Workflow Help

[RonP]

Hello

I need some assistance with a workflow in vinyl studio. I want to maintain a small set of albums locally on my D: drive (I call this Working_Set collection) and
then move them off to my NAS into a collection called Archives when they are processed. There are a couple of 'quirks' I'm having trouble with.


first quirk: filename collision
I record externally on a hardware device and then bring the SD cards to the PC and copy the .WAVs over to my D: into a working direction. The devices names
the tracks the same each time. track001 track002 track003 etc. So there's a filename collision when I move from collection to collection.

second quirk: sub-dir not maintained
I generally don't worry about renaming the track names, instead I put them into a sub-dir with a logical name like <artist - album - pressing>, etc. Once again
when I move from collection to collection, the foldername does not remain. It plops everything into one folder.


So I wanted to take a step back and see if there's a better approach to achieve what I want. Basically:

• 2 collections - 1 small local, 1 large on the network
  
  
• original .WAV/.FLAC files in meaningful foldernames in both places (before and after a move)

Please let me know what's the best approach here.

Thanks,
Ron

[Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)]

Hi,

I would stop worrying about the filenames and folders that VinylStudio uses for your imported files and instead focus on where it stores your saved tracks after track splitting.  The latter already uses a sensible naming scheme for the files and folders it generates, so you probably don't need to change it.

To avoid filename collisions when importing, use the following options:

  - import all the files for any particular album in a single operation (so select them all in the list and then import)

  - use the 'Copy files to VinylStudio's recordings folder' and 'Combine imported files into a single recording' options

VinylStudio will then take care of all the details, and it will also (if you ask it to) put track breaks between each imported file which should make track splitting a bit easier.  You should also be able to import the files direct from your SD card.  There should be no need to copy them manually.

Please note that, to perform the first step, you need VinylStudio Pro.  If you don't already have it, this is a $24.95 upgrade to VinylStudio Standard.  Just use the same email address when you order to get the upgrade price.  Full details of the differences here:

https://www.alpinesoft.co.uk/VinylStudio/VinylStudio_pro.aspx

[RonP]

I will give your method a try and see how it works out.

I'll report back. Thanks for your guidance!

VinylStudio will then take care of all the details, and it will also (if you ask it to) put track breaks between each imported file which should make track splitting a bit easier.  You should also be able to import the files direct from your SD card.  There should be no need to copy them manually.

I copy WAVs, and convert to FLAC on the HD to save space, etc. If only I could record directly to FLAC 

[Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)]

Yes, it would be useful if VinylStudio offered to convert to FLAC when performing the import.  I will put it on the list.

In the meantime, you will find a means to do it under the More button in the Batch window - if you have VinylStudio Pro!

[RonP]

Ok this is working decently.. excellent smithers!

I found a potential bug:
When doing the import/copy, VinylStudio complained about Lame MP3 being the wrong version. Even though I wasn't doing anything with MP3s, the copy just stopping. It sat there with no progress until I closed the dialog box.  After reinstalling the program (like it told me to), it was fine.

Question:
What happens when I have 2 of the same albums that are different pressings? Or multiple copies of the same pressing?
I'm seeing filenames like Artist-Album-side# in the vinyl studio directory. Unless there's something added to the filename to create uniqueness, there's going to be a collision.

I should mention I'm importing data from discogs based upon the release id.

[RonP]

I suppose I could just add "(pressing id, copy #)" to the end of the album title. And it would also reflect in the filename, which is handy!

please let me know your thoughts.

[Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)]

Yes, VinylStudio won't let you create two different albums with identical artist and title, so you have to do something like you're suggesting.

The 'wrong version of LAME' message is a 'feature' of the installer we use (which was written by Microsoft...).  This sometimes fails to update that file for some reason, which is why we now explicitly check that you have the right version installed. I'm not sure why you got the message when you did, but it's good that you have got the right version of LAME installed now anyway.

[RonP]

The 'wrong version of LAME' message is a 'feature' of the installer we use (which was written by Microsoft...).  This sometimes fails to update that file for some reason, which is why we now explicitly check that you have the right version installed. I'm not sure why you got the message when you did, but it's good that you have got the right version of LAME installed now anyway.

For the record, I changed nothing with LAME. I don't use it. I use m4a when it comes to lossy versions. All I did was reinstall your program.

Appreciate your replies.

[Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)]

No, you didn't change anything.  We did.