Downsizing traktor library & getting rid of nonDJ tracks, anyway to make this easier?

[Xonetacular]

One thing that drove me from the Traktor collection was I would make a change to a file. I'd find out I had mistyped a file name, or updated an album or artist name - something that resulted in changing the file location. When Traktor would re-import this file to the collection, it resulted in duplicates that I couldn't easily manage or remove without added time, so I shelved that solution.

is this because of traktor or because of itunes managing your files and changing the location?

Also, can tainspotter update tags on tracks not in your traktor collection?

[completej]

Personally, I would prefer to be able to edit iTunes playlists VIA Traktor, instead of having to do it in iTunes. However, I spent nearly 7+ solid hours every day using and modifying my iTunes playlist, so I can't only use Traktor. Routines I have developed in that article I posted are still being done (as we speak, I am coming through an "Electro" crate and re-sorting out older files).

So, correct - I no longer have the "Import" or "Consistency check" options enabled. Now when I load Traktor, it takes less than a minute to open the software and then load my iTunes playlists once I click on them. Let's say then I have added a new track into iTunes - I go to that file in Traktor via my iTunes playlist called "NEW" and load the track into Deck A. It takes a few seconds to scan the file, then I take another 20s to scan through it manually and update / change / fix any beatgrid issues. I then lock the file (all my gridding / locking is done via S4 bindings), and it's good to go. Later when I gig out, it does not need to be reanalyzed and all my cue points remain as it was locked to the MP3.

I don't find Artwork that important to me. It's nice, and I spent a lot of time and money in the past trying to update that which was missing, preferably in a batch-manner (paid for several pieces of software to update my iTunes playlist, for instance), but in the end it wasn't affecting how I played out, picked songs, etc. I use a detailed system of comments, ID3 tags, and smart playlists to be able to navigate my library.

I used Trainspotter primarily for updating missing ID3 information, so there is a good possibility I missed it's ability to synchronize iTunes and Traktor. My initial impression was that it was somewhat separate - that it could update individual MP3s so the ID3 tags were correct, and then wrote those changes to Traktor's collection.nml file. I was not aware, however, it would update Traktor's collection file when a location had changed, or would assist in removing duplicates, or create "playlists" inside Traktor.

In the end, if I have to make a playlist twice, I ask "why bother" when iTunes is already doing it for me, and I spent more time in that software preparing to practice or play.

[completej]

is this because of traktor or because of itunes managing your files and changing the location?

Also, can tainspotter update tags on tracks not in your traktor collection?

I believe that iTunes would change the physical location of the file as I made a change to the artist name (Afrojack & Steve Aoki > Afrojack, Steve Aoki), so it would have to be updated in a Traktor collection. I can't say 100% what would cause it, but it ended up in duplicates and was interfering with my current project, so I eliminated that variable.

I haven't used Trainspotter since April, so as I am typing this, I am updating to 2.1.14. It looks a bit different, but I don't remember the behavior regarding files that had not been imported yet into Traktor's collection.

I *assume* that since it was not originally in Traktor's collection.nml, it wouldn't discover it to make any updates, but I've never tested that condition nor asked. I do now see a "Sync" option where it "Sync(s) iTunes Folders and Playlists" under a given folder, and an additional checkbox to "Add missing tracks to Traktor when syncing" so, perhaps? I now see an option "iTunes" where you can "Read iTunes Library," "Use iTunes to select tracks in collection and propogate tag updates to iTunes," as well as the file location to the iTunes .xml file.

The second option sounds almost like it would push updates from Traktor to iTunes? Not sure, will test a bit later on a few files.

[Xonetacular]

Since using trainspotter and getting artwork with no effort I couldn't go back to not using it. It is a different feel and something to visually guide me like if I was flipping through crates of vinyl,

[completej]

My first foray into DJing was CDJs with USB sticks or direct from my HDD. Vinyl artwork, while aesthetically pleasing, offers nothing more than a "oooOoooo" from people watching over my shoulder. :P

[completej]

Awesome - Trainspotter now has direct connect to iTunes library on the left menu to do updates. Will test to see if I can sync playlists into Traktor tonight.

[Xonetacular]

Awesome - Trainspotter now has direct connect to iTunes library on the left menu to do updates. Will test to see if I can sync playlists into Traktor tonight.

yeah trainspotter is awesome. i haven't had much luck with discogs or discogs digital tagging but beatport tagging is awesome.

The trick to get beatport tagging to work properly is make sure the artist and song title tags are filled out right. artists must be separated by commas (no & or and) and no feat. artists in the artist tag. Then just make sure the song title isn't formatted weird and if it is sold on beatport it will come up right away.

[Nibbsy]

This thread is turning into a goldmine of help for OCD Traktor users like myself.

completej I'd be very interested to hear how you get on with Trainspotter and how well you think it integrates with your smart playlists and general iTunes configurations. In particular what the box "Use iTunes to select tracks in collection and propogate tag updates to iTunes" actually means and whether I want it checked.

Your feedback will be very useful with deciding how I'm going to set things up.

[completej]

I was unaware of Beatport tagging. I actually plunked down the cash for Beatler, the little app to replace going to Beatport's ridiculous flash-driven website...

..and I did so like 2 weeks before they opened their non-flash site for beta, which is now mostly what I use for digging (so awesome).

But beatler tagged files you had purchased or not, which was nice. I also have gripes about Beatport's naming convention, using "," instead of "&" and then the - instead of ( ) when notating "original mix," remix, etc.

OCD again, drives me nuts. Thank god for things like

http://dougscripts.com/

though, only available on the OS X, but amazing options there. I highly recommend

http://dougscripts.com/itunes/script...dtoselectedtag - allows batch addition of information to files / ID3 tags
http://dougscripts.com/itunes/script...p=removenchars - allows batch removal of characters from front or back, like 01-, 02-, 03-., and so on.
http://dougscripts.com/itunes/script...replacetagtext - allows batch search / replace function, great for updating many comments at one time
http://dougscripts.com/itunes/script...emovedeadsuper - allows removal of dead / missing tracks from library.

I have another one - refresh selected tag information - which is good if I do a BPM update using BeaTunes (also a good program), but I don't recall where I got it from.

[Xonetacular]

yeah trainspotter is awesome for beatport tagging and will match any track to a beatport release, doesnt matter if you bought it there