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Microwave Dudes: Playlist or Crates

dstill808dstill808 704 Posts
edited March 2007 in Strut Central
Yo, so I'm been microwaving popcorn for the last 6 months or so. I do all my track naming/sorting/etc. in iTunes, because in addition to letting me edit multiple items at once, iTunes seems to embed the info in the file better than Microwave.what this means though is that in se-rato my files are organized as playlists and not crates, so I can't drag and drop files w/in s.erato, which is sometimes frustrating. What I like about doing it this way though is that I can just put the library on lock and not worry about fucking something up when I'm DJing. Anyone ever lost a crate? General pro's/cons of one way vs. the other?

  Comments

  • DJBombjackDJBombjack Miami 1,665 Posts
    I like the ability within iTunes to use Smart Playlists - these also transfer into SSL. All my lists/file management are done within iTunes.
  • dstill808dstill808 704 Posts
    Word. iTunes definitely wins on the organization tip. My main frustration is having to open iTunes when I'm practicing and want to change something or add a song to a playlist or whatever.
  • prof_rockwellprof_rockwell 2,867 Posts
    I use crates, but that's only because I organize my records differently than my iTunes, and I try as much as possible to have sair-ah-toe be a direct reflection of my record collection, and how I organize that. And a lot of times, I'm not even using my crates when I'm DJing - I'm either hunting for specific songs using ctrl-F or looking at my entire collection sorted by BPM.
  • dstill808dstill808 704 Posts
    Have you ever had any problems with losing information (comments/bpm, etc) or organization when transferring or backing up your files?
  • ayresayres 1,452 Posts
    iTunes
  • prof_rockwellprof_rockwell 2,867 Posts
    Have you ever had any problems with losing information (comments/bpm, etc) or organization when transferring or backing up your files?

    never lost info, but I do find that some of the song info doesn't get imported to SSL - but it's restricted to the year of the track, which as a completionist I find annoying because I like to have that info handy if someone asks me what song is playing so I can say 'Oh, this is George Benson from 1978". But that's picking some nits right there.
  • TabaskoTabasko 1,357 Posts
    playlists
  • CosmoCosmo 9,768 Posts
    I like the ability within iTunes to use Smart Playlists - these also transfer into SSL. All my lists/file management are done within iTunes.

    But also, whenever I've played a pretty good set or something I'll drag that to create a crate.
  • prof_rockwellprof_rockwell 2,867 Posts


    But also, whenever I've played a pretty good set or something I'll drag that to create a crate.

    co-sign, I had about 4 of these crates and combined them for a super-duty tough crate. Plus I got special crates for shows that I do with my dance company, and for my partner who just brings his iPod to use with the box.
  • autezautez 404 Posts
    i find that the worst thing about Microwave is the crate organization and adding new tracks. maybe this is because i dont use itunes but whenever i need to add some new music, it is such a pain. i wish you could just organize it once thru your regular folders without having to import the new tracks, find the new tracks in each crate and rebuild the overviews every time. does using itunes help this? i dont know if i really want to use itunes either way cuz it seems like a big memory hog and doesnt seem very practical.
  • bthavbthav 1,538 Posts
    i dont know if i really want to use itunes either way cuz it seems like a big memory hog and doesnt seem very practical.


    you dont have to run itunes and s.erato at the same time... microwave reads off the .xml index file and the database file itunes creates
  • prof_rockwellprof_rockwell 2,867 Posts
    i dont know if i really want to use itunes either way cuz it seems like a big memory hog and doesnt seem very practical.


    you dont have to run itunes and s.erato at the same time... microwave reads off the .xml index file and the database file itunes creates

    this is true. but for other practical reasons I don't use iTunes, is because I got more music than my HD on my laptop can hold, and I'd rather not have two different itunes libraries on two different hard drives. plus, I can put a song in multiple crates (i.e. "This Is Why I'm Hot" in hip hop, new shit, and commerical crates)
  • BrianBrian 7,618 Posts
    im really specific with my tags so i use tag and rename first to fix up the file names and then work on the tags in Microwave. itunes is just too bloated for me and i find it easier to edit individual tags within Microwave since you can just click in the field instead of having to right click and edit from there in itunes.
  • pjl2000xlpjl2000xl 1,795 Posts
    yeah i used to use itunes also to manage my stuff, but i find it just easier and more convenient to use seratos crates. what i do though is in windows i have folders that become crates, like 90s hip hop, downtempo, popfunk etc, and i throw mp3s in those then import them into Microwave. So when i need to add new files to my crates i just delete the crate then just re add it and the new files get added. I dont make crates out of the whole library in Microwave in case it the crate gets deleted or whatever. It just is easier for me to organize all my mp3s in windows by folders.
  • BrianBrian 7,618 Posts
    yeah, organizing your shit by folders in windows is so necessary
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