Syncing MyStrow with your DJ software & your music
Make your lights follow the exact beat of your music. Two simple methods — audio capture and MIDI Clock — explained for PC (Windows) and for Mac : Traktor, VirtualDJ, rekordbox, Serato… or just an app like Spotify or KaraFun.
Two ways to make your lights follow
In LIVE mode (AI Light), MyStrow can drive your whole stage automatically to the beat of the music: flashes on the kick, build-ups on the risers, an explosion of color on the drop. To do that, it needs to “understand” what you are playing. There are two ways to give it that information:
Audio capture
MyStrow “listens” to your computer's audio output and detects beats, energy and song sections on its own. No tempo setting at all, and it works with any source — Spotify, KaraFun, YouTube or just an audio file.
MIDI Clock
Your DJ software sends its tempo clock (the BPM) straight to MyStrow. Perfect, rock-solid timing, ideal in a club or on stage. It needs a small software bridge to connect the two applications.
💡 Which one should you pick? It depends on your software. Some can send their tempo to MyStrow, others cannot:
- Traktor & VirtualDJ — they send their tempo → MIDI Clock, perfect sync.
- rekordbox & Serato — they do not send a tempo → audio capture (or an “Ableton Link → MIDI” bridge).
- Spotify, KaraFun, YouTube… — these are just players, with no tempo to send → audio capture.
Don't worry: just below, you pick your computer and then your software, and MyStrow gives you the right steps directly.
The guide on video
Prefer to watch? We show you everything on screen: audio capture and MIDI Clock, with VirtualDJ, rekordbox, Spotify and Traktor.
Heads-up: this video is narrated in French. No problem though — YouTube automatically provides English subtitles and an English dubbed audio track. Subtitles are on by default; you can switch the spoken language from the player settings (⚙️ → Audio track).
Pick your system & your software
Select your computer, then the software you use: MyStrow shows you the right steps directly.
Traktor — perfect sync over MIDI Clock
Traktor sends its tempo natively: this is the most precise route. We connect it to MyStrow through a small virtual MIDI port.
Create the “MyStrow” virtual MIDI port
Install loopMIDI (free, by Tobias Erichsen) and create a port named MyStrow. MyStrow can also set it up for you.
On Mac it is built in: open Audio MIDI Setup → menu Window → Show MIDI Studio → double-click IAC Driver → tick “Device is online” and name a bus MyStrow.
Enable MIDI Clock in Traktor
Preferences → Controller Manager → Add → Generic MIDI, set theOut-Port to MyStrowIAC — MyStrow. Then Preferences → External Sync → tick Enable MIDI Clock. Finally, in the MASTER CLOCK panel (the metronome icon at the top left), click the MIDI Start button (it turns blue).
Choose “MIDI Clock” in MyStrow
Switch MyStrow to LIVE mode and select the MIDI Clocksource. It is locked to Traktor's BPM — beats and tempo perfectly in sync.
VirtualDJ — MIDI Clock (tested & working)
VirtualDJ sends its tempo to MyStrow through a virtual MIDI port. Three steps and you are up and running.
Create the “MyStrow” virtual MIDI port
Install loopMIDI (free) and create a port named MyStrow.
On Mac it is built in: Audio MIDI Setup → Window → Show MIDI Studio → double-click IAC Driver → tick “Device is online” and name a bus MyStrow.
Enable the clock output in VirtualDJ
Open the VirtualDJ settings → tab Controllers → select MyStrow in the list → enable MIDI Clock Output. And that's it: VirtualDJ is sending its tempo.
Choose “MIDI Clock” in MyStrow
Switch MyStrow to LIVE mode and select the MIDI Clock. VirtualDJ's BPM drives your lights directly.
rekordbox / Serato
These two applications do not send a tempo (MIDI Clock). Two options: the simplest is to capture the audio; the most precise is to add a small “Ableton Link → MIDI” bridge.
Set up the audio capture
On Windows there is nothing to install: MyStrow captures the audio output through the built-in WASAPI loopback .
On Mac, install the free virtual audio driver BlackHole 2ch, then create a Multi-Output Device (Audio MIDI Setup) grouping your speakers + BlackHole. Send the software's audio to that device: you hear it AND it goes out to BlackHole.
Pick the source in MyStrow
In LIVE, select your output (or your controller directly) as the sourceBlackHole 2ch as the input source. MyStrow detects the beats on its own.
🎧 Sound card such as a DDJ-400: the audio comes out through the controller, not through the computer's default output. So select the DDJ-400 as the source in MyStrow (if your software runs in exclusive ASIO, capture becomes impossible — use Option B in that case)the controller, or route its master to BlackHole through the multi-output device.
Create the “MyStrow” virtual MIDI port
Install loopMIDI and create a port named MyStrow.
Enable the IAC bus built into macOS and name a bus MyStrow (via Audio MIDI Setup → MIDI Studio → IAC Driver).
Enable Ableton Link + the bridge
Enable Ableton Link in rekordbox / Serato, then start a “Link → MIDI Clock” bridge (e.g. the community tool Rekordbox-Midi-Clock) and have it send the clock to the port MyStrowIAC — MyStrow.
Choose “MIDI Clock” in MyStrow
In LIVE, select the source MIDI Clock.
Spotify, KaraFun, YouTube… or any other player
These apps simply output audio, with no tempo to send. MyStrow listens to that audio and detects the beats on its own. It is the simplest method: zero tempo settings.
Play your music as usual
Play your track in Spotify, KaraFun, YouTube or your usual player, on the computer's regular audio output.
Set up the audio capture
On Windows there is nothing to install: MyStrow captures the audio output through the built-in WASAPI loopback .
On Mac, install the free virtual audio driver BlackHole 2ch, then create a Multi-Output Device (speakers + BlackHole) in Audio MIDI Setup, and send the system audio to it.
Pick the source in MyStrow
In LIVE, select your audio output as the sourceBlackHole 2ch as the input source. The lights follow the music automatically.
Which method for which software?
The table below sums up the best approach for each common DJ application. It applies equally on PC and Mac.
| Software | Compatible? | Native MIDI Clock? | Recommended method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traktor Pro | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | Direct MIDI Clock — the most stable and the most precise. |
| rekordbox | ✅ Yes | ✕ No | Audio capture, or an Ableton Link → MIDI Clock bridge. |
| Serato DJ | ✅ Yes | ✕ No | Audio capture, or an Ableton Link → MIDI Clock bridge. |
| VirtualDJ | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | MIDI Clock through loopMIDI (tested and working), or audio capture. |
| Spotify, KaraFun, YouTube… | ✅ Yes | — | Regular audio output: audio capture. MyStrow detects everything with no setup. |
In short
To get going fast (party, wedding, bar): audio capture. Zero configuration, it works with any music — including Spotify, KaraFun or YouTube on the regular output.
For perfect timing (club, stage, big show): MIDI Clock, with Traktor or VirtualDJ (both send it without trouble through loopMIDI). On Mac it is even simpler thanks to the built-in IAC bus.
Ready to make your lights dance?
Download MyStrow and run your first synced show within minutes.