Music catergories

[Stephen_N.I.]

Ok guys/girls,
I'd appreciate your help once again.

I've got my music catergorised as 60s, 70s, 80s, etc, then rock and country.

I then updated with a lot of songs but named them all alphabetical, so I want to keep them all together, but both systems have advantages:
e.g - a older crowd could be catered for 60s, 70s folder but if someone asks for a particular song, it's easy found alphabetical.

I'm sure some of you have found this before, I'd like some suggestions.:confused:
Thanks again

[sleah]

Go digital:D :D :D :D

Sorry, not helping am I?:rolleyes:

[Danno13]

I'm not quite sure what the question is? Are you talking CDs or PC? If PC, what software?

[Stephen_N.I.]

Go digital:D :D :D :D

Sorry, not helping am I?:rolleyes:

That's cheating, lol
Nah, I'm just used with cd players and like to keep it that way.;)

[Stephen_N.I.]

I'm not quite sure what the question is? Are you talking CDs or PC? If PC, what software?

Sorry, should have explained, with cds.

[sleah]

I'm not quite sure what the question is? Are you talking CDs or PC? If PC, what software?

I assumed he meant CD, in any remotely decent software categories will be fairly irrelevent for searching, unless you specify a category to search.

Hence my throw away remark:D

[Danno13]

OK, I don't work from CDs.. but I do have them all in wallets just incase. I have 4 wallets..

1) Now albums,
2) Compilations (roughly in chronological order) + Mastermix/DMC
3) Singles, Dance Compliations and Napster Burned Discs
4) Artist albums and "best ofs.." so If i were asked for a particular artist I'd flick through this one.

[Vectis]

When I used to work from CD I kept an Excel spreadsheet with plenty of comments fields so it was dead quick to sort by whatever. All my CDs were numbered and kept in numeric order. I used a nasty old laptop with the spreadsheet on it and looked for tracks that way. To be honest, 80% of the tracks I'd memorised the CD numbers anyway...

[Stephen_N.I.]

Thanks for the replies folks.
As Vectis said there, I've got most of my cd's memorised too but there's got to be an easier way. Maybe digital is the way to go, it'll be a big change for me as I'm so used to "old-style" DJing.
I've been comtemplating the move to laptop for a while now but could you answer me some questions:

1) In PCDJ etc, how can you cue up a second track to a specific point such as 1 minute in? As you would with cd mixers and headphones.

2) In PCDJ etc how can you regulate the ouptut of all mp3s. Eg - to get a 128kps and a 192 to sound the same? When i burn a cd now with nero I can normalise all volumes and the cd's always sound better than the same track played on the pc.

3) how do I use an external soundcard?

Thanks in advance.

[Vectis]

1) In PCDJ etc, how can you cue up a second track to a specific point such as 1 minute in? As you would with cd mixers and headphones.

2) In PCDJ etc how can you regulate the ouptut of all mp3s. Eg - to get a 128kps and a 192 to sound the same? When i burn a cd now with nero I can normalise all volumes and the cd's always sound better than the same track played on the pc.

3) how do I use an external soundcard?


Well I'm an OTS user but...

... #1. Just spin the deck with the mouse, or type over the minutes/seconds setting.

... #2. Normalisation is built into OTS - not sure about PCDJ.

... #3. Plug it in! Tell your software which channel 'connects' to which deck, job done.

Why not download something like the free version of OTS Turntables and have a play with a few MP3 files... if that doesn't whet the appetite to try one of the full-feature DJ packages then nothing will.

[Stephen_N.I.]

Well I'm an OTS user but...

... #1. Just spin the deck with the mouse, or type over the minutes/seconds setting.

... #2. Normalisation is built into OTS - not sure about PCDJ.

... #3. Plug it in! Tell your software which channel 'connects' to which deck, job done.

Why not download something like the free version of OTS Turntables and have a play with a few MP3 files... if that doesn't whet the appetite to try one of the full-feature DJ packages then nothing will.

I'm gonna really bug ya now! lol

I did try OTS but can't really be bothered converting all my files to OTS, it seems a big job.

If Ref to point 1 - can the track be cued in your headphones and the crowd won't hear, as cd mixers do?

In ref to point 3 - I've no experience with external sound cards, can you point me a link with a few good brands?

Thanks

[Vectis]

I'm gonna really bug ya now! lol

I did try OTS but can't really be bothered converting all my files to OTS, it seems a big job.

If Ref to point 1 - can the track be cued in your headphones and the crowd won't hear, as cd mixers do?

In ref to point 3 - I've no experience with external sound cards, can you point me a link with a few good brands?

Thanks

#1. Yes.

And you don't have to convert your files to OTS - it works perfectly well with mp3 & wav files. It'll create a little index file (OMX) just prior to using an mp3 for the first time.

As for #3, I use a Numark CM200USB mixer - so my mixer channels ARE my external soundcards, if you see what I mean.

[Starlight]

Why dont you just use a Denon DN HD 2500? A twin CD player with a built in 40 gig hard drive. You can also connect an external hard drive to store more songs.

Good luck.

Mendoza.

[Vectis]

Why dont you just use a Denon DN HD 2500? A twin CD player with a built in 40 gig hard drive. You can also connect an external hard drive to store more songs.


"Just use" :confused: It's an expensive option at £700+ and it doesn't have CD players as standard so by the time you add a set you're well over a grand.

Should point out I use a Numark d2 Director as primary playout; my OTS laptop is for background/unattended tunes/backup.

[Creature]

and it doesn't have CD players as standard so by the time you add a set you're well over a grand.


whats wrong with useing you existeg cd decks as well ??????

or for cheeper option the cortex

[andyw]

why not get something like cattrax,we done that,in the beginning we used to print it out and take it in folders(a lot of work really) so we bougt a cheap laptop off ebay and took that round with us.someone request a song tells us exactly what album it's on and then it's easy to find.so you can keep your songs in there catogries to make your life easy and find particular tracks quickly when needed

[Creature]

or as has been mentioned buy and use an old laptop - i use Visitrax for my CD database ( http://www.synapsa.com/pricing.htm ) cost about £19.00

My wife and i Use it and its easy to use and providing all your cds are original - you just stick em in your cd drive - it goes onto the internet and finds the cd check the details click on save and it automatically add to the database.

if you add the cd location in which cd box and dir makes it even easier to find

great piece of kit just stick part of artist or song title and you can see it narrowing the search down.

[Stephen_N.I.]

Thanks for all the help guys,
I'm definitely gonna switch to laptop now.
I may PM you vectis for advice as I like the way you are set-up.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Why dont you just use a Denon DN HD 2500? A twin CD player with a built in 40 gig hard drive. You can also connect an external hard drive to store more songs.

Good luck.

Mendoza.

You said that before and you got it wrong last time too. It is not a twin CD player with a built in hard drive. The CD draws can be added at an extra cost, but predominantly it is a hard drive reader/player.

[CRAZY K]

or as has been mentioned buy and use an old laptop - i use Visitrax for my CD database ( http://www.synapsa.com/pricing.htm ) cost about £19.00

My wife and i Use it and its easy to use and providing all your cds are original - you just stick em in your cd drive - it goes onto the internet and finds the cd check the details click on save and it automatically add to the database.

if you add the cd location in which cd box and dir makes it even easier to find

great piece of kit just stick part of artist or song title and you can see it narrowing the search down.

Thought you had a Cortex===or has the new one blown up :D :D :D

regards

CRAZY K

[djsmash]

Hi

i use pcdj

all my songs like yours are catagorised in folders 50,60s,70s etc up to the modern chart stuff

you can just look in the various folders for a specific year or genre but if someone want a specific song all you do is type the title in and bum up it comes..


i know it is alot of trouble getting a entire cd collection onto the hard drive

Just A Suggestion

:)

Thanks

Smash

[PropellerHeadCase]

To be honest, using Excel or Access, with even rudimentary skills in either, has major advantages over relying on MP3 tags. I've had my CD collection on Access for some time, and I've had my compiled and burned singles and iTunes on Excel (it just worked out that way).

I am now, in preparation for going digital, re-compiling albums as best ofs for major artists and best ofs for major styles for each year in doing this I am building a new database, principally in Excel, but for eventual import into Access which I will continue to use even when I go digital... why?

Unless someone can point me to a digital system that achieves the following this is what I am doing...

Artist
Track
(Re)Mix/Version
BPM (intro and outro)
Start (beats, music, both, other)
Finish (beats, music, both, other)
Genre (main, sub and crossover*)
Year of release
Type (Background/Foreground/Ballad/Sing-Along/Dance)
Feel (Mellow, Groovy, Funky, High Energy)
Partial lyrics (for searching on theme-related music where the title isn't indicative)
Soundtrack appearances (as I'm getting more and more requests for "that song from that movie", and knowing which songs appeared in which popular movies can be invaluable, I've found - also good for theming for major movies)
Re-release/related (Also helpful to know if a particular song has been re-released, remixed, covered or even sampled)
Mix to (good songs to mix out to)

By genre crossover I mean it can be helpful to know if a song has a slight feel of another genre whilst not 'of' that genre - a recent example for me was knowing that Chris Rea 'Josephine' has a slight Latin feel to the rhythm - made a great crossover from Latin ballroom to soft rock.


I realise this all might seem like a lot of work to people but a) I used to manage databases so it's kinda what I do, but also, b) I've found that with picky clients, particularly, limiting what's on your screen to just the music that relates directly to their self-selected favourites is a great way to avoid dropping clangers and can bring up songs you might not otherwise have played (I played Lenny Kravitz 'I Belong to You' as part of a background set the other day because of this... got quite a few toes tapping).

[Stephen_N.I.]

Some great suggestions, thanks.
I think I'll do something in that line but just not as detailed.
I've now decided to go with a laptop, ots turntables and a mya 44 usb soundcard, connected directly to my numark cd mix. Best of both worlds then, cd or mp3.

[rob1963]

Ok guys/girls,
I'd appreciate your help once again.

I've got my music catergorised as 60s, 70s, 80s, etc, then rock and country.

I then updated with a lot of songs but named them all alphabetical, so I want to keep them all together, but both systems have advantages:
e.g - a older crowd could be catered for 60s, 70s folder but if someone asks for a particular song, it's easy found alphabetical.

I'm sure some of you have found this before, I'd like some suggestions.:confused:
Thanks again

Sorry for my late response, but here's what I do:

My CDs are in 2 cases in their original jewel boxes, which means you can see what you have without having to flick through them all.

I have them arranged with the "best of" various artists first in alphabetical order (Abba, Beatles, Communards etc), and they are followed by my compilations & the last 35 "Now" CDs (in numerical order).

I give each CD a 3 digit number, and put a sticker with the number on the spine. A friend designed a computer database using microsoft access. When I buy a new CD, I give it a number & key in each artist & title. The database puts it in alphabetical order by artists names.

A couple of times a year, I print out an updated list, which I keep in a binder that I take to all gigs. At the front of the binder I have a sheet containing my 120 most requested tracks along with their reference numbers, and another sheet listing some popular songs from each of the decades.

I find this system works well, as I can look up a request & pull out the appropriate CD in about 10 seconds.

Hope this helps.

[robbiedj]

The database puts it in alphabetical order by artists names.

A couple of times a year, I print out an updated list, which I keep in a binder that I take to all gigs. At the front of the binder I have a sheet containing my 120 most requested tracks along with their reference numbers, and another sheet listing some popular songs from each of the decades.

I find this system works well, as I can look up a request & pull out the appropriate CD in about 10 seconds.

Hope this helps.


Before I went over to ots, I did it this way, but printed out 2 lists.

One was by Artist name and the other by Track title. This meant that when the requester didn't know the artist I could find the track and all versions I had. They could then decide who's version they wanted.

[rob1963]

Before I went over to ots, I did it this way, but printed out 2 lists.

One was by Artist name and the other by Track title. This meant that when the requester didn't know the artist I could find the track and all versions I had. They could then decide who's version they wanted.

That's not a bad idea Robbie, but it means having to carry 2 lists.

Although mine are alphabetical by artists only, I generally find that when I'm given a request, either myself or the person asking for the song will know the artist, so it's not generally a probem.

[robbiedj]

That's not a bad idea Robbie, but it means having to carry 2 lists.

Although mine are alhabetical by artists only, I generally find that when I'm given a request, either myself or the person asking for the song will know the artist, so it's not generally a probem.

Not always. I once had a punter who insisted that his favourite track ever was "All This Love That I'm Giving by Gwen Guthrie" It was by Gwen McCrea.

And, with a lot of older tracks, I find people forget which group did some, especially "one hit wonders".

But, saying that, I got a cheap laptop to use as a database and found that wa even better.

The only problem, of couse, is you can't search for "that one that goes ....". Then, I'm afraid we're back to the educated guess.