You’re using Serato DJ software and suddenly one of your decks starts playing backwards – how do you fix Serato DJ playing in reverse? Let’s go over three quick fixes for this common problem.
There may be a few causes of this problem, check which of the following fixes will work for you!
Case #1 – Reverse play keyboard shortcut activation (Laptop & DJ Controller) – most likely your case
Serato DJ software actually has a default keybind that allows you to toggle reverse track playback with the use of one key. If you find your song suddenly playing backwards in Serato, first try using one of the following keyboard shortcuts:
- Q – toggles the left deck reverse playback mode
- A – toggles the right deck reverse playback mode
You can also hold Ctrl on your keyboard and click the Play button on the affected virtual deck to toggle reverse playback back off.
These shortcuts work in both Serato DJ Lite and Serato DJ Pro.
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Serato DJ has lots of keyboard shortcuts, some of which can be triggered accidentally while you’re using the software.
If you keep triggering playback shortcuts accidentally, Serato also has a “Playback Keys Use Shift” option in DJ Preferences that can help prevent this.
Many DJ controllers feature a Reverse/Censor button that often when clicked in combination with the shift button cause the track on a deck to play in reverse until the Reverse/Censor button is pressed again. (This is the case for example on the Pioneer DDJ-SX controller series).
In this case you can deactivate the reverse playback by either pressing the Reverse/Censor button with the Shift button again, or deactivate the backwards playback using your software hotkeys like in Case #1.
Case #3 – Wrongly setup DVS (DVS system)
If you’re using a DVS setup (Digital Vinyl System), the left and right channels of the control signal may be reversed. Try swapping the red and white RCA connections going into your DVS interface, mixer, or controller and check whether playback returns to normal.
If the problem only occurs when using DVS control, swapped left/right signal channels are one of the first things to check.
You can learn more about DVS setups here: DVS And Timecode For DJs Explained (A Simple Guide)
The conclusion
Unwanted backwards playback in Serato DJ is usually caused by accidentally activating reverse playback in the software or on your DJ controller, or – when using DVS – by having the left and right control-signal channels reversed. Hopefully one of the fixes above gets you back to normal playback. Rock on!
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