dacs.doc electric

What program should I use?

This is a question that will give you a different response from any two individuals you ask! I can say that I have tried at least 90% of the programs out there, big, small, and in between, and for my purposes have settled on two programs that I have purchased in order to get the full functionality each offers. They are AudioStation, by Voyetra, and MusicMatch Jukebox by MusicMatch. You can download free versions of these programs at their respective web sites:

www.voyetra.com - Audio Station 6
www.musicmatch.com - MMJB 7.2

I also have loaded on my machine the free versions of WMP 8, Quicktime , and RealOne to stream video and play any secured material I have downloaded that uses these formats. Another must have is WinAmp. WinAmp is free, small, and takes the least amount of CPU power to utilize. It is very customizable, but doesn't catalog or organize your files. It is best used for playback of downloaded mp3s or mp3-based Internet Radio stations.

How do I "ripp" a CD?

To "ripp" a CD to your hard drive, you'll need to install one of the players mentioned above and register with the music catalog service it uses. This is usually GraceNote[TM] (formerly CBBB) or All Music[TM]. During the program installation you will be asked if you wish to use the service of "XXX" to find track names, artists, etc. Answer yes, and then follow the program's instructions.
Next set up the jukebox program's Recording preferences. The preferences will usually default to whatever format the company making the player is pushing (WMP defaults to WMA, MMJB defaults to MP3, RealOne to Real Jukebox format). In each program there will be a way to choose your own preferences. Some of the preferences to examine are:

• File Format (wave, MP3, WMA, RJX) I recommend MP3
• BitRate (160kbps, 128kbps, 64kbps, etc. - or in some programs, CD Quality, Near CD Quality, etc.) MP3 encoders also allow for both CBR and VBR (variable bit rate) encoding. CBR (constant bit rate) keeps the bitrate you choose constant throughout the recording. The VBR format tries to determine the most important bits to record and assigns a higher bitrate to what it deems the most essential parts of the file. I have found that many programs-- especially network and portable players--do not do well with VBR recordings. The symptom must often heard is a "chirping" sound.

I recommend 160kbps CBR (Constant Bit Rate).

• Recording Directory (by default this is usually C:/My Documents/My Music).
  I recommend making a My Music directory on your hard drive with the largest amount of available space.
• Play while recording--I recommend turning this off to speed the time it takes to ripp the tracks. If this option is left on, the CD will ripp tracks in real time.
• Table 1 shows how to find the Recording Preferences in the most popular programs:
• Once you have set up the jukebox for recording the process is very simple.
• Insert the CD you want to "ripp" into your CD drive.
• Let the jukebox go out to the catalog service and populate the album name, artist, track title, and genre.
• Make any changes to the information the lookup service provides. We'll talk more on this in the next section.
• Press the Record button.
• Sit back and watch your digital library grow. J

Table 1 shows how to find the Recording Preferences in the most popular programs:

What about ID tags?

The MP3 format offers the largest number of available fields that are directly saved in the audio file. MP3 tags can be in either Level 1 or Level 2 format. Level 1 tags (ID3l1) are stored at the beginning of a file and level 2 tags are stored at the end of an mp3 file. Level 2 tags store the most information and some of the additional fields include album art and artist URL. Most current programs read and write both level 1 and 2 ID3 tags. I recommend saving information in the level 2 tag format if you are given a choice. WMA and wave files can also save information in the file, but the fields available and standards to write the tags into the file structure are not as standardized as mp3 tags. Table 2 is a list of the information saved in various file formats by AudioStation:

You can see that MP3s offer the greatest amount of fields that are saved in the file itself. WMA and Wave file tag information is saved in the jukebox library, but if you have to migrate to another OS or reformat your hard drive you will lose all that information. Not so with MP3 files. You can add the information once and be assured it will be there if you ever have to reinstall the files from a backup.

How can I best use ID tags to organize my library?

If you utilize one of the music catalog services mentioned earlier when you "ripp" your CDs to digital format, most of the information you gather from these web based services will immediately help you find and play any of your tracks, artists, and/or albums. There are several decisions you should make before getting too many of your CDs into digital format. The most important decisions involve how you will handle groups with multiple names, groups beginning with "The", and how broad or specific you want your genres to be. This subject is very personal and there is no "right" way to do it. The important thing to do is devise a method that you are comfortable with and then stick to it. For example, when you ripp a Beatles CD will the artist name be The Beatles or Beatles. Will you look for Eric Clapton by Eric or Clapton. Do you want to be able to find all of your Rock songs, or do you want more specific genres like Classic Rock and Country Rock. As a guide here is what I've done.

• I remove all the "The"s that GraceNote puts in artist names. So my artists are Beatles, Cars, Byrds, Benny Goodman Trio, not The Beatles, The Cars, The Byrds, or The Benny Goodman Trio.
• I Search for artists by the first name I know them by. So Eric Clapton is found under E not C.
• I break up genres for which I have a lot of music. So in Rock I have Classic Rock, Country Rock, Alternative Rock, Metal, Rockabilly, Soul, and Oldies, but in a genre like Classical, where I don't have a large number of files, I don't sub-divide the genre at all.

Table 3 provides a list of my genres that you can use to generate some ideas on how you can organize your library. Remember, what works for me may not work for you, so this list is not set in stone. The important thing is to pick a system and then stick to it.

My scheme is just that, my scheme. It is just how I think about music, so feel free to change whatever you like. There is a standardized genre list for mp3 files. This is the listing of genres that will be returned to you when you insert a CD and the software goes out to Gracenote or All Music. I have altered the standards in my library, but you can have excellent results just using the genres assigned by Gracenote. For instance, Newgrass is my invention-- you won't see it inserted when using the Gracenote or All Music services. Most programs will allow you to change the genre inserted by the web either before or after you ripp the CD if, like me, you decide that General Rock is not how you want to categorize your Eric Clapton songs.

Another thing to note, is that in my scheme the same artist can appear in multiple genres. The original Little Feat is in Classic Rock, while the modern band is in Rock. Enya is in Celtic and New Age. This works for me, but remember, you decide what will work best for you!

What is a Playlist
and how do I make one?

A Playlist is basically a roadmap to a collection of digital files stored on your hard drive. The files themselves do NOT exist in the playlist, but their location is stored in the playlist file. The playlist itself can usually be opened with a text editor such as Notepad[TM]. Playlists have various file extensions such as m3u, pls, asx, rjx, etc. The most popular format for MP3 files is m3u. The others are all basically the same, but associate themselves with different players and compressed formats. Here is a brief breakdown:

• M3U - MP3 file format and players such as AudioStation, MusicMatch Jukebox, and WinAmp 2.8 and above. Used by most portable MP3 players.
• PLS - Typically associated with WinAmp versions below 2.80, but they can usually be read by other jukeboxes. Used by some portable players.
• ASX - A Windows Media playlist format that can be read by most jukebox programs and players.
• RJX - Real Jukebox format that is not transportable to other players. Used by very few portable players.

Basically, if you have an option, choose to save your playlists in m3u or asx formats. Here's what a typical m3u file looks like:

D:\My Documents\My Music\New Grass Revival\New Grass Revival\When The Storm Is Over.mp3

D:\My Documents\My Music\Tape & Vinyl MP3\Sunburst - wave.mp3

D:\My Documents\My Music\Alison Krauss & Union Station\New Favorite\Let Me Touch You For Awhile.mp3

E:\My Documents\My Music\Down loaded mp3\Press Play Hits\Keep My Love There (while I'm gone - for Christy) - Claire Lynch.mp3

D:\My Documents\My Music\MP3\ Seven.mp3

D:\My Documents\My Music\Various Artists\Frank's Bluegrass #5\If You're Ever In Oklahoma - Clair Lynch & The Front Porch String Band.mp3

D:\My Documents\My Music\Country Gazette\Hello Operator, This Is Country Gazette\Highland Dream.mp3

As you can see, the m3u file is just a text file giving the drive and directory path to the song.
Playlists are one of the most useful and powerful tools that you gain when you convert your collection of music to your computer's hard drive. Your playlist can vary in length from a few songs to make a compilation CD, to hundreds of songs to play for an all day party.

With a playlist you can:

• Create a list of songs in a specified order for playback on your computer, portable player, and/or network player.
• Easily change the songs in a playlist and the order in which they will play.
• Start your compilation CDs as a playlist. Listen to the track order, etc and make any changes before burning your CD. Even use the playlist as a copy of the CD you've burned. It can be used on your computer's jukebox, portable player, or network player.
• Make party sets and time them for specific events. For instance, create a 59-minute playlist that you start at 11PM on New Years Eve. When the music stops you know it's 11:59 - time to watch the Times Square Ball fall! You could even record an announcement telling all your guests that they have one minute to go!

AudioStation Playlists
Making a playlist is easy. In AudioStation, click on New Playlist, name the playlist file, and then either drag files into the right pane, or scroll through your Title, Albums, Artists, Genres, or even other Playlists and use the Send To button to add them to the playlist.

MusicMatch Playlists
In MusicMatch Jukebox the playlist window is on the top right, and you can drag files from the library, or right click on a file and add it to the current playlist window.

There are times when I just don't know what I want to hear specifically, or when I feel that I keep adding the same songs to my playlists over and over again. That's when MusicMatch's Auto DJ[TM] feature comes in handy. Here's what it looks like:

In this example I asked the program to give me one hour of songs that have a genre of Bluegrass, and are by either Mark O'Conner or Mark Schatz. After clicking on the Preview button in the lower right, I am presented with a list of songs MMJB has found. If I want to accept the picks, I would click on the Get Tracks button, or I could refine or add to my search criteria.

Burning Compilation CDs

How do I make a compilation CD?

The programs I have suggested will all burn a compilation CD of the tracks you have stored in your digital library. You will need a CD Recordable drive and blank media in addition to the jukebox player and stored songs. If you have developed a system for finding your music, as I suggested earlier, then finding the songs to add to the CD should be no problem.

AudioStation and MusicMatch also have a tool which will level the volume of the tracks to a consistent loudness. This feature is very useful when combining songs from different CDs. Basically applying "AutoGain[TM]" or "Volume Leveling[TM], will keep you from reaching for the volume control every time a new track plays. Commercial CDs are recorded at different volumes, and although the songs from a single CD will sound balanced, when you combine songs from multiple CDs they often have wide swings in the volume between tracks. AutoGain and Volume Leveling are available in AudioStation's and MusicMatch's full (read - paid) versions. This feature alone is usually worth the price of the upgrade from the free version. In addition, the free versions of many programs limit the speed your CD recorder can burn a CD.

Using MusicMatch

Here's what you need to do using MusicMatch Jukebox:

• Open MusicMatch and maximize the Library View.
• Select songs that you wish to add to the CD from the library by dragging them to the Playlist window.

• After you have selected the songs you want on the CD, click the Burn button located at the bottom of the Playlist window.

• Notice that the jukebox calculates the amount of time used and the time remaining. You can always go back and add more songs, change their order, or if you have too many songs for the size of blank CD you are using, remove songs.
• You will also be presented with some options the first time you burn a CD. These options can be changed at any time, by pressing the Options button on the top toolbar and then selecting Settings. Here's how they look in MMJB:
• Your CD Recorder and maximum speed will be selected. The first time you burn a CD MMJB will want to do a test burn to determine the max speed. Go ahead and let it do it if you aren't sure your CD Recorder is reliable. If you have made CDs with it before, skip this step and select Write Only.
• I recommend you also select Close CD after burn. This closes the CD session and insures you cannot write any more data to the CD.
• If you have an old system, P1 or very slow Celeron, and experience "Buffer under runs", then try selecting Cache to hard disk. This option creates an image of the CD on your hard drive and then writes the image to CD.
• Once you have everything set - hit the Burn button.
• After your CD is completed you will be given an option to create CD and Jewel Case labels. I advise that you do NOT use CD labels. Why - well after many CDs were played in my car's multi-CD changer, it only took one to render the CD player kaput. Two weeks and $200 later, I had a replacement CD Changer, because they found pieces of a label jammed in the mechanism. Make labels for your Jewel Cases and use a Sharpie permanent marker to give the CD a title. Put that title on the Jewel Case and you'll be able to place the right CD back in its case. I've taken to using paper cases on my CDs to save space in the house and car and I insert the front cover label into the paper sleeve. You can also use one of the CD cases available to store your burned CDs and place the front cover label in the sleeve behind the CD.

Using AudioStation

Here's the same process using Voyetra's AudioStation:

• Select the tracks you wish to burn and using the Send To button, select CD Recorder.
• Note that you can select to make an Audio or Data CD, or just print a label. Choose Audio CD.
• On this screen you can select:
  • Track at Once - Automatically inserts a two second audio silence between tracks. This option is fine for most audio CDs. Again, I recommend you select Close Session.
  • Disk at Once--Use this option for Live recordings or Theme recordings like Abbey Road or The Wall, where the original tunes are meant to flow right into each other. You can select the amount of time the CD will use to PreGap (buffer) the transition.
  • Use AutoGain--As we discussed earlier, if you are selecting songs from different CDs use this option to insure that the volume between tracks stays consistent.

• This screen allows you to change song order using the up and down arrows, and/or deselect songs if you have chosen more songs than will fit on the CD format you have inserted. Note that Cherokee is De-Selected, as it would cause the CD to have more time than is available.

• On this screen you can determine to Test CD Creation or Write the CD. You should leave the cache settings and speed as is unless you have problems burning the CD.

• On this screen you can determine to Test CD Creation or Write the CD. You should leave the cache settings and speed as is unless you have problems burning the CD.

• Simply press Create CD to start the burn process.
• After the CD burn is complete, you will be presented with the option to create labels. As stated earlier, I recommend creating only jewel case labels.

• Here you can choose paper size, add an image to the Front Cover, and print the track listing.

Other programs you may use will have different names and screens, but the options shown here are fairly consistent.