Looking like a classic DJ set-up, with a mixer and two decks, Virtual DJ will be instantly accessible to DJs and newcomers alike.

Features

You can sample and loop tracks live, add effects, and there's a very natural-feeling scratch mode. For the adventurous, there's a lot you can add to your mixes with Virtual DJ.

Usability

Quality

Virtual DJ is accessible to beginners and packed with extra features. The downside of the software is that it sticks too much to what a physical DJ setup is - other programs offer four decks and more user-friendly interfaces - small knobs may be great for your fingers, but they're less use on a screen.

Conclusion

Download Virtual DJ Free Home Edition 7.4 in Softonic

Mixxx is a free open source DJ app that allows you to mix your MP3 collection together, for parties, clubs or just for fun.

Installation is simple, all you have to do is specify your music library (you can add other later if you want). Mixxx will then import your collection, which may take a few minutes if you have lots of files, but it will only do this once.

Mixxx's interface might be a bit intimidating for beginners, but if you're eager to learn, it's not difficult to get the hang of it. There are two channels, and you load tracks into them with a right click. Each channel has its own controls, from play and pause to tone control. In the center are the global controls, with volume, balance and most importantly the cross-fader which allows you to mix between the two channels. The music waveforms are arranged one on top of the other, like Virtual DJ, which can make beat matching easier.

Mixxx is controlled either with the mouse or hot keys, which are specified in the included manual. In terms of help for beginners, each channel has a "sync" button, which will attempt to synchronize the BPM (beats per minute) of one track with another. The user still has to start the track in time with the other one, so Mixxx won't do the mixing for you!

Mixxx is a solid DJing application, with good BPM estimation, and controls that are easy to pick up for anyone who's seen a mixer before, and intuitive enough for a beginner to learn.

Download Mixxx 1.10.1 in Softonic

If you're looking for something a little bit more intuitive when it comes to building playlists for iTunes and your iPod then you might be impressed with that beaTunes can do.

beaTunes works by analyzing the songs in your existing iTunes library and then correcting discrepancies such as double entries, incorrectly labeled songs and artists, misplaced genres and much more. When you run the library inspector on startup, it will display the errors or problems it has found and then ask you how many of them you'd like to correct. In the trial version, you can't make any corrections but you can see what's wrong with your collection.

beaTunes can also auto organize playlists by such things as genre, rating and even beats per minute. It could be regarded as a virtual DJ although as with all apps like these, some of the suggestions and mixes it will make will inevitably be a bit dodgy. beaTunes goes beyond what you've got installed on your Mac though, and interacts with both the iTunes store and Amazon database. This allows you to discover albums related to your music that you might not have heard or just follow the Amazon charts. The Amazon charts take a little while to load but you're presented with a thumbnail of each album currently in it plus you can divide the charts into genres too.

beaTunes is a nice little application that could help clean up your iTunes collection and introduce you to new music.

Download beaTunes 3.5.7 in Softonic

Whether you want to rock your bedroom or the club, Traktor Pro is a very complete program that does pretty much everything you might want. It's highly configurable, which makes it very flexible but also pretty inaccessible to beginners. There is extensive documentation for Traktor Pro, but even that is pretty scary!

As well as controlling external sources, Traktor Pro allows you to mix from your computer on up to four decks at once. Importing your music library is really simple, and it works with iTunes libraries too. Tracks are analyzed when loaded into a deck, and appear as a wave form that can be moved with the mouse, alongside the beats per minute (BPM) and much more information. Traktor Pro is pretty accurate when it comes to finding BPMs, but if it is wrong, you can set them manually.

All the usual mixing tools are present, with pitch control, crossfader effects, and levels. There is extensive hotkey mapping, which is fully configurable, but takes a lot of time to do. Once you get used to Traktor Pro, it reveals itself as an incredible DJ tool. With some practice you'll be able to create fantastic mixes, which you can record from within the program.

Traktor Pro is an excellent and incredibly powerful DJ application with a steep learning curve that is worth climbing.

Download Traktor Pro 2.5.1 in Softonic

Highlights of the program:

* Delivers professional sound with crossfading, gap killer, beat matching, volume normalization and 5-band compressor/limiter
* Smartly handles large media libraries - sorting them into easy-to-manage categories
* Advanced playlist rotation logic and scheduling will make your station sound professional - even if you are not in front of your computer
* Advanced streaming encoders - able to encode MP3, mp3PRO, WM9 and Ogg
* Support for all major streaming servers, including SHOUTcast, Live365, IceCast, Windows Media and P2P Streamer
* View statistics in real-time: know how many listeners are connected at any time
* Interfaces directly with your website to allow automated song requests and improve the experience of your listeners by providing them with Artist, Title, Album, Cover art and other information on songs being played
* Generate additional revenue with Buy CD links

Download SAM Broadcaster SAM Broadcaster in Softonic

Interface

With a clear, light grey interface, CrossDJ Free looks good. There are two decks, with waveforms displayed for each. Above the decks both waveforms are shown together, so you can easily see how beats match up. There are quite a lot of controls squeezed into CrossDJ Free's interface, but they are all useful. Each deck has cue and play controls, and you can save up to six play locators for each track.

Beats per minute are automatically calculated, and can be changed if incorrect. We found the beat detection to be as good as most mixing apps - when CrossDJ Free sets the wrong first beat of a bar, it's really easy to correct too. Controls are mapped to your keyboard, although in this version you cannot edit them yourself. This version doesn't allow recording or the use of midi controllers.

Great for beginners

Download CrossDJ Free 1.7.1 in Softonic

If you're serious about creating and recording your own songs and tracks, MAGIX Music Maker is not a bad place to start.

It includes sounds, a drum machine, synthesizer and more. With a microphone, you can import your recorded sounds too, like vocals or live instruments, to mix with your digital creations too. MAGIX Music Maker also features midi support.

The interface in MAGIX Music Maker is a little scary to start with, and novices will probably have some trouble getting into it. There are help files, and online video too, but currently they're not developed enough. Nevertheless, MAGIX Music Maker is fun to play around with.

You can quite easily get a drum beat going, and add some strange noises to it. Altering sounds is easy, as there are a variety of effects you can add. The more you explore, the more possibilities open up in MAGIX Music Maker. The problem with all of this is lack of explanation. It's a shame the demo doesn't come with preloaded examples and proper tutorials, as you are left to just mess around by yourself.

If you're looking for an in depth music maker, MAGIX Music Maker could be the answer, as it does almost everything the bedroom producer might want. Novices might find it frustrating though.

Download MAGIX Music Maker MX in Softonic

BPM Studio is a popular choice among Softonic users which might be down to the wealth of possibilities available in this music mixer. This application will allow you to read, edit, mix, encode and write your tracks with precision.

DJs and music fans alike will appreciate the hardware look of the interface and the inclusion of all the essential buttons and functions expected in a professional mixer. It’s very easy to switch between the 3 different views: lists, mixer and ripper, streamlining your music creation process without disruptions.

Thankfully BPM Studio Pro integrates an explorer view of your music library, for quick dragging and dropping of the tracks you need. Although the application only comes with 30 original sounds and tracks you can effortlessly add all the sound you need. The program keeps a record of the tracks you searched for and the play lists you created for quick access. You can use the search function to quickly find tracks in library.

Over to the editing functions, BPM Studio lets you set up to 6 different cue points in an individual track. The sample player is nestled between the two track modules and features a sample editor to modify saved sounds. Use the wave editing view to edit more precisely.

BPM Studio also diversifies your cross fading possibilities. You can manually switch from one track to the other, let the program do it automatically or set the track lines yourself. While this last option is the most enjoyable, it’s also the least precise of the three.

On the downside, while BPM Studio is studded with options for editing, mixing and writing, the interface often feels stuffy and overloaded and it can become difficult to read functions or drag counter switches. The equalizer for example is very complete and even offers a graphic view, yet there is no numerical indication of the changes you are making.

The audio presets are limited to 5 (lounge, DJ, party, office, radio) vague choices. We also believe that with only 30 sounds and tracks pre-included in the program, BPM Studio doesn’t have a rich enough library of sounds. However this is very subjective and it’s quite possible that you will be happy with this collection of tracks and sounds.

While there are some drawbacks to this application, we consider BPM Studio a solid application for anyone serious about mixing tracks. The interface is well structured and all your tracks, edits and functions are accessible. The extensive editing possibilities will open you up to hours of track tweaking and polishing.

Download BPM Studio Pro 4.9.94 in Softonic

The interface of DJ Mixer Pro is similar to other DJ apps like Traktor, with two 'decks' where your tracks play, a series of controls similar to that of a physical mixer all sitting on a file tree and music library. While it is superficially similar, DJ Mixer Pro's dark interface is much less clear and more cluttered than the competition. When compared to Traktor or Mixxx, DJ Mixer Pro looks old fashioned.

In terms of basic functionality, DJ Mixer Pro is good. The BPM detection works well, as does the sync feature. There is an auto-mix button, but strangely this doesn't automatically sync beats, making it little use! You'll find a crossfader, pitch controls and levels, and they all work fine, but are simply not as user friendly as those of other programs.

Over all, DJ Mixer Pro is a perfectly workable DJ mixing application that fails simply by not being up to the standards of either the free or paid competing software.

Download DJ Mixer Pro 2.0.3 in Softonic

Perhaps the main asset of DSS DJ though, is its beat-matching function, which syncs tracks with the click of a button. The auto-DJ option is also very effective, and ideal for taking breathers from a hectic session at the digital decks.

Download DSS DJ 5.6 in Softonic

Being a DJ nowadays doesn't mean you have to have all the right equipment. Mixing can be done simply with a computer and some virtual mixing decks like FutureDecks Lite.

That doesn't necessarily mean you're going to be a good DJ though but FutureDecks makes it as easy as possible with features such as beat-matching and beat-aware loops that may have listeners wondering if you were born to spin the wheels of steel.

In fact, for the tone/beat deaf out there, FutureDecks actually mixes everything automatically if you want it to although don't expect brilliant results - the mixer applies a strict BPM matching policy which means completely different genres can be bizarrely mixed into one another. There are however lots of cool effects to keep you occupied however including the possibility to scratch records, reverse play them and of course, change the pitch.
To cue-up your next track, you'll need a pair of headphones plugged in as you can listen to the two decks over separate channels.

The layout of FutureDecks is a little intimidating at first. The developers could have done with stripping it down a bit to cater for beginners as it's aimed more at intermediate to advanced users as it is. Learning how to use it is largely a case of trail and error as there are no on screen tips to get you going or even a Help file. The preferences relate either to general settings or specific audio details and are not particularly extensive.

If you really feel lost when it comes to Djing, FutureDecks does at least allow the option of auto-mixing your playlists so you can sit back and enjoy the party. Just be sure to keep an eye on it.

Download FutureDecks Lite 1.5.1 in Softonic

Pistonsoft BPM Detector analyses your MP3 collection to determinate the bitrates of each song. Beats per minute (BPM) is a unit typically used as either a measure of tempo in music, or a measure of one's heart rate. A rate of 60 BPM means that one beat will occur every second. The idea is that, the higher BPM a song has, the faster it should be. Hip-hop typically uses a BPM tempo of 80-100, while house music is faster: 110-140 BPM. Jungle music goes even faster: 160-185. Gabba and Speedcore exceed 200 BPM.

This information should come handy, not only to DJs having to choose the right song on the fly but also to home users. They may want in fact to play slow songs after coming back home from a tiring day, or they may prefer something more energetic as the soundtrack for their spring cleaning!

The program automatically analyses selected files and saves the beat per minute information to the music file's ID3 tag so that you'll be able to know the song's BPM with every player you use. I'm not sure about the efficiency of BPM in order to decide what a fast or a slow music is though. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, for example, had a BPM rate of zero while Quien Fuera by Silvio Rodriguez received a rating of 150.75. Personally, I would use the latter for relaxing moments and the former when I need to listen to something faster.

The idea of an application that can understand the type of songs we have and classify them accordingly is great but I don't think we have achieved that level with this application.

Download Pistonsoft BPM Detector 1.0 in Softonic

I have a confession to make - when I see an audio mixing program to review, I usually try to pass it on to someone else. They're just so complicated, especially for a tone-deaf writer like me! When I saw trakAxPC, however, I noticed that it is supposed to be especially suitable for beginners. This has to be the one for me, right?!

Well, trakAxPC might just have cracked it. This application is very user-friendly, which is half the battle. The whole interface can be customized, from the position and size of the panels, to which elements show up when you are using the application. Even managing your tracks is simple, with drag and drop capabilities and extensive context menu options. trakAxPC also comes with a great selection of online videos, tutorials, guides and help, so you'll have plenty of support if it is your first venture into the world of audio mixing.

Even though the program is especially suitable for beginners, that doesn't mean that it's a soft option - trakAxPC has all the audio (and video) editing options you would expect, although the effects don't quite stretch to the same levels as some editing apps aimed at more advanced users. Even so, trakAxPC allows you to do all the cutting, copying, mixing and synching that you would expect in any other editing program.

trakAxPC provides a gentle but professional gateway to the world of audio and video editing.

Download TrakAxPC 3.01.1 in Softonic

MobileDJ PRO is a powerful, easy-to-use DJ software application for mixing live audio and video! MobileDJ PRO's innovative tool set includes; advanced video mixing, mixpoint detection, auto & user defined cross fade control, beat matching, manual & auto bpm counter, quick media search, volume normalization and many other great features that will help you maximize each and every performance!

MobileDJ PRO has been designed to make the life of a mobile disc jockey easier and to provide DJ's with a stable, inexpensive, and helpful piece of software that can be relied upon. This software is very feature rich and as a result the user interface may seem complex at first. Once you become familiar with the interface you will see how user friendly and intuitive it really is. The user interface is set up in a manner to allow for maximum efficiency for the mobile disc jockey.

Download Mobile DJ PRO 1.0.4 in Softonic

AtomixMP3, the best MP3 DJ mix software now available, was developed to make the technical aspect of DJing literally as simple as clicking a mouse. Atomix Productions has excellent news for you: all you need now to mix music is a regular computer.

AtomixMP3 provides you with the usual 2 track MP3 player, pitch control, crossfader, BPM counter, you've probably already come across if you're familiar with DJ mix softwares.

What sets our software in a class of its own is its revolutionary one click BPM beat matching. You can now forget about desperately trying to match the beats of the MP3s you want to mix! AtomixMP3's sorted it all out, for your own pleasure and fun.

If you choose to match the beats manually, our visual mix tool will help you by displaying curves, the motion of which follows the beats of your song. You can also automatically run and mix a complete playlist of thousands of songs for all night long hand-free parties.

That's not it. If you'd rather use your own mixing desk and have AtomixMP3 match the beats for you, it's not a problem, for our software supports a dual soundcard output. With AtomixMP3, you've also got the exclusive possibility of recording your mix sessions directly into ready-to-be-burnt-to-CDs WAV files. Plus, you can broadcast your live performance on the net.

Download AtomixMP3 2.3 in Softonic

MixMeister Express is a powerful tool that you can use to create a professional-sounding mix from your music files with minimum effort. Express is used every day by dance music fans, party DJs, fitness instructors and choreographers who want to "let the computer do the hard parts" and make their own mix CD in minutes.

One of the secrets to creating a great mix CD is getting the overlap between songs just right. MixMeister Express greatly simplifies this process by automatically calculating how to beat mix between songs. You can use the one-click transition settings as a starting point for your creation, or, if you're a more advanced user, you'll be able to add your own tweaks and touches.

With MixMeister Express, it’s easy to make a song faster or slower to achieve the exact tempo you want. Whether you're creating a mix for a dance floor or a group fitness class, you can adjust the beats per minute to heat people up or cool them down.

If you're throwing a party, you can give MixMeister the job of spinning the tunes. You can even prepare some of the mix in advance, and change it on the fly. MixMeister Express also has integrated CD burning capabilities, so creating your own mix CD is a snap.

Take it with you. You can bring your mix along wherever you go, by exporting your creation to leading portable audio players, including iPod, Rio, iRiver, Creative Labs, Philips, Samsung, and other models which support playback or conversion of WMA files.

Download MixMeister Express 6 in Softonic