Switching to MMW from iTunes on Mac - Report thus far...

[dennisparrott]

The moderators, developers and fellow forum members who hang out on this forum were kind enough to help me understand a few things at the start of this project so I thought I would report my success so far. My hope is that anyone new to MMW will find it interesting and helpful if they are considering a similar change.

Motivation for Leaving iTunes (& the Mac) Universe
This is a LONG TOPIC. Suffice to say, I have a very large collection of music that I enjoy as a fanatic and use as a DJ. (> 100K tracks) iTunes was getting very slow at doing anything. iTunes over the last few years had crapped out on my a few times and I ended up having to bring my library back from the dead, losing precious playlists and other valuable data. iTunes often lost tracks and its search capabilities often returned weird tracks that I simply have no idea why they were turning up in my searches.

I could do a RANT on what Apple has turned a nice little media organizer/player into and how they've destroyed their investment in Mac systems but I will leave that for my YouTube channel.

As a DJ, every DJ program has made your iTunes library central to its ability to work with your music. With such a large iTunes library it took FOREVER to load up my DJ software (Traktor, switching to Rekordbox) which was a problem.

My Plan
Since my MacBook Pro is about 10 years old and getting to the point where it will require replacement AND because I am unhappy with current MacBook Pro offerings I decided to go back to Windows. I bought a nice Lenovo Yoga 920.

I already owned MMW Gold Lifetime. I had bought it trying to use it on my Mac in response to an iTunes "hard fail" in the middle of preparing to DJ someone's wedding. I decided to make it the tool to manage the music.

Portable Installation
After conferring with folks on this forum, I decided to "go portable". My library is so large there is NO WAY to contain it on the main boot drive of _ANY_ laptop computer. My library was already on a portable drive (which was old and ready for replacement - I rotate these drives about every 2 years) so I copied the iTunes folders from the old drive to a new drive.

I then followed the instructions for creating a portable MMW install on that drive.

Advantages of a Portable Installation of MMW
I get a couple of BIG advantages "going portable".

One, I am able to plug that drive into any computer and run MMW and work with my music. This is huge as I have a lot of computers laying around that might get pressed into service at any given time. I can grab my drive and plug it into a friends computer and play music there.

Two, a portable install can be backed up simply by copying the drive contents to another drive. This is huge as I have not had a truly legitimate backup of my music in a very long time. Once I copy the drive the first time I expect that I can simply sync over the changes in the future.

I had been attempting to make my iPad into a DJ song prep tool but it was proving to be impossible. I use Traktor (currently) and the iPad Traktor DJ app allowed you to export the song prep metadata back to your Traktor installation but that feature got broken and has not been fixed. One of the goals for this entire exercise was to get a system together where I could have music, music library management and DJ library management and preparation in one place.

So, three, a portable install of MMW helps me meet that goal by having MMW and my music in one place. If my new DJing platform (Rekordbox) will install in a "portable" fashion on that hard drive I can have exactly what I wanted -- music, management and DJ prep in one spot. (Better, if I roll into a situation where I'm working on somebody else's Pioneer DJ setup all I have to do is plug in my hard drive and I am good to go...)

My Experiences So Far
Once MMW was installed and the iTunes folders copied over from the old drive I was _AMAZED_ at how quickly MMW scanned the folders and built a usable database. That was a plus!

My music management and DJ workflows were all centered around the main library display in iTunes. MMW does not really work like that so I am learning new ways to work with my music. This is a neither positive or negative. It is just something to work through.

Since all I did was copy the folders with the music to a new drive and let MMW scan them, I did lose all of my iTunes playlists. There were a lot of garbage lists in there so this is not really a bad thing. I had a lot lists that had all of the music by a single artist/group (including remixes and mashups and songs where that artist appeared on somebody else's song...) and these are probably not all that useful to me anymore. Again, not a positive or a negative. (I have the old iTunes install and can refer back to them so long as my MacBook Pro does not go "toes up" on me...)

While on the subject of playlists, it took a few minutes to figure out how to make them. That was okay. What I seem to be missing is the ability to make a playlist folder and stuff the folder full of lists. If it exists, I haven't figured it out yet. This might turn out to be a negative since playlists are central to my music and DJing world and I tend to create LOTS of them. I need a way to group them by project.

As a long time iTunes user, I had developed an affinity for scripts from dougscripts.com and have invested a bit of cash in buying them. I know that MMW supports VB scripts but with MM5 switching the scripting model I am not sure how far down the scripting rabbit hole I want to go. I do need MMW versions of the dougscripts I was running though...spending your time fixing capitalization and so on is not my idea of fun.

Overall, the tag editing (especially bulk edits of a number of tracks) is FAST. This was one area where iTunes would really tick me off. iTunes had developed a lot of lag in how it would operate. Editing tags, switching to the next track, watching the system sit there while writing the edit out all became good excuses for going out for coffee. MMW tag editing is so much faster I rate it as a HUGE positive.

Recently I discovered an iTunes track that had been corrupted somehow. I have re-ripped tracks and tried to put them into iTunes without re-importing the track. In iTunes that process is "no bueno". Total pain in the butt. In MMW I grabbed the track location from the display (up to the filename), went to Windows File Explorer and pasted that folder in. File Explorer went right to the folder and I renamed the existing (corrupt) version of the track. I then copied the new, un-corrupt version of the track into that folder. I went back into MMW and the track just played. (Note: there is probably a much simpler way to do this but, hey, I am new to this environment...)

Next Steps
First, I need to address the scripting issue. I have a lot of tracks in the well over 100K tracks that need some work. Capitalization issues and needing to switch the contents of two fields primarily.

Second, I have a TON of duplicates in the library. The display will show me the file names of every track in a manner far superior to how iTunes did it. MMW FTW on that account. I need to develop a strategy for weeding out the duplicates.

Another aspect of this is that I am also in the process of moving my terabytes of files around and found LOTS of tracks that were not in iTunes already. This led me to snag those folders and just stick them into the main MMW library folder and scan the folder. This is sort of messy and I think along with de-duplicating things I need to master reorganizing stuff in the library. [Side note to self: if things are a bit messy _and_ Rekordbox is linked to tracks that might get re-organized maybe exporting the tracks into a separate RB collection is the best thing to do... it would save having to re-connect to tracks after moving them around...]

Third, once my new Pioneer controller arrives and I install Rekordbox I need to understand what RB does when you prep a track. Does it write into the ID3 section of the track? What does it do with tracks in WAV format? This info will allow me to decide whether I simply pass RB the location of my track in the MMW library or export the files and put them in a separate RB library where RB can do what it chooses.

Overall
I have a lot to learn to master MMW and remake my workflows. That is to be expected.

Overall the experience has been a positive, especially the speed of tag editing!

I want to say thanks again to the folks who read my earlier forum posts and answered my questions. Those bits of knowledge helped me avoid a lot wasted time in this effort.

[Peke]

Hi,
Nice review, I've seen lots of DJs switch to MMW in order to rectify problems with iTunes.
A Few Questions for you:
1. What Pioneer Controller you are waiting eg. does it support FLAC?
2. Have you tried MM5 in Portable Mode? We are planning to release MAC version of it when we make it feature/UI stable enough (most likely after Windows Stable release is done) and It Support Initial Key for Harmonic Mixing (Finally).
3. How do you prepare your sets and What exact application you use to DJ? I personally Liked a lot MIXVibes (My old setup with two Technics Turntables and Behringer Mixer). Another set of apps that I can't live without are MixedInKey, MashUp2, Platinum Notes and Flow8Deck (Simple DJing and Harmonic Mixing), so to prepare sets I used MMW to Export My Library to Playlists Folder using "<Playlist>\<Auto Number>. <Title> - <Artist>" mask so all was prepared to load set and enjoy.

A Suggestion, Firstly solve all issues with Tags and then using Music -> Files to Edit and Duplicate nodes can save you ton of time.

[dennisparrott]

Hi,
Nice review, I've seen lots of DJs switch to MMW in order to rectify problems with iTunes.
A Few Questions for you:
1. What Pioneer Controller you are waiting eg. does it support FLAC?
2. Have you tried MM5 in Portable Mode? We are planning to release MAC version of it when we make it feature/UI stable enough (most likely after Windows Stable release is done) and It Support Initial Key for Harmonic Mixing (Finally).
3. How do you prepare your sets and What exact application you use to DJ? I personally Liked a lot MIXVibes (My old setup with two Technics Turntables and Behringer Mixer). Another set of apps that I can't live without are MixedInKey, MashUp2, Platinum Notes and Flow8Deck (Simple DJing and Harmonic Mixing), so to prepare sets I used MMW to Export My Library to Playlists Folder using "<Playlist>\<Auto Number>. <Title> - <Artist>" mask so all was prepared to load set and enjoy.

A Suggestion, Firstly solve all issues with Tags and then using Music -> Files to Edit and Duplicate nodes can save you ton of time.

Peke - thanks for the kind words. Everyone here I got input from shared freely. I need to pass on how it went to pay that gift back so that someone else like me can benefit.

Regarding the questions you ask...

#1. I am waiting on a reconditioned DDJ-RX. I was going back and forth between the -RX and the new-this-year DDJ-1000. Ultimately, I got most of what the -1000 offers for $300 less than the -1000 sells for.

Pioneer controllers are outrageously expensive (on first look) but both of those controllers will work as a standalone mixer. I can plug in somebody's phone, a turntable, my wireless mic and be able to play something without having my computer booted up.

I went with the -RX to save some cash and because I did not feel that the very-close-to-CDJ layout and operation of the -1000 was compelling enough to part with an additional $300. Also, the -RX has one button access to the "slicer" mode which is very similar to something you can do with Traktor DJ on iOS (and probably with the latest revision of Traktor Pro but I have not checked...). Getting to the slicer is a little tougher on the -1000.

All that aside, the _PRIMARY_ reason for getting a Pioneer controller is to get access to Rekordbox when DJing. Rekordbox (along with dJay Pro, Virtual DJ, Serato DJ and -I think- Mixxx) offer the ability to properly beatgrid tracks played by human drummers and then sync those tracks. When I bought Traktor Duo late one night many years ago I did not realize that this is a feature I really needed. Traktor Pro does not have this feature...

So the setup I am leaving is Traktor Pro running either a Traktor S4 Mk1 or Traktor S2 Mk2 controller. I sometimes use the S2 with my iPad to make mixes of cocktail or dinner music. (I am an "event DJ" so I play weddings and parties and such...)

Now, let's talk about FLAC playback... Rekordbox supports FLAC (and ALAC from what I briefly skimmed on the Pioneer forum). The -RX is just a mixer, a DAC (soundcard) and a box full of MIDI buttons so it should not care about the format of your music since all it will see is a string of binary data representing music.

From what I read on those forums there were some folks who were ticked off that the all-in-one, no-computer-required decks did not support FLAC and so on and they were getting a little testy about when Pio was going to support them. (The reality is NEVER if they could get away with it as Pio wants you to buy new gear!)

#2. I have NOT tried MM5 at all. I have learned over the years to stay away from the "bleeding edge" products. My goal was to get my music onto a new platform ASAP as I have two weddings to prep for coming in Spetember (I do not simply play music from the standard box of wedding songs... each affair is curated and playlisted relentlessly to suit the tastes of the couple and their guests. One of them will be a garage rock affair mixing old, 60s garage rock with more modern stuff as the bride and groom are friends with a couple of garage rock bands from Detroit - born and raised here BTW.)

That is not to say I won't snag a copy of MM5 and try it out. It just isn't my highest priority at this moment.

#3. For this part of the answer, I am speaking about what I USED, not what I will use in the future...

I use Traktor Pro and either a S4 Mk1 or S2 Mk2. The songs all live in iTunes. I would create playlists for the event and would have several playlists (cocktails, dinner, etc.) and I would simply use that combination to make smooth transitions from one song to the next. I was not doing any fancy mixing because Traktor cannot support properly beatgridding all of my old school tracks. (My specialty is 60s music. I have TONS OF IT.)

Where I am going is Rekordbox 5 with a DDJ-RX controller. The main purpose is to be able to do things like layer a loop from one old school track over a loop from another and be able to nicely move from one song to the next. I also want to be able to use that slicer to chop things up and remix them on the fly.

I see that you like those Mixed in Key apps. I have a very old version of MIK on my Mac and some of their apps on my iPad. When I was doing my DJ education on Traktor I did do some stuff with MIK and did some very intro-level
harmonic mixes. As I told one of teachers in my class, modern dance music does not really speak to me, all my old school tracks do. I've been on an off and on quest since finishing that course in 2011 to be able to do creative stuff with my old school tracks but kept running into issues (Traktor won't do X, other people want my time, I'm not able to focus after working all day...). I discovered the little Rekordbox beatgrid secret in a course I bought from Digital DJ Tips a while back and am just now finally pulling the trigger to switch to Rekordbox.

I just saw a video by LaidBack Luke that showed (very quickly) how to do 5 production things in Ableton Live. Since your can buy a copy of that for $99 these days I am planning to but the Intro version to do edits, warp some tracks to make edits and remixes, build up beats to remix/bootleg tracks. I am going that way instead of buying Mashup. Not sure if I will update my MIK.

I like your idea of exporting to a playlist folder. I think that will be a useful trick in my bag.

To start I want to build a section of my Rekordbox library with my "best" 60s music. I have a ton of great compilation records (for instance, Time-Life's "AM Gold" collection) and my plan is to first go through MMW and export the best ones. The less great compilations will get picked over and select tracks will get exported. Then I will go by-artist and see what I might have missed. That will give me a base collection.

I can repeat that process for other genres and time periods. (Last year I went crate digging for 80s music and was astounded at what was in there!)

As for fixing tags and duplicates, I am glad you recommended that! It is **EXACTLY** what I have been doing lately.

When I started, I basically "shoveled" every folder of music files I could find into one folder and told MMW to go scan it. Now I see there are many duplicates. I spotted that "Files to Edit" node and said "hmmm. wonder what is going on there..." and then started fixing tags. (I'm glad you agree that this is a good idea. Makes me think I might be catching on to how to use MMW!)

(Aside to anyone still reading this: MMW is _different_. In iTunes you have that central display listing your music. In MMW you have nodes to click on that will show what is there. It takes a bit of getting used to coming from iTunes.)

As I said in my review, I do need to get busy with scripting. I really need some scripts to fill in for what I left behind that I had snagged from dougscripts.com. Once I get the lawn mowed today, I am thinking that learning how to use the scripting feature is a MUST DO...

Peke - thanks for your time and comments. This is a very nice community and folks like you help make it nice! (and VERY helpful too!)

[Peke]

Hmmm, Very interesting.

Here is My proposal on what you should try to do and Work With. I tried it on my two monitor setup and it worked like a Charm.
Opened MMW on One monitor and Flow/Mashup on Second. Then I used MMW to search thru tracks in order to Drag And Drop directly to Flow Prepare window and then put it in Deck for mixing or in Layout for mashup.

You should also check Google for tutorials on "MixedInKey Odesi" that can easily work magic along with Alberton.

Eg. An idea here is to use MMW for all except for playback eg. you can use MMW on Monitor 1 and Traktor for Mixing/Playback on Monitor 2.

Let me know anything more I can help you to set things up.

HINT Duplicate titles list all the duplicate so you need to chooese which to delete and which to leave on your collection.

[Shakadula5153]

I thought I had a large music library! Anyway this is a great thread.

Pavle, Having used iTunes for years I somehow ended up with duplicates due to reinstalling iTunes to try and fix issues. Since I dropped iTunes for MM, all of those duplicates transferred to MM. since I work with playlists only, is there a way to identify duplicates and delete files from the library and computer that are NOT in a playlist? Other than the manual process.

I am in the process of getting a Mac and plan to run MM with a yet to be determined interface (parallels, crossover, bootcamp). Any suggestions on this would be a great help.

Thanks.

[Lowlander]

You can create an AutoPlaylist of files with Criteria Playlist is not. However that won't guarantee they're duplicates.

Duplicate management: https://www.mediamonkey.com/support/kno ... ow-to-fix/

[Shakadula5153]

Thank you.