Template DJ set with hot cues
By The Cue Club. rekordbox and CDJ hot-cue details checked 3 November 2026.
A hot-cue template is a repeatable meaning for each rekordbox pad, used the same way on every track in a set. Pad A is always the same kind of point, so you are not re-learning the song on stage. rekordbox does not ship an official club or wedding colour scheme. The A-to-H map below is one common working approach. A Cue Club set arrives with the pads already filled. Import it and the cue map shows up straight off another DJ's USB.
How The Cue Club works
The download is the music and the hot cues. Our software packs them so the import feels like the set came straight off another DJ's USB. Their pads, not a blank template you still have to draw.
With the cues comes a file of mixing codes. They say the handoff out loud. The sort of line you get is the colour chart in a sentence: bring the new track in on its A cue when deck 1 reaches its D cue. A is your start. D is your exit. The rest of the pads are there when you want them.
If you already cue this way and the music is yours to sell, put the set on the sell page. To play someone else's map first, browse the sets.
What rekordbox actually gives you
A hot cue is a saved point you can jump to and play straight away. The rekordbox 7.1.4 manual describes two limits. In PERFORMANCE mode you can store up to 16 per track, on pads A to P. In the HOT CUE panel used while preparing a library, the same manual describes pads A to H, up to 8 per track, and says the number you can call up on DJ equipment depends on the equipment. With quantize on, a new cue snaps to the nearest beat grid. If you click during a loop, rekordbox stores that loop.
Right-click a pad to type a comment and change its colour. In the CDJ hot-cue colour mode, a normal cue shows green and a loop shows amber (the manual also says orange for a loop saved from loop playback). Other display modes, COLD1, COLD2 and COLORFUL, are a preference named HOT CUE color. Those modes change how pads are painted. They are not a map of intro and drop.
The CDJ-3000X manual says that player stores up to eight hot cues, on buttons A to H, and that you change the colours in rekordbox. Intelligent Cue Creation in rekordbox can set up to 16, and it depends on your plan. For a USB you will play on a CDJ-style player, build the template on A to H. Extra pads may not appear on the gear.
Memory cues are a separate marker. The template people mean, when they say a cued set, is the pads.
One common A-to-H scheme
This is a working habit used so every track in a playlist answers the same question: where do I start, where is the drop, where do I leave. It is not an AlphaTheta preset. Set the colours yourself. The names in the comment column are what you might type on the pad.
| Pad | Job | Example colour | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | First beat you want to start from. Often the first beat of the intro. | Green | Intro |
| B | End of the intro, where the groove is established. | Blue | Groove |
| C | First drop, or the first main section if the track has no drop. | Red | Drop |
| D | A breakdown, or any point where the energy dips and you might swap. | Orange | Break |
| E | Second drop or the loudest section. | Lemon | Peak |
| F | Last comfortable mix-out, often while the outgoing track still has a phrase left. | Turquoise | Mix out |
| G | First beat of the outro. | Violet | Outro |
| H | A saved loop, for when you need four or eight bars again. | Rose | Loop |
Skip a pad rather than forcing a meaning the track does not have. A track with no breakdown does not need D. A loop on H is only useful if the loop is in time. Quantize helps. Your ear still checks it.
If you only do three, do A, C and F. Start, drop, leave. The rest can wait. That smaller set is also enough while you are learning to mix.
Set them yourself
- Import the track and check the beat grid. A cue on a wrong grid is a cue in the wrong place once quantize is on.
- Play or pause at the point you care about.
- Click the pad (A, then C, then F, if you are starting small).
- Right-click the pad. Type the comment. Pick a colour and keep that colour for that job on every track in the playlist.
- Hit the pad from somewhere else in the track. It should jump there and play. If it jumps late, the grid or the cue is off.
- For a loop on H, start a loop you are happy with, then save that loop to the pad. The manual shows a loop saved this way in orange.
Import a pack that is already cued
A Cue Club download is a zip: the audio files, plus a rekordbox.xml that already holds hot cues, beat grids and playlists. You are not required to use the colour scheme above. You get the cues the selling DJ already saved.
- Unzip the download and keep the audio next to the xml, in a folder you will not rename later.
- In rekordbox, Preferences, View, Layout: tick rekordbox xml under Media Browser. The 7.1.4 manual lists this checkbox.
- Preferences, Advanced, Database: set Imported Library to the rekordbox.xml. The Cue Club's own steps say to use Browse on that tab.
- If the tree does not appear, restart rekordbox, then expand rekordbox xml on the left.
- Open Playlists under that tree and drag the playlist onto your own Playlists. The manual describes that drag as the import.
- Load a track and look at A to H. The pads should already be filled. Read the comments before you assume they match the table above. Another DJ's habit may differ. Play the cue before you trust it on a job.
To take the same playlist to a player, transfer it to a USB from Devices in the rekordbox tree. AlphaTheta's USB export guide covers the library formats on the stick. Hot Cue A to H on the tracks is what a CDJ-style player calls back up.
FAQ
What is a hot-cue template?
A repeatable meaning for each Hot Cue pad, used on every track in a set. Pad A is always the same kind of point, so you are not re-learning the track in the booth.
Does rekordbox have an official hot-cue colour scheme?
No. You colour each pad yourself. The CDJ display mode shows a cue in green and a loop in amber. The A-to-H map on this page is one common working approach, not an AlphaTheta preset.
How many hot cues should a USB template use?
Eight, labelled A to H, when the set will be played on a CDJ-style player. A CDJ-3000X has eight hot-cue buttons. rekordbox PERFORMANCE mode can store up to 16, on pads A to P, and a player may not show the extras.
What is the difference between a hot cue and a memory cue?
A hot cue is a pad you hit to jump there and play. A memory cue is a separate stored marker. A hot-cue template is about the pads.
How do I import a Cue Club set?
Unzip it, point rekordbox's Imported Library at the rekordbox.xml, then drag the playlist into your own playlists. The steps are on this page.
Do I still need the right to the music?
Yes. The files need to be ones the seller is allowed to distribute, and ones you are allowed to play. The Cue Club's terms say sellers may only list original music and licensed tracks. Importing a pack does not license other music you add yourself.
Does a set pack include the music?
Yes. You get the tracks and the hot cues, plus a file of mixing codes that names the handoff. One code is as direct as: bring the new track in on its A cue when deck 1 hits its D cue.
Can I sell my own DJ sets?
Yes. DJs upload their own sets and sell them on The Cue Club. Open the sell page to list one. Sellers may only list original music and licensed tracks.
Get a set with the cues done
Browse sets on The Cue Club, or start from a genre. If the cue map is yours, sell the set. What you are skipping, compared with cueing a library yourself, is set out in building a DJ library.
Sources checked 3 November 2026: rekordbox 7.1.4 instruction manual, the CDJ-3000X hot-cue page, AlphaTheta's plan comparison, and the USB export guide. The colour table is an example, not a product of AlphaTheta or of The Cue Club.