How to organise MOD / XM / S3M, etc.
category: general [glöplog]
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So do you actually rename the mod files? How do you then know what the original file name was.
It's like renaming an MP3 file but leaving the original tags inside it, alone - the names I specify show up in the file browser of the mod player software, but once it starts playing the tags inside the file are shown on-screen, so I can still see artist and so forth.
Oh, and the title, which seems to be the single main tag, followed by all the instrument info.
Gave up on renaming the files, just downloaded a whole mass of them and left them as they were. Too much hassle otherwise.
You would've spent years (i guess, just a hasty approximation) doing that anyway.
I know, but I've yet to download mp3s and mods from PC demos, the ones I had before. But not many are available, ie. they're locked inside EXEs, etc.
Maybe it would be easier to collect ADFs and the files themselves and just run the demos ONLY (no XMPlay) from emulators (no real HW available)?
The problem with tracker mods when you play the original files on mod players is that they don't always play as the group intended for the prod. But then again, not all demos run on all platforms. Looks like videos are the only way to enjoy the demos fully, and accurately if they originate from original hardware with the right spec.
Maybe it would be easier to collect ADFs and the files themselves and just run the demos ONLY (no XMPlay) from emulators (no real HW available)?
The problem with tracker mods when you play the original files on mod players is that they don't always play as the group intended for the prod. But then again, not all demos run on all platforms. Looks like videos are the only way to enjoy the demos fully, and accurately if they originate from original hardware with the right spec.
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they don't always play as the group intended for the prod
Can you please stop thinking of groups when speaking of scene music? Yes, groups put music in their demos, but the tune is pretty much always done by a single person and it has happened enough times that the tune even sounded different from what the author intended in the demo itself. So even if you took the demo for reference in every tune, it could still be wrong. Getting each and every of your downloaded tunes to sound correct is a futile attempt, but using the right players like XMPlay at least give you a chance to get it remotely right.
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Maybe it would be easier to collect ADFs and the files themselves and just run the demos ONLY (no XMPlay) from emulators (no real HW available)?
Err, whatever floats your boat, but I prefer to just hit play in XMPlay and let it play music for hours without me having to care about entering soundblaster configuration variables into demo config screens every 5 minutes.
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Err, whatever floats your boat, but I prefer to just hit play in XMPlay and let it play music for hours without me having to care about entering soundblaster configuration variables into demo config screens every 5 minutes.
Fair enough, but XMPlay has problems with some mods, and I'm using Droidsound when I'm out and about as well - seems some tinkering is still involved if you're a perfectionist like me.
XMPlay has various MOD playback modes and all in all I can say that it plays everything I throw at it pretty much correctly. And if all fails, single modules can still be rendered using their respective replaying routines to a streamed format, instead of going full hardcore and doing everything in an emulator.
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And if all fails, single modules can still be rendered using their respective replaying routines to a streamed format, instead of going full hardcore and doing everything in an emulator.
How can I do that? I figured that each replaying routine was unique to the prod in question, tailored specifically to the .mod .
I won't go so far as to collect the ADFs, just maybe build a little HTML file with direct links to all my favourite files.
As for the files I collected today, I'm going to keep those, just for something to listen to aside from my MP3 albums and Spotify.
1) Figure out what the tune is meant to play with
2) Record
It's not that complicated, but it's also not simple since 1) is often not explicitely mentioned. With Amiga MODs you can be fairly sure that ProTracker 2.3d is a good choice for recording. For more obscure formats, xmp-delix or other DeliPlayer/EaglePlayer collections is always a good choice. You can be very sure that most prods don't use uniquely tailored MOD players, especially not uniquely tailored to a single MOD. MOD is a semi-standardized format after all, and for anything custom, you have Deli/Eagleplayers.
2) Record
It's not that complicated, but it's also not simple since 1) is often not explicitely mentioned. With Amiga MODs you can be fairly sure that ProTracker 2.3d is a good choice for recording. For more obscure formats, xmp-delix or other DeliPlayer/EaglePlayer collections is always a good choice. You can be very sure that most prods don't use uniquely tailored MOD players, especially not uniquely tailored to a single MOD. MOD is a semi-standardized format after all, and for anything custom, you have Deli/Eagleplayers.
I recently renamed ALL my module collection (~4000 carefully selected mod) following my chiptune.com style of filename, everything in lowercase with no space, like "author1&author2-music_name.mod".
so I removed ALL directory, it's really easier now :)
so I removed ALL directory, it's really easier now :)
Looking at Saga' screenie is exactly why I really didn't give a stuff about naming conventions for modules. There has never really been a decent metadata util for modules like say there was for mp3.
My structure is Folders (0-9, A1, A2, B1 etc.)
Mod naming "composer_modulename.format".
But I do have my database in Excel for nearly 110,000 (Amiga/PC module) entries, where I also store some further module metadata. The only reason I don't store scene info is because a lot of tracked music isn't in scene productions etc. or the meta is completely missing from the module.
I use a plugin to gain some module info in TC that is easily transferred to Excel, but a Module Database would be a better solution, like Saga' program that enabled metadata to be searched. How's that going btw?
My structure is Folders (0-9, A1, A2, B1 etc.)
Mod naming "composer_modulename.format".
But I do have my database in Excel for nearly 110,000 (Amiga/PC module) entries, where I also store some further module metadata. The only reason I don't store scene info is because a lot of tracked music isn't in scene productions etc. or the meta is completely missing from the module.
I use a plugin to gain some module info in TC that is easily transferred to Excel, but a Module Database would be a better solution, like Saga' program that enabled metadata to be searched. How's that going btw?
I'm not happy with the "raw" filenames and the arbitrary order that they're in, so I'm trying the following:
Previously I would take the group and prod that the tune came from and put a number in brackets to indicate the playing order, like thus:
KEFRENS desert dream (2).mod
I didn't like that, so I downloaded them again with the original names as I have them now, like so:
checknobankh.mod
Then it hit me: why not combine both, like this:
KEFRENS desert dream (2) checknobankh.mod
I think this is a better idea, as I can sort by the way I want to whilst maintaining the original names unchanged. Of course, it doesn't have to be group/prod, it could be artist, but that's just my personal preference.
Previously I would take the group and prod that the tune came from and put a number in brackets to indicate the playing order, like thus:
KEFRENS desert dream (2).mod
I didn't like that, so I downloaded them again with the original names as I have them now, like so:
checknobankh.mod
Then it hit me: why not combine both, like this:
KEFRENS desert dream (2) checknobankh.mod
I think this is a better idea, as I can sort by the way I want to whilst maintaining the original names unchanged. Of course, it doesn't have to be group/prod, it could be artist, but that's just my personal preference.
"raw" author name is the rule for me.
getting some memory of who actually composed a tune (and maybe for what(musicformat)) helps a lot.
getting some memory of who actually composed a tune (and maybe for what(musicformat)) helps a lot.
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and this!Also, to extend on my previous post: Yes, I also sort mods into artist folders, but only if the amount of mods per artist is worth the effort. I.e. if I can be pretty sure that I will never have more than those one or two mods from a certain author, I will just dump it in the main directory.
it is probably easier to just download the stuff from modland again where stuff is already organised by tracker format and artist. unless you have really obscure shit from the BBS days.
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like Saga' program that enabled metadata to be searched. How's that going btw?
Haven't really worked on it during the last half year or so. It's usable in the current state but not feature-complete, though.
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it is probably easier to just download the stuff from modland again where stuff is already organised by tracker format and artist. unless you have really obscure shit from the BBS days.
I didn't use Modland before, is it the biggest collection? Before, I used Kestra and Mod Archive.
http://amp.dascene.net/ is another good alternative
but maybe thats Kestra :)
I found Kestra easier as it enabled me to search by prod.
I already stated group/prod as a personal preference, yet I can't figure out why everyone insists that I should go by artist? Am I insulting the Scene by not doing so, mandatorily?
I already stated group/prod as a personal preference, yet I can't figure out why everyone insists that I should go by artist? Am I insulting the Scene by not doing so, mandatorily?
I guess you use whatever method feels easiest for you in order to keep it organised, if that's what you want.