dj database

[djmarc]

hi everyone hope ya well

i was just wondering last night i did a engagment party but my friend whom comes to help me on big event couldnt make it

the night went very well but i was having a small problem trying to find tracks that been requested thoughout the night

lucky i managed to play them all but it was a struggle

now im a purely cd guy im not a fan of mp3 ect ect i was wondering is there a kind of database that i could use to put all my cds on then when im asked for a song i can type it into my laptop and it will tell me on what cd it is

just thought of it and sounds a great idea do any of you guys have such a thing like this

thanks

mark

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Marc, just out of interest why are you not a fan of mp3?

On most dj software you can begin to type in the name of a song or artist and it'll update the search results as you type, for example if looking for michael jackson - bille jean you could of just typed in bill and that would come up with maybe your bille holiday and billy ocean tracks... It makes life so much easier! It allows you to "sketch" out your track selection and its great for planning the last half an hour so you dont miss out any songs etc...

Either that or organise and file your cds in such a fashion its easy to find? Or do what Ollie does and produce an excel spreadsheet but that will take you days to do!

[andyw]

we use cattrax
http://www.fnprg.com/catraxx/index.html

[DJMaxG]

I don't know any one's aimed specifily at DJs, but sure I will do once read to the bare bottom of this thread.

Microsoft Excel would work perfectly, you would have to manually input the data though.

[notroubleclubber]

i used excel and numbered my cds. Then in excel use genres (party,motown etc) and then artists then song then cd number then track number. takes ages to do but well worth it once its done.
Also you need to keep it updated etc when you get new cds.

[Paul The Party Dj]

You can use the demo version of Mixmeister to catalogue your collection - obviously this involves putting everything through your pc to start with, but it will give you a great database without loads of typing. It'll give you artist, title, album,bpm, key, etc.
Cheers
Paul the Party DJ

[Dynamic Entertainment]

You can input everything onto excel - Name, Artist, Track Number, Album (Album Number if you number them up) and then use the "Find " feature in Excel.

[Shaun]

Google Cattrax or VisiTrax. :beer1:

[andyw]

Google Cattrax or VisiTrax. :beer1:

i've put a link to cattrax in post 3
easy programe to use,even i can use it

[zantedj]

Excel works for me

[andyw]

Excel works for me

lot of work especially when setting up

[mike8863]

I use and swear by CD trustee, great software, pop cd in pc, it will look it up, fill in all the info, track name, artist, track length etc. Catalogue it by giving it a slot number, print off, either by artist, track name, or whatever, and hey presto.:beer1: :beer1:

Mike

[djmarc]

You can input everything onto excel - Name, Artist, Track Number, Album (Album Number if you number them up) and then use the "Find " feature in Excel.


iv done like this in excel

artist name song title cd name disc no track no (now where is the find button ?) lol

thanks to you all for your help i shall have a go at excel but if it dont work out iv got a few others to look into im not very clued up with excel but will give it a go many thanks

[Dynamic Entertainment]

What version of excel you on with?

On 2007 its here:

[OllieJames]

Just thought i'd chip in.

I have made a database in excel, and to find a song just hit "ctrl + f" and type in the song. Used it for the first time Saturday night and it worked perfectly! :)

[djmarc]

What version of excel you on with?

On 2007 its here:

hey sorry guys im not that clued up with pc but willing to learn so sorry to be a pest im sure you lot dont wanna here me go lol

but for the record im using excel 2003

[MickyP]

Just thought i'd chip in.

I have made a database in excel, and to find a song just hit "ctrl + f" and type in the song. Used it for the first time Saturday night and it worked perfectly! :)


Spot On! :approve:

MP

[DJ Jules]

I'd seriously recommend avoiding Excel and using one of the programs named in the earlier posts - it'll save you a lot of typing! Bear in mind that each CD has a unique ID which is linked back to a number of internet based databases with all of the track/artist information already entered - so when you stick the CD in all of the previously mentioned peices of software will go off and get all of the CD information for you - that's GOT to be worth a few quid!

Julian

[Dynamic Entertainment]

If its anything like the database used by WMP though Jules, it will be wrong for older cds. Ive got a few that i put on the desktop (for home listening) and i got all sorts of weird and wonderful entries.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

If its anything like the database used by WMP though Jules, it will be wrong for older cds. Ive got a few that i put on the desktop (for home listening) and i got all sorts of weird and wonderful entries.

Yeah I'll second that one!

Just go digital soooooooo much easier :D

[DJMaxG]

Excel Database

Ollie,
Could you upload a screen print or a couple of lines of data or so from it, so we can see exactly how it's organised?

[DJ Jules]

If its anything like the database used by WMP though Jules, it will be wrong for older cds. Ive got a few that i put on the desktop (for home listening) and i got all sorts of weird and wonderful entries.

Fair point, but it depends which database it hooks in to - I've had similar results in the past for less mainstream CD's. I don't know which DB WMP uses (and it's not declared in the configuration options), but most of the programs above allow you to choose the DB you use and use multiple DB's concurrently (gracenote, freedb.org, etc) so if you don't like the answer it gives you, you can ask a different DB. Because gracenote and freedb are both user maintained (e.g. if the CD you've loaded isn't in there you can submit your own listing) the accuracy of the data tends to be a lot better (because people actually bother to correct it).

Julian

[DJMaxG]

What I would say is, be careful with WMP, as the tags are often automatically extracted off the internet, and can be incorrect.

My Cascada Album was made in about 3 different variations.
The Artwork is different, and bonus tracks etc.

I use this for Ripping music off CD's on the highest (WAV) setting and it works a treat, I occasionly have tagging issues because the person that wrote them (usually other users of Media Player) has got them all wrong, or there has been several variations of the album, as just mentioned.

[DJ Jules]

I use this for Ripping music off CD's on the highest (WAV) setting and it works a treat, I occasionly have tagging issues because the person that wrote them (usually other users of Media Player) has got them all wrong, or there has been several variations of the album, as just mentioned.

I'm using a tool called dbPowerAmp music convertor which can RIP to MP3, WMV and a variety of other formats (via plugins) and also re-sample/normalise/convert almost any music file to any other format. I think it's about £15.00 now, but it's well worth the money (and as discussed above, allows you to choose the music DB you get the CD info from and correct it if it's incorrect).

Julian

[Creature]

ive tried most and have settled on c Collector" www.colectorz.com. just stick ya cd in and it creates everything for ya. worked on about 95% correctly of my cds..... the wife who often comes gigging with me says its so easy to use :):)