add the tracks, and switch on "Detect loops". If you only want loops, switch off "Detect cues" (the help text reads "Off = loops only"). Quit Rekordbox, Traktor or VirtualDJ before saving; Serato can stay open because its loops are stored in the files.

2. 2

   Pick loop lengths and a focus

   The Loop lengths chips are 4, 8, 16 and 32 bars; at least one is always selected. Loop focus decides what the detector rewards: Grooves favours steady beat sections you can ride under a mix, Drops favours the high-energy sections, Balanced weighs both. Loop sensitivity (Generous, Balanced, Strict) trims the list to the loops the detector is most sure about.

3. 3

   Set how many loops and keep them on the grid

   Max loops runs 1 to 8, default 6. Keep "Snap loops to the beat grid" on: it keeps loop edges on bar lines so the loop repeats without a stutter. Loops occupy their own slots, separate from cues, and each slot has a fixed colour (green, aqua, blue, purple, pink, orange, yellow, red).

4. 4

   Decide how loops share Rekordbox's pads

   Rekordbox has one bank of 8 pads for cues and loops together. "Loops on Rekordbox pads" offers Spare pads (cues take pads first, loops get what is left), Memory only (loops always become memory loops, recalled with CUE/LOOP CALL on a CDJ) and Pads first (loops win the pads). Extras are never lost; they become memory cues or loops. This setting only affects Rekordbox.

5. 5

   Optionally arm an Active Loop

   "Auto Active Loop (last loop)" marks the final loop of each track as Rekordbox's Active Loop, which a CDJ engages by itself when playback reaches it so the track never runs out under you. Rekordbox allows one per track; picking a loop manually in the editor overrides the automatic choice.

6. 6

   Review, then save

   Detection is free and shows each loop with its name and length, for example "Drop 8 bars" or "Groove 32 bars". Delete any you would not use. Save (GOAT) writes Rekordbox loops to master.db (rekordbox.xml with a .bak as the fallback), Serato loops as Markers2 tags in the audio files, Traktor loops to collection.nml and VirtualDJ loops to database.xml, both backed up to .bak first.

How bar-aware loop detection works

A loop only sounds seamless if its last beat leads back into its first the way the original music did. MixGoat's detector starts from structural boundaries in the track, then, for each candidate loop length, compares the audio inside the window with the audio that follows it. A window whose content tiles against its neighbour scores high; a window that cuts across a fill or a chord change scores low. The best-scoring length wins, with a preference between equally good lengths, and the edges are snapped to the beat grid.

The name comes from the energy step across the boundary: a jump into a loud section is a Drop, a fall into a quiet one is a Break, a steady beat is a Groove, the start and end of the track are Intro and Outro, and anything else is a Section or a plain Loop. That is why the loops carry kinds while MixGoat's cue points do not.

How the saved loops behave in each DJ app

Rekordbox: loops land as saved loops on hot-cue pads or as memory loops depending on the pad setting above, plus at most one Active Loop per track. Serato: saved loops have their own 8 slots, separate from the 8 hot-cue slots, and are read from the file tags the moment the track loads. Traktor: a loop is a cue of type loop and shares Traktor's single bank of 8 hotcue slots with the cues, so eight cues plus eight loops will not all fit on pads. VirtualDJ: loops are loop POIs with a slot number and appear once the track is first played after the write.

Making a seamless loop by hand

Confirm the beat grid first; a loop snapped to a wrong grid drifts on every pass. Then follow this order:

• Loop in on a phrase boundary, which in most dance music is every 8 or 16 bars from the first downbeat.
• Choose 8 or 16 bars. 4 bars gets repetitive fast; 32 bars is for long intros and outros.
• Let it wrap two or three times and listen for the downbeat. A late or early kick on the wrap means an edge is off the grid.
• Avoid windows containing a fill, a riser or a vocal phrase that does not resolve inside the loop.
• Save it and give it a name that says what it is for, such as "Intro 16" or "Groove 8".

Frequently asked questions

Can Rekordbox, Serato or Traktor find loops automatically?

They can set an auto-loop of a chosen length at the current position, but none of them scans a track for the sections that loop cleanly or saves them for you. A detector does the scanning; the DJ app stores the result.

Is loop detection free?

In MixGoat, detection and review are free on every plan. Saving the loops into Rekordbox, Serato, Traktor or VirtualDJ is the GOAT step.

What does "Groove 16 bars" mean?

Groove is the loop's kind (a steady beat section) and 16 bars is its length. The other kinds are Intro, Outro, Drop, Break, Section and Loop.

Why are some of my loops memory loops instead of pads in Rekordbox?

Rekordbox shares 8 pads between cues and loops. With "Spare pads" the cues are placed first and loops fill what is left; the rest become memory loops you recall with CUE/LOOP CALL. Choose "Pads first" if loops matter more to you.

Does the loop end land exactly on the bar?

With "Snap loops to the beat grid" on, both edges sit on bar lines of the track's beat grid. If the grid itself is wrong, fix the grid in your DJ app first; the loop is only as accurate as the grid it snaps to.