Need advice dealing with music files.

I'm a noob when it comes to understanding music files and I need some direction.

1. I've downloaded mp3 files from 3 different vocalists, each into their own folders on my hard drive. All 3 folders will easily fit on a CD. If I burn a CD so that the root of my CD contains the 3 folders will most car/home CD players be able to find and play the mp3's in each folder?

2. I've downloaded some ape files, but after burning them to CD I find that neither my car or home stereo systems are able to play them! I'm guessing that I need to convert them to another format ...if that's the case, what format do you suggest?

Thanks,
Aaron

 

Aaron,

Generally,

1. Do not leave them in their folders (i.e., just burn the tracks themselves)
2. Convert to MP3

 

Re #1 - If I do that, the order in which the selections were recorded will not be preserved (because the selections in each folder are numbered 01...20).

Re #2 - Is there another stereo-compatible format that would better preserve the quality of ape files? Seems to me that mp3's are too compressed.

 

It seems to me that you don't know about mp3 tags. With tags the information, Artist, Title, Genre, Year, etc, is all stored inside the actual mp3 file and is independent of the filename and file location.

There are other formats, such as flac, which provide losselss encoding, but those file types are harder to tag.

 

Aaron,

Most mp3 players will be able to read folders and play mp3 tracks inside them. But most CD players are not mp3 players and can not play mp3 files. This is probably the reason why you can not get you car and home player to play the mp3 CD.

So, first make sure your CD players can play mp3 files.

 

What software are you using? Thats the first step. You need to be using a software that allows the creation of MP3 CDs. They are burned differently than a WMA CD or even a CD that WMP burns.

You need to keep all the music in their respective folders. Just drag and drop the folders to the burn list and the program should automatically set it up for you.

I spend alot of time and money on car audio and having MP3 discs is a huge thing for me.

What CD player model are you using? Ive got the Pioneer DEH5800MP. Your CD player cant decode APE. I have never seen a HU in a car play anything other than Flac, AAC, MP3, or WMA. Some have USB inputs and can play from those sources any file. You need to find another copy that your HU is capable of playing.

 

Hi n8,
As I admitted in my first post, I'm a noob when it comes to music files. Where can I learn about using mp3 tags?
Aaron

 

Actually, I am able to play mp3 files on my CD/DVD players ...it's the api files that aren't recognized!

 

What CD deck is it and what program are you using?

 

So far I've just been using my burning software (Ashampoo Burning Studio), but as I plan to do a lot more of this please do suggest whichever software you find works best for this.

My car's (Acura) sound system is by ELS. My home stereo CD/DVD player is a Sony.

 

Ok first thing is to make sure all songs are MP3 and in their respective folders.

Once thats done you need to open Ashampoo and click the burn/rip music and then create mp3cd, dvd, blu ray. You should get this screen:

http://lookpic.com/i/692/BjoB4R8Z.jpeg

After that just drag and drop your folders and burn. Its what I do every time and I have yet to have a CD fail on me.

What is the exact model number on the HU? ELS what?

 

That's what I did (so I am doing something right)! ...but I think I went wrong by not leaving the albums in their respective folders (I didn't know if it was ok to do that).

I'll check on that when I return home (I'm visiting my son Christmas week)... ELS is by Panasonic (it's a great system)!
http://www.panasonic.com/ELS_Surround/

 

Just make sure all the MP3s are the same format and bit rate. Best MP3 bitrate is 320kbps or 320 VBR if you can get it. And make sure the folders dont contain album art or anything other than the MP3 music files.

Lets say you have 3 doors down as a main folder. Inside that you have their albums. Third rock from the sun and kryptonite. Each of those albums then has each track from the album. Its ok to burn the album titles under the main folder grouping. But if you have other bands that only have a single album and you burn the main heading then it wont work. You have to select the albums in a uniform fashion. Make sure you get each album folder not the main artist folder.

You can use this program to convert for free.

http://www.easy-video-converter.com/index.html

 

Good tips! - got any more? - Btw, seeing that his dad has finally discovered mp3's, my son suggested a program called mp3 Collector Pro ...what do you think?

 

Id prefer MediaMonkey over that.

 

Re #1 - if you use a burner that allows you to place the tracks you are burning in a preferred order the order will be maintained. If you do not have, and do not want to acquire such a burner then rename the files so that they are numbered in the correct order.

That is
1 the sun never shines
2 my old friend
3 down the way

Re #2 - with some/many converters you can select the bit rate. If you want to preserve the max sound quality select something like a bit rate of 320....generally 192 is sufficient though.

 

I agree, MediaMonkey will do it all and there is a fee version that will do almost all (I would go for the pay version if you intend to build a large collection over time - to help you build it I would suggest you take a look at
http://www.soundike.com/ I have been using it for some 2 years now and am very pleased with it.)

By the way MediaMonkey has a ripper, burner, converter, and just about anything else you might need to handle music files short of editing them. Its tagging capability is excellent as well. Take a look at the feature list at the link below and I bet you will be hooked. My collection is just under 20,000 tracks and MM handles it beautifully.

http://www.mediamonkey.com/

By the way, if you go the MM route and need help with it ask away, I will be glad to provide whatever guidance I can (I have used the program for about 4 years now). Also, one of the features I really like about MM is the fact that you have a great deal of control over the interface. Its extremely customizable.

PS: if you intend to use your CDs in the car bit-rate becomes somewhat less of a concern. The noise levels in a car are such that the difference between 320 bit, 192 bit, and 160 bit will not be noticeable.

 

for tagging I like MP3TAG which is free.

website
http://www.mp3tag.de/en/

Help section
http://help.mp3tag.de/

here is are videos for using MP3TAG. There are more on youtube if you search.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcXsOstxaZg

This one might give you a headache.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu2U1OipTIU

 

You cant take the files out of their folders for an MP3 disc. It wont work that way. MP3 capable HUs dont read MP3 discs that way. They need to be in a folder. Ive been doing car audio for over 5 years.

 

Yeah that 'brute-force' approach is kind of obvious, but a heck of a lot of work - isn't it?


Btw, you guys convinced me to try MediaMonkey and if I like it, I'll buy it. In that regard, thanks for offering to answer questions...

 

I don't believe I fully understand the implications of this - would you please elaborate?

 

Thanks for the suggestion and links, but won't MediaMonkey do this as well?

 

Well, I always take songs from different artists and place them in a sequence of my choosing, burn them to a CD and play it in my car. There is no folder containing them. Works just fine. ---- I use MediaMonkey to do this but have done the same with other programs designed to allow you to do this (MusicMatch for 1).

If you were just renaming the files of course they would have to be in a folder (your are changing the path after-all) but the fact that they have been renamed will keep them in the order that you have designated by the renaming sequence. If you do not rename them they will be burned in alphabetical order.

Anyway, this is my experience.

 

Most certainly.

 

Yes it is, and a rather silly way to go about burning CDs when there are so many programs available for free or for pay that will allow you to get the result you want.

BTW I never just burn a full album. I have never found an album in which I find the entire albums offerings to my liking. I prefer taking a group of tracks from different artists that I like, arranging them in a sequence that allows the music to "flow", and I burn that. Its a bit more work off course but then the CD becomes a "trip" instead of just a bunch of songs that happen to follow each other.

I should warn you this music thing could quickly become addictive.

By the way, did you take a look at Soundike? Tracks are nominally 15 cents each but if you put $50 into your account Soundike will add $35 so the tracks can become considerably cheaper. Also, from time to time they will have a special and if you put $50 into the account they will add $55. This makes each track cost under 7.5 cents each. There is also the traditional 40 second preview of each track but the sound quality is not great so if you are not familiar with a particular track you may pass up a nice piece of music because it does not sound too good.