Setup
Licensing & software
This is a Serato DJ Pro hardware unlocked device, meaning it unlocks Serato DJ Pro when connected.
It is also a paid upgrade to Serato DVS device, meaning it requires the purchase & activation of a Serato DVS license, in order to use Serato DVS functionality.
Please ensure you have the latest version of Serato DJ Pro installed:
The XDJ-AZ is supported in Serato DJ Pro version 3.2.4 and above.
Drivers & Firmware
The AlphaTheta XDJ-AZ is class-compliant on macOS but requires manufacturer-specific drivers when
used with Windows operating systems.
Firmware version 1.10 or higher is required to connect the unit to Serato DJ Pro.
Both drivers and firmware can be downloaded via the XDJ-AZ Resources page on AlphaTheta's website.
Connection
- Connect the XDJ-AZ to your computer via the USB-C connection
- Press the Source button on the top left of the screen
- Turn and click the browse knob or use the touch screen to select 'Software control'
- Press the load button for each of the decks you wish to control with Serato DJ Pro
Overview
| # | XDJ-AZ CONTROL | FUNCTION |
| 1 | SONIC LINK INDICATOR |
Connect headphones via SonicLink Refer to the XDJ-AZ manual for more information |
| 2 | PAIRING BUTTON | |
| 3 | HEADPHONE | Connect a 3.5mm or 6.5mm headphone jack to the output |
| 4 | KENSINGTON LOCK | Used to secure the device with Kensington Lock |
| 5 | USB C | Connect a USB-C data cable to a computer |
| 6 | LINK | Connect Ethernet cable |
| 7 | MASTER 1 | Connect balanced XLR cables for master output |
| 8 | MASTER 2 | Connect RCA cables for the master output |
| 9 | BOOTH | Connect TRS cables for booth output |
| 10 | GND | Connect a turntable’s ground wire |
| 11 | CH3 & CH4 INPUT | Connect RCA Line or Phono inputs for use with channels 3 & 4 |
| 12 | MIC 1 & 2 | XLR & 1/4” dual microphone input |
| 13 | AC IN | Connect power input |
| 14 | POWER BUTTON | Press to turn the device power on/off |
| # | XDJ-AZ CONTROL | FUNCTION |
SHIFT |
| 1 | MIC SECTION | MIC 1 & 2 On, Talk Over, Level and EQ controls | - |
| 2 | QUANTIZE | Toggle Quantize on/off | - |
| 3 | DISPLAY |
View track & deck information, waveform, library, channel input selection, and general device settings. For more detailed information, refer to the user manual. |
|
| 4 | LOAD BUTTONS |
Load selected track to decks 1,2,3,4 Double press for Instant Double |
- |
| 5 | BROWSE | Turn to scroll Library | Fast Library scroll |
| 6 | BACK | Toggle focus back between Library & Crate list | - |
| 7 | TAG TRACK | Add selected track to the Prepare area | - |
| 8 | DECK SELECT | Change Active Deck layer per side | - |
| 9 | MASTER SECTION |
Adjust master level & EQ View master channel meter & toggle master Cue |
- |
| 10 | BOOTH LEVEL | Adjust the booth output level | - |
| 11 | CUE/LOOP | Select the Saved Loop slot | - |
| 12 | DELETE | Delete selected Saved Loop slot | - |
| 13 | MEMORY | Save loop to the selected slot | - |
| 14 | VINYL SPEED ADJUST | Toggle stop time | - |
| 15 | VINYL | Toggle between vinyl & jog platter mode | - |
| 16 | SYNC CONTROLS |
Activate Sync Toggle Key Sync on/off |
Deactivate sync |
| 17 | JOG WHEEL | Turn jog to bend pitch or control waveform within Serato DJ | - |
| 18 | TEMPO RANGE |
Adjust the range of the Tempo slider (+/- 8%,16%,50%) |
- |
| 19 | MASTER TEMPO | Toggle Keylock (or Pitch ‘n Time DJ if activated) | - |
| 20 | TEMPO SLIDER | Adjust tempo/pitch | Ignore Tempo Slider |
| 21 | RESET TEMPO | Reset Tempo to 0% regardless of fader position | - |
| 22 | JOG FEEL | Adjust jog wheel resistance between light & heavy | - |
| 23 | FX SECTION |
SEE BEAT FX FOR MORE INFORMATION For more detailed information, refer to the user manual |
|
| 24 | CHANNEL FADER | Adjust channel volume (per channel) | - |
| 25 | CROSSFADER | Crossfade audio between sides A & B | - |
| 26 | CHANNEL CUE | Toggle channel cue for monitoring | Tap Tempo |
| 27 | HEADPHONES SECTION | Adjust headphone level & cue/master mix | - |
| 28 | SOUND COLOUR FX SECTION | Press a Sound Color FX preset toggle, then turn the respective channel’s Sound Color FX Filter knob left or right to apply that effect, use Parameter controls to adjust effect amount. | - |
| 29 | CHANNEL SECTION | Adjust channel trim & EQ | - |
| 30 | PERFORMANCE PADS | SEE PERFORMANCE PADS SECTION FOR MORE INFORMATION | |
| 31 | PLAY/PAUSE | Toggles Play/Pause on selected deck | - |
| 32 | CUE | Cue from temp cue point/Set temp cue point | - |
| 33 | SEARCH | Rewind/fast forward through the playing track | - |
| 34 | TRACK SEARCH | Load the previous or next track | - |
| 35 | SHIFT | Shift modifier, which can be held while using another control for secondary SHIFT function | - |
| 36 | SLIP REVERSE | Toggle Censor | Toggle Reverse playback |
| 37 | SLIP | Toggle Slip mode on/off | - |
| 38 | BEAT JUMP | Press Left (<) or Right (>) to Beat Jump backwards or forwards | Halve or double Beatjump size |
|
39 |
BEAT LOOP | Enable 4 or 8 beat Autoloop | Halve or double loop size |
| 40 | IN/OUT |
Set Loop In or Set Loop Out point Press when loop is active to edit In/Out point |
- |
Performance Pads
The XDJ-AX comes with 8 performance pads, that can be used across 8 different performance pad
modes.
The first 4 modes can be triggered by pressing the corresponding Pad Mode button.
These consist of:
HOT CUE mode: Press the HOT CUE mode button to enter HOT CUE mode. Pads 1-8 trigger Serato DJ Pro Cue points, and if no Cue point is present on that slot/pad, pressing that pad will set a Cue point. Holding the SHIFT button while pressing a populated pad will delete the Cue point from the respective pad/slot.
AUTO LOOP mode: Press the BEAT LOOP mode button to enter AUTO LOOP mode. In this mode, pads 1-8 trigger an Auto Loop of varying sizes. Press the same pad for a second time to exit the Auto Loop.
LOOP ROLL mode: Press the SLIP LOOP mode button to enter LOOP ROLL mode. In this mode, holding
pads 1-8 activates a loop roll of varying sizes. Release the pad to exit the Loop Roll.
BEAT JUMP mode: Press the BEAT JUMP mode button to enter BEAT JUMP mode. Press pads 1 and 4 perform Beat Jump left & right respectively, while pads 2 & 3 halve and double the Beat Jump size. Pad 5 loads the previous track, pads 6 & 7 perform rewind or fast-forward transport functions, and pad 8 censors the playing track. Holding SHIFT while pressing pad 8 toggles reverse playback.
The second 4 modes can be triggered by holding SHIFT and pressing the corresponding pad mode button.
These consist of:
GATE CUE mode: Press the HOT CUE mode button while holding SHIFT to enter GATE CUE mode. Pads 1-8 trigger Serato DJ Pro Cue points for the duration the pad is held down. Upon release, the deck is muted until the next Serato DJ Pro Cue point is held. Holding SHIFT while pressing a pad triggers the Cue point normally.
STEMS mode: Press the BEAT LOOP mode button while holding SHIFT to enter STEMS mode. In this mode, you can control features from the Stems Tab, allowing you to utilize real-time audio separation in Serato DJ Pro.
Press pad 1 to toggle off/on the Vocal Stem, press pad 2 to toggle off/on the Melody Stem, press pad 3 to toggle off/on the Bass Stem, and press pad 4 to toggle off/on the Drums Stem. Pads 5-8 toggle Stem Pad FX, which consists of Vocal Echo, Instrumental Echo, Instrumental Braker, and Drums Echo.
NOTE: Using Stems is very CPU-intensive and may take some time to initialize.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT USING STEMS
PITCH PLAY mode: Press the SLIP LOOP mode button while holding SHIFT to enter Pitch Play mode. Pads 1-8 play Cue points over variable pitch ranges in this mode.
SEE THE PITCH PLAY SECTION FOR MORE INFORMATION
NOTE: Pitch Play mode requires the Serato Pitch ‘n’ Time DJ expansion pack to be activated & enabled.
SAMPLER mode: Press the BEAT JUMP pad mode button while holding SHIFT to enter SAMPLER mode. Press pads 1-8 to trigger samples loaded into the Serato DJ Pro Sampler. Hold SHIFT while pressing a pad to stop the sample playback once triggered, or load a sample to the respective Sampler slot if no sample is loaded.
Pitch Play
There are 3 key ranges to choose from, and the following tables show the pitched key ranges (in Semitones) while using the 8 performance pads in Pitch Play mode.
The root keypad (0) is always lit white, which will play the cue point at its regular pitch.
Use the Parameter Left & Right buttons (only available on certain devices) to move the Key Range up or down.
In Pitch Play mode, pressing a pad will pitch the currently selected cue point up or down the following ranges:
Up Range: (Up 7 Semitones)
| +4 | +5 | +6 | +7 |
| 0 | +1 | +2 | +3 |
Middle Range: (Up 3/Down 4 Semitones)
| 0 | +1 | +2 | +3 |
| -4 | -3 | -2 | -1 |
Down Range: (Down 7 Semitones)
| -3 | -2 | -1 | 0 |
| -7 | -6 | -5 | -4 |
When Pitch Play mode is first enabled, the middle range is selected. Pitch Play mode will default back to the middle range if a new track is loaded. The selected range is recalled if another pad mode is selected, then
the user switches back to Pitch Play mode.
Pitch Play can only pitch one Cue point at a time. To change the selected Cue, hold the SHIFT button and press a performance pad where the cue point you want to select would be (as shown in the HOT CUE performance pad mode).
While holding SHIFT, press the corresponding performance pad for:
| Cue 1 | Cue 2 | Cue 3 | Cue 4 |
| Cue 5 | Cue 6 | Cue 7 | Cue 8 |
The selected cue point defaults to Cue Point 1 on track load, even if instant doubled. A new cue point will be created if a pad with no cue point is selected. Deleting a cue point is not possible in Pitch Play mode.
NOTE: Pitch Play mode is available once the Pitch 'n Time DJ Expansion Pack has been activated in the Expansions window, under the My Account drop-down. Then ensure Pitch 'n Time DJ is checked in the Expansion Pack tab of the Setup screen.
BEAT-FX
All FX are hardware based. For more detailed information, refer to the user manual.
|
XDJ-AZ CONTROL |
FX FUNCTION | |
| X-PAD |
Touch to turn an effect on and off. Move your finger on X-PAD to adjust time parameters |
|
| BEAT < > |
Press left or right to adjust Beat FX timing |
|
| AUTO/TAP/QUANTIZE |
AUTO/TAP - Toggle between manual and automatic BPM detection TAP - Manually set a BPM value by tapping QUANTIZE - Turn FX Quantize on/off |
|
| FX FREQUENCY |
Select which frequenecies the BEAT FX are applied to |
|
| BEAT FX SELECTOR |
Select Beat FX type to be applied by turning the knob |
|
| CH SELECT |
Choose the channel assigned for Beat FX between 3/1/2/4, Mic, Crossfader A, Crossfader B or Master. |
|
| TIME |
Turn to adjust time parameter of Beat FX |
|
| LEVEL/DEPTH |
Turn to adjust the level/depth of Beat FX applied |
|
| ON/OFF |
Turn Beat FX on/off |
DVS
When a Serato DVS license is purchased and activated, this paid upgrade to Serato DVS device allows you to use connected turntables, media players or CD players to control Serato DJ Pro using NoiseMap™ Control Tone.
NOTE: Serato DVS is only available once the Serato DVS expansion pack has been activated in the Expansions window, under the My Account drop-down. Make sure Vinyl / CDJ Control is then checked in the Expansion Packs tab of the Setup screen.
Find our more about Serato DVS:
Beat Jump
To activate Beat Jump, open the Setup screen, navigate to the DJ preferences tab and turn on “Show Beat Jump Controls”.
When you close the Setup screen, you will see Beat Jump controls underneath the existing Auto Loop values on each deck. Checking this box will turn on Beat Jump features in the deck area and let you control Beat Jump from your supported Serato DJ Pro hardware.
When the Beat Jump option is enabled, performance pad modes AUTO LOOP or ROLL mode (where applicable) will use the bottom row of 4 pads (pads 5-8) as Beat Jump controls. This is designed to mirror the change in the deck Auto Loop area (from 8 Auto Loop sizes to 4 Auto Loop sizes + Beat Jump controls).
MIDI
The MIDI feature in Serato DJ Pro allows you to remap Serato DJ Pro software functions to your primary Serato controller, interface or mixer. You can also assign controls to a secondary MIDI controller to further enhance your performance.
For more information on MIDI mapping with Serato DJ Pro, click here.
To remap your supported Serato device, open the SETUP screen and click the MIDI tab. If your Serato device supports hardware remapping, it will appear in the MIDI DEVICES list.
Select your connected device from the MIDI DEVICES list and check the Allow Serato Hardware Remapping option.
Once checked, the MIDI assign button at the top of the main Serato DJ Pro interface will become available for you to start remapping.
You can save, edit or delete MIDI presets in the MIDI tab of the SETUP screen. Clicking Restore Defaults will erase any custom mappings for all connected devices and revert their functions back to default.
Help
Show Tooltips
Click on the Help button in the upper right-hand corner of Serato DJ Pro, then Show Tooltips to enable Tooltips. Tooltips provide a handy way to learn the various features of Serato DJ Pro.
Move the mouse over a section of the software to bring up a context-sensitive tooltip that describes the feature.
Click on the Help button again to turn off Tooltips.
Show Shortcut Keys
Click on the Help button in the upper right-hand corner of Serato DJ Pro, then click Show Shortcut Keys to launch a pop-up window displaying shortcut keyboard combinations.
These shortcuts can help you perform various actions quickly, such as triggering specific deck functions, controlling playback, or navigating the library.
Watch Tutorials
Click on the Help button in the upper right-hand corner of Serato DJ Pro, then Watch Tutorials to launch
your default internet browser and watch tutorials to help you get familiar with Serato DJ Pro.
Get Support
Click on the Help button in the upper right-hand corner of Serato DJ Pro, then Get Support to launch your default internet browser and navigate to the Serato DJ Pro knowledge base, where you can find helpful articles and guides on Serato DJ Pro. Alternatively, type keywords in the Search Help box to search the Serato DJ Pro knowledge base for specific, related topics.