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Just wanted to pass along a few notes to those who are thinking of purchasing DBPoweramp.
I just completed a 7 month project in which I ripped all 2000 of my discs. I had put it off for years, mostly because I dreaded tagging all those discs. I came across DBPoweramp while researching the problem, and am very happy I made the purchase. I thought (like many folks) about just using some free tools, but in the end decided the few dollars DBPA cost was worth it.
Some tips for those of you about to embark on a project:
1) Spend a week or so "learning the program." Though it is fairly straightforward, do a bunch of test rips to find a method that works for you. Play around with the DSPs, there are some very useful ones included. Set up the program they way you want, then take 20 or so disks and start. Look back at the results, and change what you need. I was too excited to start, and was 100 or so discs in and changed my mind on a number of things. I started from scratch twice after that.
2) Spend a few bucks on some hard disks, and rip to two formats at once. I purchased two 3 TB drives, and ripped to MP3 and Flac at the same time to one of the drives. I use a program called Allway Sync (http://allwaysync.com/) that to keep the drives mirrored. I also uploaded everything to Pogoplug cloud. Using their app, I have access to all of my music anywhere, anytime.
3) Spend some time learning the code to name and place your music. I'm not all the bright with programming, but I was able to learn enough to use it. This (along with the PerfectMeta) made DBPA worth every dollar.
For normal discs, I used the following:
[IFCOMP][IFVALUE]album artist,[album artist],Various Artists[]\[year] - [album][IFMULTI] - [disc_total] CD[]\FLAC\[IFMULTI]Disc [disc][]\[track] - [artist] - [title][]\[IF!COMP][artist]\[year] - [album][IFMULTI] - [disc_total] CD[]\FLAC\[IFMULTI]Disc [disc][]\[track] - [title][]
For my classical collection, I used:
[IFCOMP]Various\[album][IFMULTI] - [disc_total] CD[]\FLAC\[IFMULTI]Disc [disc][]\[track] - [composer] - [title][]\[IF!COMP][composer]\[album][IFMULTI] - [disc_total] CD[]\FLAC\[IFMULTI]Disc [disc][]\[track] - [title][]
This worked well for me. Everyone has their own preferences, so find out what works for you.
4) Have patience. I thought this project would never end; several times I would get impatient and not look over things well enough, then have to rerip that CD later.
5) If you get an inaccurate track, just try a different optical drive. I bought the Family pack, and ran the application on each optical drive. Of the 2000 odd discs I had, I only had one track that I could not at least rip secure. Sometimes I had to rip the track in all four of my different drives, but except for the one, I was able to Accurate rip every track.
6) If you have issues, post here. There is quite a bit of experience on this forum
7) Go ahead and buy DBPA; to me, it was worth every penny.
I just completed a 7 month project in which I ripped all 2000 of my discs. I had put it off for years, mostly because I dreaded tagging all those discs. I came across DBPoweramp while researching the problem, and am very happy I made the purchase. I thought (like many folks) about just using some free tools, but in the end decided the few dollars DBPA cost was worth it.
Some tips for those of you about to embark on a project:
1) Spend a week or so "learning the program." Though it is fairly straightforward, do a bunch of test rips to find a method that works for you. Play around with the DSPs, there are some very useful ones included. Set up the program they way you want, then take 20 or so disks and start. Look back at the results, and change what you need. I was too excited to start, and was 100 or so discs in and changed my mind on a number of things. I started from scratch twice after that.
2) Spend a few bucks on some hard disks, and rip to two formats at once. I purchased two 3 TB drives, and ripped to MP3 and Flac at the same time to one of the drives. I use a program called Allway Sync (http://allwaysync.com/) that to keep the drives mirrored. I also uploaded everything to Pogoplug cloud. Using their app, I have access to all of my music anywhere, anytime.
3) Spend some time learning the code to name and place your music. I'm not all the bright with programming, but I was able to learn enough to use it. This (along with the PerfectMeta) made DBPA worth every dollar.
For normal discs, I used the following:
[IFCOMP][IFVALUE]album artist,[album artist],Various Artists[]\[year] - [album][IFMULTI] - [disc_total] CD[]\FLAC\[IFMULTI]Disc [disc][]\[track] - [artist] - [title][]\[IF!COMP][artist]\[year] - [album][IFMULTI] - [disc_total] CD[]\FLAC\[IFMULTI]Disc [disc][]\[track] - [title][]
For my classical collection, I used:
[IFCOMP]Various\[album][IFMULTI] - [disc_total] CD[]\FLAC\[IFMULTI]Disc [disc][]\[track] - [composer] - [title][]\[IF!COMP][composer]\[album][IFMULTI] - [disc_total] CD[]\FLAC\[IFMULTI]Disc [disc][]\[track] - [title][]
This worked well for me. Everyone has their own preferences, so find out what works for you.
4) Have patience. I thought this project would never end; several times I would get impatient and not look over things well enough, then have to rerip that CD later.
5) If you get an inaccurate track, just try a different optical drive. I bought the Family pack, and ran the application on each optical drive. Of the 2000 odd discs I had, I only had one track that I could not at least rip secure. Sometimes I had to rip the track in all four of my different drives, but except for the one, I was able to Accurate rip every track.
6) If you have issues, post here. There is quite a bit of experience on this forum
7) Go ahead and buy DBPA; to me, it was worth every penny.