When Mixed In Key 11 launched with its new, more expensive Pro version, we ultimately concluded it didn’t have enough features to be hugely useful to us and our students. The software was designed to help DJs quickly spot tunes that might mix well together or be useful in mashups. However, without the ability to shift keys or isolate vocals and instrumentals for testing, the app felt quite limited.
This was a shame, because the core concept – quickly loading tracks onto a pair of decks to find complementary music – is something DJs have done intuitively for decades.
The game-changing update
Mixed In Key has clearly been listening to feedback. The company has quietly released a free update for all Mixed In Key 11 Pro owners that addresses these exact limitations:
- Key shifting: You can now shift the key of either track on the twin decks
- Stem isolation: Quickly switch any track to either its acapella or instrumental version
- Export functionality: Export stems as audio files in your chosen keys
These additions make spotting mashups significantly easier. (Though we’d love to see one more refinement: when you switch one deck to acapella, the other should automatically switch to instrumental!)
Get our course: How To Mix With Acapellas (& Stems)
The export feature is particularly valuable. Once you’ve found a working mashup, you can export the stems in your chosen key and drop them into standard DJ software. This is a godsend for users of equipment like the Pioneer DJ XDJ-RX3, which notably lacks key-shifting capabilities.
How to use it
The core workflow remains unchanged from the original version:
- Drop a track onto the first deck
- Drop another track onto the second deck
- Navigate between tracks quickly while maintaining phrase alignment
- Mixed In Key’s auto-cue points keep everything in sync
- With one click, load and audition new tracks on the second deck
This system lets you cycle through entire playlists rapidly, identifying tracks that mix well or create compelling mashups – something that’s impossible in single-deck players like iTunes/Apple Music, and far more efficient than in traditional DJ software.
Looking Forward
Here’s an idea for Mixed In Key’s developers: incorporating our Fuzzy Keymixing approach would allow automatic key matching between tracks (within two semitones of the original pitch). This would make mashup discovery even faster.
Read this next: Fuzzy Keymixing – The Easy New Way To Mix Anything Into Anything
Even without this though, if you’re a DJ working primarily with dance music – tracks with tight beatgrids and similar tempos – this update transforms Mixed In Key 11 Pro into a powerful tool for building sets, storing compatible track combinations in playlists, and spotting and exporting elements for creating mashups, remixes, re-edits, and bootlegs in Ableton Live.
• This free update is available now for all current Mixed In Key 11 Pro owners. Visit the Mixed In Key website for more information about the software and to download the latest version.
Phil Morse
