Honest Comparison

CueSync vs Clockworks

Both sit between the DJ booth and the rig, and they are not the same kind of tool. Clockworks tells your rig where you are in the track. CueSync decides what should happen there. If your consoles are already programmed against timecode, Clockworks may be all you need — and it reaches DJ software CueSync does not.

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Feature-by-Feature Comparison

CueSync

1.0Connect
2.0Cue
3.0Fire
4.0Coordinate
5.0Recover

Clockworks

1.0Connect
2.0Cue
3.0Fire
4.0Coordinate
5.0Recover

Feature	CueSync	Clockworks
What It Fundamentally Does	Cue engine — analyses the music, evaluates triggers, fires cues	Timecode and deck-data distribution to downstream systems
DJ Software Inputs	None — CueSync listens to audio and to PRO DJ LINK, not to DJ apps	Serato DJ Pro, Traktor Pro, VirtualDJ
DJ Hardware Inputs	Pioneer PRO DJ LINK (joins as a virtual CDJ)	Pioneer / AlphaTheta via PRO DJ LINK, Denon via StagelinQ
Denon StagelinQ
Any Audio Source (vinyl, mic, band, playback)	Yes — live analysis on any CoreAudio input	No — requires a supported DJ app or player
Musical Analysis Depth	Beat, phrase (rekordbox PSSI), energy curve, key — 17 trigger types	Beat grid position and track metadata from the source
Timecode Output	LTC, MTC, Art-Net, TCNet	SMPTE, MTC, Art-Net, TCNet, Link
Video / Media Output	Resolume, disguise, TouchDesigner, Unreal Engine 5, Pangolin Beyond	NDI, Syphon / Spout, TouchEngine scripting
NDI Output
Lighting Console Command Output	GrandMA2 (Telnet + OSC), GrandMA3 (TCP + UDP OSC), Avolites Titan, ETC Eos, ChamSys MagicQ — native command vocabularies, not just timecode	OSC and Art-Net; no console-native command layer published
Show Control Output	QLab (TCP + UDP), MIDI Show Control, Custom OSC	OSC; MIDI Show Control not published
Cue Authoring	Cue stacks, Show Editor + Run Mode, timeline automation (Theatre / Production)	Cue and setlist management for the DJ timeline
Theatre / Non-DJ Workflow	Theatre and Production editions — timecode-anchored cue lists, MSC, no DJ gear required	DJ-source-first; the product is built around a deck
Deck Count	PRO DJ LINK network as presented	4 decks (Lite / Server), up to 12 decks (Gateway)
Pricing — Pioneer hardware rig	$15/mo monthly, $11/mo billed annually ($129/yr), or $299 lifetime (DJ Edition)	$75/mo (Gateway tier)
Entry Tier	Free read-only mode; going live needs a licence	$8/mo Lite — monitoring and waveform view only
Pay-Once Option	Yes — lifetime licences on every edition	Subscription only (monthly or yearly)
Operating Systems	macOS 12+ (Windows in progress)	Not published
Track Record	v1.0 shipped 2026-05-17	Team advertises 20+ years of industry experience
Enterprise Support	Email and knowledge base	SLA guarantees and on-site touring support offered

Why Teams Choose CueSync

Position vs Decision

Clockworks answers "where are we in the track?" with frame accuracy and hands that to your rig. CueSync answers "what should happen now?" — it evaluates phrase boundaries, energy thresholds, hot cues and key changes against a cue stack you authored, then fires. If your console is already programmed against timecode, you may only need the first answer.

Console-Native, Not Just OSC

CueSync speaks GrandMA2 Telnet, GrandMA3 TCP and UDP OSC, Avolites Titan, ETC Eos and ChamSys MagicQ in their own command vocabularies — it can run a macro or take an executor, not only stamp a timecode frame the console has to be pre-programmed against.

No DJ Software Required

CueSync analyses whatever is audible — a vinyl set, a band, a playback rig, a microphone — because the analysis is live rather than read from a DJ app's beat grid. Clockworks needs a supported source: Serato, Traktor, VirtualDJ, PRO DJ LINK or StagelinQ.

Where Clockworks Wins

Serato, Traktor and VirtualDJ integration, Denon StagelinQ, NDI output, up to twelve decks, an iPad viewer, and a team offering SLAs and on-site touring support. CueSync has none of those. If you run Serato or Denon gear, or you need NDI, Clockworks does something CueSync currently cannot.

Common Questions

Not for deck data. CueSync's DJ integration is Pioneer PRO DJ LINK — it has no Serato, Traktor, VirtualDJ or Denon StagelinQ support, and none is promised. What you can still do is feed CueSync the audio: point any CoreAudio input at it and the beat, phrase and energy analysis works on the sound itself, no matter what is playing it. You lose hot-cue and track-metadata triggers, you keep the audio-reactive ones. For full deck integration on Serato or Denon, Clockworks is the better fit today.

Yes, and on a large rig it is a sensible split. Both speak OSC and both generate timecode, so one can distribute position while the other drives cue logic. The thing to avoid is two timecode generators on the same network claiming to be master — pick one source of position and let the other tool consume it.

They are priced for different shapes of customer. Clockworks Gateway covers up to twelve decks, AlphaTheta and Denon hardware, and comes with an enterprise support posture including SLAs and on-site touring cover — a touring-vendor price. CueSync DJ Edition is a per-artist tool at $15/mo, $129/yr, or $299 once, with email support. Compare the support model as carefully as the feature grid: if you need someone on site at 2am, that is worth real money and we do not offer it.

Clockworks, plainly. Their team advertises twenty years in the industry; CueSync v1.0 shipped in May 2026. We publish our reliability invariants and a public changelog so the claim can be checked rather than taken on trust, but a track record is earned over time and we do not have theirs yet.

No. CueSync's video-side outputs are Resolume, disguise, TouchDesigner, Unreal Engine 5 and Pangolin Beyond, driven over OSC — not NDI video transport. If you need NDI, that is a genuine gap and Clockworks covers it.

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CueSync vs Clockworks

Feature

CueSync

Clockworks

What It Fundamentally Does

Cue engine — analyses the music, evaluates triggers, fires cues

Timecode and deck-data distribution to downstream systems

DJ Software Inputs

None — CueSync listens to audio and to PRO DJ LINK, not to DJ apps

Serato DJ Pro, Traktor Pro, VirtualDJ

DJ Hardware Inputs

Pioneer PRO DJ LINK (joins as a virtual CDJ)

Pioneer / AlphaTheta via PRO DJ LINK, Denon via StagelinQ

Denon StagelinQ

Any Audio Source (vinyl, mic, band, playback)

Yes — live analysis on any CoreAudio input

No — requires a supported DJ app or player

Musical Analysis Depth

Beat, phrase (rekordbox PSSI), energy curve, key — 17 trigger types

Beat grid position and track metadata from the source

Timecode Output

LTC, MTC, Art-Net, TCNet

SMPTE, MTC, Art-Net, TCNet, Link

Video / Media Output

Resolume, disguise, TouchDesigner, Unreal Engine 5, Pangolin Beyond

NDI, Syphon / Spout, TouchEngine scripting

NDI Output

Lighting Console Command Output

GrandMA2 (Telnet + OSC), GrandMA3 (TCP + UDP OSC), Avolites Titan, ETC Eos, ChamSys MagicQ — native command vocabularies, not just timecode

OSC and Art-Net; no console-native command layer published

Show Control Output

QLab (TCP + UDP), MIDI Show Control, Custom OSC

OSC; MIDI Show Control not published

Cue Authoring

Cue stacks, Show Editor + Run Mode, timeline automation (Theatre / Production)

Cue and setlist management for the DJ timeline

Theatre / Non-DJ Workflow

Theatre and Production editions — timecode-anchored cue lists, MSC, no DJ gear required

DJ-source-first; the product is built around a deck

Deck Count

PRO DJ LINK network as presented

4 decks (Lite / Server), up to 12 decks (Gateway)

Pricing — Pioneer hardware rig

$15/mo monthly, $11/mo billed annually ($129/yr), or $299 lifetime (DJ Edition)

$75/mo (Gateway tier)

Entry Tier

Free read-only mode; going live needs a licence

$8/mo Lite — monitoring and waveform view only

Pay-Once Option

Yes — lifetime licences on every edition

Subscription only (monthly or yearly)

Operating Systems

macOS 12+ (Windows in progress)

Not published

Track Record

v1.0 shipped 2026-05-17

Team advertises 20+ years of industry experience

Enterprise Support

Email and knowledge base

SLA guarantees and on-site touring support offered