Getting started

XZ Mods is software for the XDJ-XZ that starts from a USB stick. It adds a MODS menu, stems you can mute live, custom beat jump, four decks over a loopback cable, DJ profiles, themes and games. It can also replace the whole play screen with its own MODERN interface.

#What changes and what stays the same

XZ Mods runs from the USB. Start the player without the USB and it is as it was.

• The player picks up the XZ Mods loader (autoexec.bin) from the USB at start and runs XZ Mods from there.
• Your music, the library your DJ software exported and your playlists stay as they are. XZ Mods adds its own folders beside them.
• The player's own settings are still there. Hold MENU to open UTILITY, as without XZ Mods.
• Settings you change in MODS are saved on the USB, so they travel with it to another XZ running XZ Mods.

#Start without XZ Mods

1. Switch the player off.
2. Start it without the XZ Mods USB, or with a USB that has no autoexec.bin on it.

The player starts without XZ Mods. Plug the XZ Mods USB back in and start again to load XZ Mods. If you play from a separate music stick, that stick works without XZ Mods as before.

#What you need

The app gets and checks the files it needs. Nothing from the player's maker is included in the XZ Mods download.

#Prepare a USB

You prepare the USB in the XZ Mods app on your computer. It does not format the drive or touch your music.

1. Install the XZ Mods app and open it.
2. Plug in your USB. The app finds it and opens it. With several USBs plugged in, choose yours from the list.
3. Choose Install XZ Mods.
4. Follow the short guide: your DJ profile, the screen the XZ starts with, then a checklist of what it will write. Back returns to the step before.
5. Choose Write to USB, then Eject USB.

XZ Mods app · Install XZ Mods

⤢1234

1. 1
   Loader

   XZ Mods itself.

2. 2
   Games

   Free games the app downloads and checks.

3. 3
   Interface

   The screen the XZ starts with.

4. 4
   Write to USB

   Writes everything in the checklist.

Every step of the app is in The XZ Mods app. To add stems to your tracks, see Stems.

#First start

1. Plug the USB into USB 1 or USB 2 on the top of the XDJ-XZ.
2. Switch the player on.
3. Wait for XZ Mods to start. Load a track as usual and check it plays.
4. Press MENU on the play screen, or touch MODS at the top right, to open the MODS menu. HOME is the first page.

If you use a separate loader stick, keep it in until XZ Mods has started. Keep the USB with your music and stems in while you play.

#MODERN on first start modern

MODERN draws the whole play screen. The player's controls work as before, and the top bar adds a few buttons.

MODERN · Play screen

⤢12345

1. 1
   MODS

   Opens the MODS menu, like a short press of MENU.

2. 2
   STEMS

   Shows or hides the stem rows.

3. 3
   DECKS

   Chooses two or four decks.

4. 4
   Deck lanes

   One waveform lane per deck, with its source and key.

5. 5
   Deck panel

   The track, time, tempo and BPM of each deck.

The rest of the play screen is in The play screen.

#CLASSIC on first start classic

CLASSIC keeps the player's own play screen and adds MODS to it. Touch MODS at the top right, or press MENU, to open the menu. A classic theme can restyle the screen. See Screen, interfaces and themes.

#Choose MODERN or CLASSIC

The XZ starts in the interface saved on the USB. You choose it in the app before the first start, and you can change it on the player at any time. Nothing else changes when you switch. Your settings, stems and decks stay as they are.

A new USB starts in MODERN unless you choose the standard interface in the app.

XZ Mods app · Install XZ Mods

⤢12

1. 1
   New interface

   MODERN.

2. 2
   Standard XDJ-XZ interface

   CLASSIC.

#Switch on the player

There are two ways to switch.

• Press the button above LINK. Out of the box it switches between MODERN and CLASSIC, and the screen says which one you are in. You can give it another job in PLAY › BUTTON ABOVE LINK.
• Open MODS, go to SCREEN and choose CLASSIC or MODERN under INTERFACE.

MODS · SCREEN

⤢⤢123456

1. 1
   INTERFACE

   The interface the XZ shows. The change saves to the USB.

2. 2
   CLASSIC

   The player's own screen with MODS.

3. 3
   MODERN

   The full-screen XZ Mods layout.

4. 4
   THEME

   The classic theme. See Screen, interfaces and themes.

5. 5
   Explanation

   What the highlighted choice does.

6. 6
   Save state

   Confirms the change is saved to the USB.

#Updating

There are two things to update, and they update separately.

Music, your exported library and your saved settings stay in place through an update. A USB built with Keep this version on the USB stays on its build and ignores network updates. See XZ Mods version.

If something does not work after an update, see Messages and troubleshooting.