Mixing decks that do the hard work for you

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.