A back to back set, written b2b, is two or more DJs sharing the decks and taking turns, a track or a few tracks at a time, so the night sounds like one set. It works when you agree the format before, prepare music that fits together and play for the set instead of for yourself. Here is how to plan one, with tips from DJs who play b2b often.

What a b2b is, and why DJs do it

One DJ mixes a track in, the other mixes in the next one, and so on. Three DJs taking turns is sometimes billed as a b3b. The crowd hears two record bags meet, and the DJs push each other. Some pairs keep coming back: in 2020, Beatportal called the sets of progressive house DJs Hernán Cattáneo and Nick Warren together "the stuff of legend."

Festivals love one-off pairings too. On October 14, 2026, Ultra Music Festival announced its first acts for Miami 2027, with Marshmello b2b Subtronics billed as a world debut and Boris Brejcha b2b Eric Prydz presents Cirez D (the name Prydz uses for his techno) as a US debut. Our post on the Ultra Miami 2027 lineup has the rest of the bill.

Agree the format before the night

Most b2b trouble starts with two different plans. Settle these points first:

  • How many tracks each. One each is the most playful and the hardest, because you react every few minutes. Two each tells a small story. Three each, which Cattáneo suggests in a Beatportal tips piece, gives each DJ about 15 to 20 minutes. Free flow, swapping when it feels right, suits a partner you know well.
  • Who starts, who plays the last track, and for how long. Agree the energy at the start and roughly where you want to end up.
  • The signal. A tap on the shoulder or handing over the headphones, so no turn gets skipped.

DJs who do it a lot keep the format loose. In a 2021 Mixmag feature ahead of The Hydra's b2b shows at the Drumsheds in London, Jennifer Cardini said her style is usually "one record each," while Special Request expected "two-on-two and see how it unfolds" with Modeselektor, who said they most enjoy one track each.

Sort out the gear and the handover

The music must never stop when a turn changes hands. Whichever app each of you uses (rekordbox, Serato DJ Pro, Traktor Pro, VirtualDJ, djay Pro, Engine DJ or another), there are three common setups:

  • USB sticks on club players. Each DJ exports a stick from their own app. When AlphaTheta players are linked to the mixer with network cables (PRO DJ LINK), the music on one stick can be played from every linked player. Denon DJ's SC6000 player has three USB ports and an SD card slot, which Denon says are there for DJ hand-offs. Never pull a stick while a track from it is playing. Laptop or USB stick? shows which apps export for club players.
  • Two laptops. Some club mixers have two USB ports, so two laptops can be connected at once. AlphaTheta says the two ports and A/B switch on its DJM-900NXS2 are for "seamless DJ transitions." Without that, each laptop and controller takes its own mixer channels, and the incoming DJ sets up while the other plays.
  • One laptop, one library. At home or on one controller, put both DJs' tracks on one laptop for the night, a playlist each.

Many setups have one headphone output, so you pass the headphones. Some club mixers have two: AlphaTheta says the pair on its DJM-A9 makes it easy for two DJs to cue up tracks during back-to-back sets.

Prepare the music together

You do not need a full plan, but you need a shared world:

  • Agree the vibe. One style or two that sit well together, and the moment: warm-up, peak time or closing.
  • Agree the ranges. A tempo range in BPM (beats per minute), such as 122 to 126, and if you mix in key, the keys that work together. Our BPM guide and harmonic mixing guide help with both.
  • Swap lists. Share playlists a few days before, so you do not both bring the same tracks. A shared playlist either of you can play from is a good safety net.
  • Bring more than you need, at several energy levels. You need an answer for whatever your partner plays.

Cardini planned it the same way with her partner, Danilo Plessow: "We will probably meet or jump on a call prior to The Hydra and exchange ideas and music."

Read your partner, not only the crowd

Nick Warren's first tip in the Beatportal piece: "don't think about your next track before your B2B partner plays their last one." What just came out of the speakers matters more than your plan, so answer it: the same groove a step further, a vocal after a long instrumental, a small lift. Watch the floor too (see how to read a crowd).

  • Leave your partner a way out. End your turn on a clean outro they can mix from, not a breakdown or a track that stops dead. In Cattáneo's words: "be generous with the other DJ."
  • No surprise genre changes. To take the set somewhere new, move in steps and say so first.
  • Give options. Special Request told Mixmag the aim is to "create multiple options for your partner to build on."
Two DJs in a club booth, one mixing on a Pioneer player and mixer while the other watches, above a dancing crowd
Two DJs sharing the booth at the HM1 nightclub in Dresden, Germany, in 2015. Photo: Jonas Weckschmied, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped

Booth manners

  • Step back after your mix. Once your track is in, give your partner the mixer.
  • Leave their EQ alone. Their track, their knobs.
  • Keep the volume steady. Match your levels to theirs and never push the master up on your turn.
  • Let their track play. Yung Singh put it plainly to Mixmag: "Let the other DJ's track breathe. There is nothing worse than someone cutting the tune you played so they can slam one of theirs in."
  • Celebrate their tracks. A smile or a hand in the air. A crowd feels two DJs having fun together.

Danilo Plessow summed it up in the same Mixmag piece: "A b2b is definitely not the place to be egotistic and show off your records, you need to try to build something together."

Your first b2b

Start at home with a friend: one setup, one hour, one track each, and record it. Listening back shows where the turns felt rushed or where one of you pulled the set away. Then try a small room, like a bar or a house party. On who to choose, Warren's advice is simple: "always choose a DJ whose company you enjoy." Agree a plan B too: who takes over if a stick fails or a laptop freezes.

To prepare from the same list, sit down together with all styles open, play the 30-second previews and each save the tracks you agree on to your own crate with the + button. Then each of you uses Send to my DJ app with your own app and music source, and you both start the night from the same tracks.

Sources: Ultra Music Festival lineup, Beatportal (Ultra 2027), Beatportal (Cattáneo and Warren), Mixmag, AlphaTheta, Denon DJ.