Software

DJ and production software

The problem with software recommendations is that everything improves and gets re-released faster than a page like this can be kept current. Treat this as a starting point for research rather than the final word — and for a wider range than covered here, HitSquad is packed with audio software of every kind.

Several of the specific titles below (Cool Edit, NGWave, Final Scratch, Virtual Turntables, WINBPM) are long discontinued or renamed. They're kept here for historical reference, but check current alternatives before relying on any of these.

Audio editing

I mostly used a program called Cool Edit, later bought by Adobe and renamed Adobe Audition, for making CDs or tapes. Its main advantage: if you make a mistake late into a long recorded mix, you can re-record and drop in just the fixed section rather than redoing the whole thing (not something I'd recommend relying on, but useful under time pressure). It also has solid built-in effects, like a fully controllable flanger.

For a lighter alternative, NGWave covers similar ground to Audition at a fraction of the cost. ACID (Sonic Foundry) is another strong editor for WAV files, built around an arranger-style workflow that can auto-stretch tracks to a common BPM. GoldWave is smaller and lighter still, if less powerful.

Burning CDs

iTunes (or its modern equivalents) remains a solid, simple option for making MP3 CDs or Audio CDs with CD-Text, so CDJs can display track info. For a more dedicated burner, Nero is straightforward, and DART Pro adds vinyl pop/crackle cleanup on top.

Mixing with MP3/digital

Serato Scratch Live and Final Scratch both use timecoded vinyl or CDs to control digital audio — play, stop, or scratch the physical media and the digital file follows. My main hesitation with these back when this was written was purely practical: swapping into a club's existing setup mid-changeover without dropping the mix.

Traktor (Native Instruments) offers four input decks, a customisable mixer skin, and tight integration with Beatport. Ableton Live takes a different approach entirely — more of a sequencer than a deck emulator, using "warp markers" to handle beatmatching automatically, and used by DJs who lean into its creative, remix-on-the-fly workflow. PCDJ sits somewhere between the two, with several product tiers to choose from.

MP3 ripping

iTunes (set to MP3 320kbps rather than its default AAC) covers most needs. Dedicated alternatives include Audiograbber, WinDAC, and CD-DA Extractor.

Production

For making music rather than just playing it: Cakewalk, Cubase, Ableton, and Logic Pro are all worth investigating — and again, HitSquad covers sequencers, arrangers and drum machines in far more depth than fits here.

Web design

For anyone curious how this site itself gets built: earlier versions were made in a simple HTML editor called Arachnophilia, and later in Dreamweaver.