My Prime 4 is on the way! But should I stick to Rekordbox for library management?

I’ve got a Prime 4 on the way and excited to be coming into the ecosystem moving from Pioneer gear.

Yet: I’ve read on these forums (and heard in multiple Youtube reviews) concerns about EP’s modest library management; in particular its lack of (Finder&iTunes-like) features like tagging and smart crates.

Therefore, I’m wondering: because all Prime consoles can read other brands’ libraries, is it common for people here just to stick with using their legacy software (Rekordbox/Serato/etc) on the laptop side, until Denon brings EP up to par in this regard?

Or… is using rekordbox (in particular) with a Prime 4 somehow impractical or otherwise more trouble than it’s worth? For example: do changes made on the Prime 4 to hot cues, playlists, etc carry over to rekordbox on the laptop side when re-syncing?

Thanks all! I searched the forums and found nothing on this topic.

All You do in rekordbox Library (before rb 6) can be read by engine prime. Usb sticks made in rekordbox work also good. All changes done on prime 4 can be synced back to engine prime on the computer. Not to rekordbox, as rekordbox does not support gear that is not from pioneer dj. Smart crates are in development for EP. For this we will need to wait. But we can be sure that it is not overlooked and Denon is serious about implementing this feature.

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Word, thanks for the response. The info on compatibility only up to RB5 is in particular very helpful!

Based on what you said, I now suspect that --upon attaching a media device-- the Prime console imports the foreign-formatted library into its own EP format? If so: that would explain why changes on the Prime wouldn’t then sync back to the foreign library software later (Rekordbox, in my case).

That’s just my guess, though?

You are correct. Prime 4 will create a denon library folder with it’s own data base and save all analysis, cue points, search tags, and so on in that data base.

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Pioneer are scared of Denon Prime. That can be the only reason why pioneer locked their database instead of bringing out gear this year.

People forget that Engine Prime is a young program, with version 1.0 only coming out 3.5 years ago. When Rekordbox first appeared in about a decade ago, it was simply A very early version of Mixvibes Cross with pioneer logos pasted all over it, and it was dreadful in the beginning.

Even at this early age, Engine Prime does some things which rekordbox can’t, but as it’s young, engine prime misses out altogether some other features that rekordbox has. Will engine prime still be missing those features in a year or two? We’ll have to wait see.

One of the things I’m looking forward to is that the writers of the intriguingly useful Rekordcloud conversion application have said here on this forum that they’re looking at engine prime compatibility which is going to be heavenly.

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The only thing I can think of is reading Serato and Traktor library natively. What else can Engine Prime do that rekordbox cant?

What about the old Denon Engine ?

I use Serato for my Library management. I just sync over the libraries to Engine Prime as need. Not just waiting for EP to be up to par, but I still use Serato DJ actively depending on the gig.

It’s also safer, there is a minority of reports of databases crashes here whilst this may not be the norm for most people, I will not want to be in their shoes

Engine Prime has come a long way but if you are a power user of Rekordbox It will become clear to you soon.

I still use Rekordbox for library managment. I play at clubs that have Pioneer DJ players, so Rekordbox is a must have for me. I just use my exported Rekordbox drives with my PRIME 4. This is my workflow:

  1. Export my music from Rekordbox DJ
  2. Plug the USB drive into my PRIME 4 and click on “Import Library”
  3. The import process will take place (taking around 10-15 minutes for my 10k library)
  4. I am good to go & play

Some FAQ if you have some questions:

  • Do my Rekordbox Cue’s and Loops get converted?

Yes, all Rekordbox cue’s and loops will be converted and accessible thru the players. My Memory Loops from Rekordbox are converted to Engine loops (I cannot confirm that Memory Cues are converted, since I only use memory loops and hot cues for the rest)

  • Do my beatgrids, BPM and key information get converted?

No, unfortunately this is not the case. Once the database is converted, Engine OS still needs to analyze the tracks. This happens the first time you load the track into a deck. The analyze process doesn’t take too long when loading a track. Once the track is analyzed, all information will be stored and the next time you load the track it will use the analyze data and show the Engine OS calculated BPM, key and beatgrid information.

However when the track is not analyzed by Engine OS, it will still show the embedded BPM from the audio file (or from Rekordbox I am not sure about that. Rekordbox writes the BPM to the track right?). BUT this BPM value is not changing when moving the pitch slider. (this is something that Denon could easily fix in an update)

  • Do I have to import the entire database again when the USB content has changed?

Yes, unfortunately this is the case. Engine OS will prompt you to re import the database when an update is detected. This will re import the entire database and will still take the same amount of time as the original import. However, all previously analyzed tracks, changed hot cues, changed beatgrids, etc inside the existing Engine database will still remain. So no need to re-analyze all the track you have loaded before the update.

  • Can I do the conversion from Rekordbox USB’s inside Engine Prime?

No, as of right now you are only able to convert Rekordbox USB’s from an Engine OS player. You can vote here for adding this functionality to Engine Prime: https://community.enginedj.com/t/engine-prime-rekordbox-usb-converter/22755

If you have further questions, I’d be happy to help :slight_smile:

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Rekordbox does not write BPM to tags I believe.

Traktor (as a setting) and Serato (default) does

Well in that case, the BPM information is read from the Rekordbox Database.

Up until recently I would have said that you can stick with your know workflow and use 3rd party software (like the ATGR products) to facilitate seamless back and forth sync between your workflow and your Prime environment.

Unfortunately it seems RekordBox is once again locking it’s database by removing the export option, so time will tell what the best way forward is for RekordBox users.

You could of course NOT upgrade to RB 6 and all this would still be available to you.

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I’m waiting for RekordCloud to become Engine Prime compliant. Some other posts on here suggest that Rekordclouds writer already knows how to access even Pioneers version 6 database, but doesn’t want to annoy pioneer… yet.

I remember that someone said a couple of years ago that engine prime data was encrypted but that turned out not to be, Might be the same with this rekordbox twist.

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