Tau

What Tau is

Tau is DJ software by creator Gabor Szanto, offered for iOS, macOS, web, and Windows. It is positioned as an alternative to Serato, Rekordbox, Virtual DJ, and Djay, with two- or four-deck setups, master tempo, waveforms, MIDI, and DVS. Its stem separation can isolate drums, bass, melody, and vocals in real time without pre-analysis or storing generated stems on disk. Tau includes factory MIDI mappings for many controllers, with options to customize mappings or make new ones. Ableton Link can send and receive synchronization with external devices or apps. For music libraries, Tau supports ID3, Traktor, and Serato metadata, as well as Rekordbox libraries. It plays MP3, AAC-LC, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, and ALAC files, but not DRM-protected audio. The listed minimum requirements are macOS 15.6, iOS 17.4, or Windows 10 (19041). Tau supports one or two DVS inputs, assignable to any deck. The maker says settings and music metadata stay locally, and support is available through the Tau Discord community.

Who it suits

Tau suits DJs looking for multi-deck software with real-time separation of drums, bass, melody, or vocals, plus MIDI and DVS support. Its library compatibility and Ableton Link support may also suit DJs working with existing metadata or synchronizing external devices and apps.

Limits

Tau has a free plan. DRM-protected audio, MP3 Layer II, and HE-AAC are unsupported.

Getting started

1. Open https://djplayerpro.com/.
2. Choose the platform that matches your device: iOS, macOS, web, or Windows.
3. Check that your device meets the listed minimum requirement for its platform.
4. Start with Tau's free plan.
5. Use Tau Discord for support.

Verdict

Choose Tau if you want real-time stem separation alongside MIDI and DVS in a multi-deck DJ app. Its free plan offers a way to start, and it supports several established library formats. Look elsewhere if your audio collection relies on DRM-protected files, MP3 Layer II, or HE-AAC.