Separate Subfolders for Multiple CDs in Box Sets

[Koussie]

Revisiting an old subject, last seen I think in:

https://forum.dbpoweramp.com/forum/other-topics/batch-ripper/43277-to-create-each-folder-for-each-cd-disk

The default syntax:
[MAXLENGTH]80,[IFVALUE]album artist,[album artist],[IFCOMP]Various Artists[][IF!COMP][artist][][][]\[MAXLENGTH]80,[album][][IFMULTI], Disc [disc][]\[MAXLENGTH]80,[track] [artist] - [title][]

... puts all tracks into one folder and not into separate folders. If metadata is not found, then tracks are named generically and overwritten. Not helpful.

The syntax suggested by Garym:
[MAXLENGTH]240,[IFCOMP]Compilations\[album][IFMULTI]\Disc [disc][]\[track] - [title] - [artist][][IF!COMP][IFVALUE]album artist,[album artist],[artist][]\[album][IFMULTI]\Disc [disc][]\[track] - [title][][]

... also puts all tacks into one folder, despite the change in the syntax.

The very simple syntax suggested by Spoon:
[discunique]\[track] - [title]

... does rigidly put each CD into separate folders, sequentially numbered but not named, and not obviously part of the same album. This is a problem when batch ripping a number of different multiple CD box sets at once.

All three syntax versions do gather metadata, although it varies (curiously) with syntax.

Question: is there a syntax that actually works for CD box sets with multiple CDS, that will rip all CDs of a box set into the correctly named album folder but with each CD ripped into a separate subfolder thereunder? Note that I wish to batch rip a number of different multiple CD box sets all in one stack. I have about 6,000 CDs to rip, all classical.

I use a Nimbie USB Plus.

Thanks!

Kevin

[Koussie]

Evidently, judging by the lack of replies, this is not possible.

Alternately, is there a syntax that would generate filenames that would differentiate the different CDs and their tracks in a multi-cd set, even if ripped into a common folder?

Example track filenames:

01 - 01 Title 1
01 - 02 Title 2
01 - 03 Title 3

02 - 01 Title 1
02 - 02 Title 2
02 - 03 Title 3

Etcetera.

Thanks!

Kevin

[GBrown]

The syntax suggested by Garym:
[MAXLENGTH]240,[IFCOMP]Compilations\[album][IFMULTI]\Disc [disc][]\[track] - [title] - [artist][][IF!COMP][IFVALUE]album artist,[album artist],[artist][]\[album][IFMULTI]\Disc [disc][]\[track] - [title][][]

The part from this pattern that will,split the sub folders by disc is this: [IFMULTI]\Disc [disc][]
It is depending on the Sisc tag to be correctly populated and the set to have more than one disc.

syntax suggested by Spoon:
[discunique]\[track] - [title]

You could replace the above section using the [discunique] component instead but there is no guarantee these will be sequential. I would stick with the pattern suggested by garym and make sure you have the disc tags filled in correctly.

[simbun]

The default syntax:
[MAXLENGTH]80,[IFVALUE]album artist,[album artist],[IFCOMP]Various Artists[][IF!COMP][artist][][][]\[MAXLENGTH]80,[album][][IFMULTI], Disc [disc][]\[MAXLENGTH]80,[track] [artist] - [title][]

... puts all tracks into one folder and not into separate folders. If metadata is not found, then tracks are named generically and overwritten. Not helpful.

As GBrown notes, IFMULTI only works if it knows (TOTALDISCS populated or x/y in the discnumber tag) there's more than one disc in the release.

Alternately, is there a syntax that would generate filenames that would differentiate the different CDs and their tracks in a multi-cd set, even if ripped into a common folder?

Example track filenames:

01 - 01 Title 1
01 - 02 Title 2
01 - 03 Title 3

[SETLEN]2,48,,[disc][] - [track] [title]

[garym]

This is the same as my earlier naming string, but does not create a separate subfolder for each disc. Instead, track names include disc number (only for multidisk albums). For example, 1.01 - title.flac, 1.02 - title.flac, 2.01 - title.flac, etc. Of course the metadata still needs to contain the disc number for this to work. (no need for disc number for single disc albums; for these albums I leave the disc field blank in the metadata)

[MAXLENGTH]240,[IFCOMP]Compilations\[album]\[IFMULTI]\[disc][].[track] - [title] - [artist][][IF!COMP][IFVALUE]album artist,[album artist],[artist][]\[album]\[IFMULTI]\[disc][].[track] - [title][][]

[schmidj]

Note that the on-line metadata for the discs of "box sets" is even more messed up that most. Why? Probably because many "box sets" were also issued as individual CDs, often with a different album title, and a good portion of the metadata is from the individual CDs, not the box set. The disc numbers and disctotal tags are inconsistent, and often the album title tags are different. Unless you carefully edit the metadata before ripping, your results will be messed up. And that defeats the purpose of the batch ripper.

[Koussie]

How can one do this "Unless you carefully edit the metadata before ripping" ?

Editing metadata is easy in the one-at-a-time CD Ripper, but I don't see such an option for the Batch Ripper.

Kevin

[garym]

How can one do this "Unless you carefully edit the metadata before ripping" ?

Editing metadata is easy in the one-at-a-time CD Ripper, but I don't see such an option for the Batch Ripper.

Kevin

Correct. I'm assuming it is not possible to review metadata before ripping with Batch Ripper (how could one do this, it's batch?). I've only used the standard ripper, not the batch ripper.

[GBrown]

How can one do this "Unless you carefully edit the metadata before ripping" ?

Editing metadata is easy in the one-at-a-time CD Ripper, but I don't see such an option for the Batch Ripper.

This is the risk when using a batch process. The metadata retrieval is spotty most of the time. You will definitely save time using the Nimbie. But at some point you will have to review your metadata and perhaps move some files as a result. Think about those of us that went through our libraries one disc at a time!

[schmidj]

I put each disc in a separate directory/folder when ripping. I both try to fill in the disc x of y data (it is easy to forget if it is wrong in the metadata) and more specifically add ", disc 1", disc 2") or whatever to the album title, so they don't end up in the same folder with my naming. It isn't very hard to merge the folders, playing with the metadata and file names in mp3tag, although I've only done that in a few cases. Typically I've used track numbers starting with 101 for the first disc, 201 for the second, etc. (very similar to what I do for digitized LPs with the track numbers starting with 11 for side i, 21 for side 2. Given that there just aren't that many "box sets", and for classical music the metadata is such a mess anyway, it is not that much of a task to rip that way.

My Library Contains 135852 Tracks, 10400 Albums (as of today). Most are rips of CDs (a few downloaded from the web, a number of my own location recordings and a number of digitized records.) No batch ripper, several years of part-time ripping. Back over 15 years ago, started ripping on Winamp to m4a to use on a Discman, then listening at home. Full of bad rips, worse metadata. Switched to dBpoweramp and FLAC in 2014, first ripping the large part of my collection that hadn't been ripped at all, and some of the stuff previously ripped to m4a that I listened to often or I knew was a bad rip. Finally got everything ripped/reripped back about 6 years ago, Then got several thousand CDs free from a radio station disposing of them (just avoided dumpster diving) and another thousand I bought from a guy on eBay for $2.50 (for the whole 1000, not per disc, I was the only bidder. The catch was I had to pick them up, he wasn't going to ship them. But he was close by.)

While I don't use Batch Ripper, I do run multiple simultaneous instances of the dBpoweramp ripper at the same time. I have 8 CD/DVD/Blue ray drives connected to the computer, half by direct SATA, half by SATA-USB adapters to USB ports on the PC. Various makes, most many CDs faster but have problems with scratches, etc. A couple rip most CDs slower but read many damaged CDs better I'll try using the faster ones first, but if I see rerips, I'll abort the rip - clean the CD - and rip again, using the slower but more forgiving drive. Often I get good rips by doing that.

I have three old 4X3 monitors connected to the PC, at most, two instances of the ripper on each. Any more and I'll loose track and accidentally mess up and remove a CD mid-rip! As it is, many of the CDs I buy are ethnic from the Caribbean or other places in the world with no or messed up metadata and entering the metadata takes far longer than ripping them, slowing the process down. But the CDs that came from the radio station and the 1000 I got from the eBay guy were mostly pop and jazz with pretty good metadata and I'd often keep 6 instances ripping at once, not delayed by manually typing in the metadata.

One other bit: I have a scanner sitting next to the PC. If I can't find the correct artwork within a few seconds of on-line searching, I pull out the cover from the jewel box and scan it. Far faster than extensive Internet searching and a good, high quality scan.

[simbun]

If your original question should have read:

Question: is there a syntax that actually works for CD box sets with multiple CDS, that will rip all CDs of a box set into the correctly named album folder but with each CD ripped into a separate subfolder thereunder for discs without metadata?

Then the answer would obviously have been no. For those discs the safest thing to do (to avoid overwriting existing files) is to use the [discunique] approach.

With that said the most robust naming syntax to use in a batch process would be one that checked for the existence of the core metadata, and only used [discunique] as a fallback, which could look something like:

[IFVALUE][album artist],[IFVALUE][album],[IFVALUE][disc],[album artist]\[MAXLENGTH]80,[album][]\[SETLEN]2,48,,[disc][].[track],_untagged\[discunique]\[track][],_untagged\[discunique]\[track][],_untagged\[discunique]\[track][]

Not sure if there's a way to check all tags at once and avoid the repetition of _untagged\[discunique]\[track]

Apply to your desired naming syntax as appropriate.