October is when a lot of DJs reset their libraries before the busy end-of-year run. Here are seven practical Lexicon moves for that reset, whether you are cleaning up an old collection or just bringing it over from Rekordbox or Serato.
Getting your library in
1. Turn Merge on before you import a second library. If you play Rekordbox at one gig and Serato at another, import the first app, then import the second with Merge with current library enabled. Tracks and playlists that already exist in Lexicon are updated, new ones are added, and nothing is deleted. With Merge off, Lexicon deletes your current library before the import, which means playlists you built in Lexicon, custom tags and Energy data are gone. Merge is on the Essential and Ultimate plans. Tick Create backup while you are there. Manual: Convert Library
2. Close your DJ app first, then go to the Sync page. For a Rekordbox 6 or 7 import, make sure Rekordbox is closed, then open the Sync page in Lexicon and click Import tracks & playlists. If you only want one app's beatgrids or cues on tracks you already have, use Import specific fields only (Merge has to be enabled). BPM and beatgrid are separate fields, so tick both if you want both.
3. Pick the right sync mode on the way out. Lexicon has three ways to push your library back to a DJ app, and all three are on every plan:
- Full Sync makes the DJ app match Lexicon exactly. Any track or playlist not in Lexicon is removed from the DJ app. Rekordbox XML is the exception, because Rekordbox does not delete anything on an XML import.
- Playlist Sync only adds or updates the playlists you choose. Nothing is removed.
- Modified Sync works like Playlist Sync but picks the changed playlists and tracks for you. It becomes available after your first Full or Playlist Sync and is tracked per DJ app.
Before your very first Full Sync, import from that DJ app so Lexicon has everything. Anything that only exists in the DJ app gets removed.
Library hygiene
4. Kill duplicates in passes, then Full Sync. Run Find Duplicates with no tolerance first and work your way up in later scans. In the results, the Prefer... button bulk-selects which copy to keep by Highest bitrate, Most cue points, Most plays or Inside (sub)folder. If the copy you want to keep has worse cues, right click the copy with the good ones and choose Use these tags & cues. The kept file stays, the others go to the Archive. Afterwards, do a Full Sync, otherwise your DJ app keeps links to the old files. Manual: Find Duplicates
5. Use the Archive as a holding pen, not a bin. Archiving a track from the track browser hides it everywhere in Lexicon but keeps it in your playlists, with its cues and data intact. When you are ready to clear it out, open the Archive, use the Selection helper to grab tracks that have sat there for a while (optionally only those without cue points or not in any playlist), and press Cleanup selection. By default this only removes them from Lexicon. Deleting from your computer is optional and permanent, so back up first. Manual: Archive
6. Build a "File Missing" smartlist. Create a smartlist with the File Missing rule and you have a live view of every track Lexicon can no longer find. Select the missing tracks and right click to Relocate them, or use Find Lost Tracks from the Utility menu if you moved a whole folder and want the more powerful (and more hands-on) option. Lexicon re-checks for missing files at most every 5 minutes, or straight away when you restart it.
Tags and cues
7. Run Smart Fixes before anything that matches on artist and title. Duplicate scans and tag lookups work better on clean titles. A few Smart Fixes worth running first:
- Remove Number Prefix turns
01. Get LuckyintoGet Lucky. - Fix Casing fixes titles that are ALL UPPERCASE or all lowercase.
- Extract Remixer moves the remixer out of the title and into the Remixer tag, which Rekordbox, Traktor, VirtualDJ, Serato and Engine DJ all support.
- Remove Common Text strips things like a Camelot key or "(Original Mix)" from titles.
If a fix goes wrong, Smart Fixes can be undone from Undo History for 60 minutes or until you restart Lexicon.
Bonus: generate cues, then carry your tags everywhere.
Right click tracks, then Track tools, then Generate Cue Points, and save a Generator Template so every track gets the same cue layout, names and colours. It works best on genres like Techno, House and Drum & Bass, and the manual recommends keeping templates under 10 cue points. To get your Custom Tags into any DJ app, open the field mappings on the Sync page and map All Custom Tags to Comment. Your tags show up as #Techno #Vocals, searchable in every app. Manual: Cue Point Generator
