Lexicon 1.11 is here, and it's a big one, especially if you play on Pioneer gear. When 1.10 launched I hinted that 1.11 would be a release a lot of pro DJs would like, and that all those One's in the version number weren't a coincidence. Well, v1.11 brings us one step closer to OneLibrary!
Over 700 commits and three and a half months of development went into this release. It's headlined by two brand new ways to get your library onto CDJs, a cue point generator that's been almost completely rewritten, much deeper streaming integration, and a Lexicon that now speaks 14 languages. Let's dive in.
Pioneer USB Sync (BETA)
This is the one a lot of you have been asking for. For that inevitable USB we all carry, 1.11 adds full two-way Pioneer USB sync. You can export your library to a drive for CDJ use, and import right back from it. It works like the other sync targets you already know, with field mapping, key conversion and a few things built specifically for the quirks of CDJ hardware:
- CDJ compatibility scanner with optional transcoding for unsupported formats
- USB cleanup option to get rid of unused files taking up space
- Support for the old DeviceLibrary so your USB also works on old Pioneer gear like a CDJ2000 or CDJ900.
Do keep in mind this is a beta feature. Always carry an official Rekordbox made USB to your gigs!
DIRECT2CDJ (BETA)
Direct2CDJ connects Lexicon to your CDJs and XDJs over the network, so you can load tracks straight onto the players without exporting to a USB drive first. No copying, no waiting, just connect and play.
You browse your full Lexicon library right on the players, and tracks load with everything attached. Or just drag a track from Lexicon into your player.
- Browse your playlists, smartlists, artists, and albums directly on the players
- Hotkeys to load the selected track onto decks 1 through 8
- Cues created or deleted on the CDJ update realtime in Lexicon
- See what's currently playing on a deck, even when it was loaded from USB
And keep in mind that this is a beta feature too. Do not use in a live situation!
Cue Point Generator Upgrade
The cue point generator got the biggest quality jump it's ever had. Drop, breakdown, second-drop, and end / fade-out detection have been largely rewritten, and placement is now genre-aware. House, Techno, Hardcore and more genres each get treated the way they actually sound, instead of one generic model trying to cover everything.
You also get more control over the result.
- New setting to control if a drop can be at the start
- New setting to control where it should find the start cue
- Advanced options are now always available, in a more compact UI
- Templates auto-save when you start generating, so you can't forget anymore
Streaming, Both Ways
Streaming support is much deeper this release, and it finally works in both directions. You can import playlists and likes from Beatport, Spotify, and Tidal, and you can send any track or playlist from Lexicon straight to a Spotify, Tidal, or Beatport playlist or as likes to Spotify or Tidal.
Tidal now lets you login with your account so it can create playlists, and Beatport got a lot of love too. Fixes for large playlists, filters, a Remixer column, and copy-to-clipboard. The Track Matcher can even send unmatched tracks off to Spotify, Tidal, or Beatport so you can hunt them down on streaming.
Smartlist Generator
The new Smartlist Generator lets you build smartlists in bulk instead of one at a time. Combine multiple rules, set BPM and decade ranges, and let it deduplicate across the lists it creates. It's right there in the new menubar whenever you want to spin up a fresh set of crates.
Lexicon Now Speaks 14 Languages
Lexicon has been fully translated into 14 languages. Alongside English, you can now use the app in German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese (Brazil), Greek, Japanese, Polish, Turkish, Thai, Russian, and Vietnamese.
Cuey already speaks any language you talk to it, so Lexicon should be much easier to get into now.
Find Tags Overhaul
Find Tags got a full overhaul aimed at better genre and subgenre Custom Tags. There are now dedicated genre and subgenre fields, more custom tag modes, the ability to auto-find Custom Tags on import, and an "Overwrite Custom Tags" option for when you want a clean slate. If you lean on tags to organize your library, this is a meaningful step up.
You can always turn off the automatic Custom Tags either in the Lexicon settings or in the Find Tags popup.
Energy Analyzer Stabilized
The energy analyzer moved to a new, BPM-free model. The result is more stable, more consistent energy values across your library so you get less of the "why is this mellow track rated a 9" surprises, and a number you can actually trust when you're building a set.
Beatshift Improvements
Beatshift has been improved across the board, with special attention to M4A and MP4 tracks (and video files). If you've ever exported to Serato, Traktor, or djay and found your cues and grids drifting slightly off on AAC files, that situation is in a much better place now.
Last.fm Scrobbling
Lexicon now scrobbles to Last.fm. Connect your account and the tracks you play get logged automatically, so your listening history stays in sync with the rest of your music life.
Display Scaling with Hotkeys
You can now zoom the entire interface instantly with Ctrl / Cmd + Plus / Minus. Whether you're on a tiny laptop screen in a dark booth or a big studio monitor, you can dial the UI to a comfortable size in a second.
Cuey Big Brain
Cuey, the built-in assistant, gives noticeably better answers this release. It handles complex, multi-step questions more gracefully and you can now flag a wrong answer so it keeps improving. Cuey understands the Lexicon UI now so it won't invent buttons that aren't there anymore.
And a Whole Lot More
This was a huge cycle, and not everything fits its own heading. A few more things worth calling out:
- Serato 4 and djay sync graduated from beta. Both are now stable, production-ready sync targets after a long run of Serato 4
master.sqlitefixes. - Smart Fix can now strip BPM values out of titles and clean up promo text like "Purchased from Beatport."
- Release dates are preserved across DJ apps that support full release date.
- Charts table columns are now reorderable, resizable, and show/hide with your layout saved.
- A new multi-step onboarding tour walks new users through Smart Fix, duplicates, incoming tracks, and optimizing their library.
- You can play tracks directly from the history table now.
- VirtualDJ gets an overridable home folder and a "Don't touch my grids" option for fluid beatgrids; Engine DJ can sync to USB or Dropbox without an internal Engine database.
- New DJIntelligence CSV import and Serato v3 history import.
- The sync page remembers your selected playlists and shows per-app "last synced" timestamps.
- Fixed high CPU and GPU usage while a track is loaded in the player, Rekordbox 6 databases growing on repeated syncs, Find Duplicates missing results on long scans, and the Windows "Hide window" bug that quit the app.
- And, as always, countless smaller improvements and bugfixes.
What's Next
Work on Lexicon 1.12 has already started. Direct2CDJ and Pioneer USB sync land as betas in this release, and a big chunk of what's next is making both of them rock solid and expanding the hardware they support so getting your library onto the players, however you like to do it, just keeps getting easier. There's plenty more cooking too, but I'll save that for next time.
Thoughts? Questions? Share them on the forum or chat about them on Discord.
