Set craft
Doubles
Playing doubles means running two copies of the same record at once, offset or in sync. It is used to extend a section, to loop a passage live, or to juggle a phrase between decks.
In practice
Two copies offset by a phrase let you hold one section indefinitely — cut back before it ends and it never resolves.
The straightforward use is extension: start the second copy a phrase behind, cut to it just before the first reaches the end of the passage you want, and repeat. Because both records are identical there is no key or tempo risk at all, so the only skill is phrasing. The harder use is juggling, where the two copies are offset by a beat or a bar and cut against each other to build a pattern that exists on neither copy alone.
2
Copies required
1 phrase
Typical offset for extending
1 beat
Typical offset for juggling
Where these come from: Technique conventions, not catalog figures. For what we can measure, see the phrase grid this depends on.
Why it matters
Doubles solve a problem no single copy can: staying in one section for longer than the arrangement allows. Two copies offset by a phrase let you hold a groove indefinitely, cutting between them so the section restarts before it ever ends.
It is also the foundation of beat juggling. Once both decks hold identical material, the crossfader becomes an editing tool — you can reorder a bar in real time, which is a fundamentally different thing from mixing two records together.
Frequently asked
Why do DJs play doubles?+
To stay in one section longer than the record allows, or to juggle a phrase between decks. With two identical copies there is no key or tempo risk, so phrasing is the only variable.
Do you need two physical copies to play doubles?+
On vinyl, yes. In digital software you can load the same file to both decks, which is why the technique is far more accessible than it used to be.
What is beat juggling?+
Using two copies offset by a beat or a bar and cutting between them to build a rhythm that exists on neither copy alone. It is editing in real time rather than mixing.
Related terms
Phrase
A phrase is a block of bars a track is built from, usually 8, 16 or 32. Electronic music changes at phrase boundaries, so a mix that starts on one keeps both tracks structurally in step.
Cut
A cut swaps one record for another on a single beat, with no overlap. It is the fastest transition there is and the only one that works between two records with nothing in common.
Blend
A blend is a transition where both records play together for a stretch — long enough that the overlap is part of the music rather than a join between two pieces of it.
Transition
A transition is the move from one track to the next — the overlap where both are playing and the point where the first is gone. It is the unit a set is actually built from, rather than the tracks themselves.
Explore: Beats-to-time calculator · Phrase · Cut · All DJ terms