Versions & edits
Dub
A dub is a mix with the vocal stripped back or removed and the rhythm section pushed forward. It leaves long, sparse stretches to mix over, which is why the dub is so often the DJ-friendly cut of a release.
Measured in our catalog
The 717 dub titles in the catalog run to a median of 6:10 — longer than the extended mixes at 5:23 and longer than the catalog as a whole at 5:48.
Dubs being the longest cut of all is the measurement doing what a definition cannot: it is direct evidence that the version made for mixing is also the version given the most room. Where an extended mix adds bars at each end, a dub tends to stretch the middle as well.
717
Dub titles
6:10
Median length
5:23
Extended mix median
5:48
Catalog median
Measured on 11 August 2026 across public tracks with a duration whose title carries a dub marker (717 of 443,414).
Why it matters
A dub is the version that assumes you are going to play it next to something else. Where the original is arranged to hold attention on its own, a dub leaves gaps on purpose — and those gaps are where another record goes.
It also solves the vocal problem without giving up the record. You keep the groove, the bassline and usually a fragment of the hook, and lose the thing most likely to collide with whatever is coming in.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between a dub and an instrumental?+
A dub usually keeps fragments of the vocal — a hook, a stab, an echo — over a stripped-back arrangement. An instrumental removes it outright.
Why do DJs prefer dub mixes?+
More room and less to clash with. The 717 dubs in our catalog run a median of 6:10, longer than any other version marker we count, and most of that length is sparse.
Does a dub mix have no vocals?+
Not necessarily none — that would be an instrumental. A dub keeps the vocal as texture rather than as a lead, which is what makes it easier to layer under something else.
Related terms
Instrumental
An instrumental is a version of a track with the vocal taken out, or a record that never had one. DJs use them to lay an acapella over the top, or to stop a vocal-heavy stretch of a set crowding itself.
Extended mix
An extended mix is the DJ cut of a release — a longer intro and outro with more bars of beats at each end, so there is room to mix in and out. It is the version that belongs in a set.
VIP
A VIP — Variation In Production — is the producer’s own rebuild of their own track, usually made for their own sets. It is not a remix: same artist, same record, a different arrangement built to land harder.
Remix
A remix is a new production built from another artist’s parts — usually a different arrangement, often a different genre and tempo. The original vocal or hook survives; almost nothing else has to.
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