What Is a DJ Intro Edit?

An intro edit is a version of a track that starts with a section made for mixing: a few bars where the beat is already running, but the vocals and main melody haven’t started yet. Many intro edits also get a matching outro at the end.

Why DJs need intro edits

Many tracks – especially radio edits – start with vocals or the full arrangement from the first second. That causes two problems in a mix:

• No time to blend. While the previous track is still playing, the new one should ideally contribute only rhythm. If it starts with vocals, two voices overlap.
• No room to adjust. Beatmatching and EQ-ing take a few bars. Without an intro you have to cut in hard.

An intro of beat-only bars solves both: you mix in over the rhythm, and the track “really” begins when the previous one is gone.

How an intro edit is built

An intro is usually made from material that already exists in the track:

1. Pick a section where the rhythm is clean – often a few bars of drums (and bass) from somewhere in the song.
2. Loop it for a whole number of bars, typically so that the intro is 8, 16 or 32 bars long.
3. Place it before the start of the original track, so the first beat of the song lands exactly on the first beat of a new bar.

If parts of the song contain vocals, they can be removed by choosing a vocal-free section – or, with stem separation, by keeping only the drums and bass.

What makes a good intro

• Bar-accurate: loops start and end exactly on the beat. Even a few milliseconds of offset cause audible flams.
• Phrase-aligned: the length is a multiple of the phrase (usually 8 bars), so the drop lands where a DJ expects it.
• Consistent level: the intro shouldn’t be noticeably louder or quieter than the track.
• No surprises: no vocal snippets or melody fragments that clash with the outgoing track.

A note on rights

Making edits for your own sets is common practice. Publishing or distributing edits of tracks you don’t own usually requires permission from the rights holders.

Building intro edits with DJsExtended

DJsExtended is a macOS app built exactly for this: you pick a loop source, set the length in bars, choose whether the intro uses the full mix or individual stems, preview the transition and export a new MP3 – your original file stays untouched.