Do you catalogue your Vinyl ? [Archive]

Stratmangler

15-09-2012, 21:09

Hi

Its getting to the point I need to catalogue my Vinyl records

Before I do it the hard way , does anyone already do it ?

Any tips on the best way to record the data ? :)

Do you lend them out?
If no then why bother? :eyebrows:

northwest

15-09-2012, 21:11

I use the " music collector" software. I bought the whole thing. My main reason for doing so was because I was getting fed up buying duplicates so really it wa a no brainier for me. It is very, very comprehensive. I did have a spread speed with all my cd's on but haven't used it in ages.

Reid Malenfant

15-09-2012, 21:13

Try Mediaman, it's a free software available on the net :)

Trouble is I didn't keep mine up to date, & with blu rays now on the scene I gave up a long time ago :eyebrows: Now I have to remember everything :eek:

Good software though ;)

Audio Al

15-09-2012, 21:14

If no then why bother?

At my age the old gray matter :mental: sometimes thinks

" I have that album " only to find I don't :scratch: when I get home

So would be nice to take a printed list or my Ipad when I go to the boot sales on a buying spree :)

MartinT

15-09-2012, 21:14

I keep them in alpha order on the shelves, otherwise no cataloguing as I don't have enough hours in my life for that.

Macca

15-09-2012, 21:19

Reid Malenfant

15-09-2012, 21:22

The problem with putting your records in aphabetical orderr is that you have to be dicsiplined enough to put them back in order once you have played them. I have tried and failed iin that task. Pain in the arse sometimes though, looking through to find a particular album.
Just leave the album playing sticking out from the rack...

That's what I do with CDs & I have a whole shed load of those :eyebrows: Once played, slide it back in...

sq225917

15-09-2012, 21:37

Macca

15-09-2012, 21:38

Just leave the album playing sticking out from the rack...

That's what I do with CDs & I have a whole shed load of those :eyebrows: Once played, slide it back in...

That is a damn good idea! - I love coping strategies - where would we be without them?

Macca

15-09-2012, 21:41

I've never bought the same album twice (by mistake), but jesus I've bought home the same dvd from Blockbusters loads of times. Get ten minutes into a film and can't help feeling it seems too familiar...

Yep been there done that myself. The real problem is that it is always one of those shit, unmemorable films so you don't feel like watching it again once you have remembered it.

MartinT

15-09-2012, 22:14

I always leave the album or CD to the left of the one I've removed sticking out. It's easy then to slot it back in.

keiths

15-09-2012, 22:27

I always leave the album or CD to the left of the one I've removed sticking out. It's easy then to slot it back in.

I always leave the one to the RIGHT sticking out :scratch: Maybe It's because I'm left handed.

MartinT

15-09-2012, 22:33

I'm also left handed :lol:

Reid Malenfant

15-09-2012, 22:39

I'm also left handed :lol:
They'd be ducking you on a stool in a pond a while ago Martin, nice to see you are here now fella :lol:

MartinT

15-09-2012, 22:45

There have been times in our history when you'd only have to look at someone the wrong way and you'd be a goner.

Reid Malenfant

15-09-2012, 22:59

There have been times in our history when you'd only have to look at someone the wrong way and you'd be a goner.
Ah yes....

See how the duck of Taunton resides within him :lol:

That reminds me, I must get Blackadder DVDs :eyebrows: The first series was a classic.

Tim

16-09-2012, 08:17

I have an Excel spreadsheet of my collection, once I got beyond about 1,500 I did buy a duplicate once, but since I started a catalogue of my collection is has not happened again - I'm over 2,500 now.

The Music Collector software is good and would suit your needs I think, I trialled it but never bought it, as with a spreadsheet and my collection now fully catalogued digitally by the JRiver software I have no need for it.

http://www.collectorz.com/music/

I really like the spreadsheet and often use it to browse through and select something to play, when I am sat at my computer. I only include;

Artist
Title
Year
Comments, i.e. If it's live where it was recorded or if its a special edition.

My mate in China does a similar thing (well his wife does) and we often swap spreadsheets to see what we have been buying. He buys around 30~50 albums a month!
. . . . and I have no problems either finding an album or putting it back, I just tap the album cover on my tablet to play it, which I totally love as it got to be a real pain finding stuff and putting it back again ;)

awkwardbydesign

16-09-2012, 13:24

I always leave the album or CD to the left of the one I've removed sticking out. It's easy then to slot it back in.
:thumbsup: I have started to catalogue mine as I've managed to get my insurance company to cover them for accidental damage. And I've recently bought albums I already have. FOUR times! :doh:

tim_bissell

16-09-2012, 13:39

I'm registered at Discogs.com; very easy to enter LPs (the exact version you have), and you can export your collection in CSV etc. formats, put up want lists, items for sale etc. I've got about 2/3 of my collection in there now, and might put a few duplicates up for sale;.

Worth a look.

-- Tim

kininigin

16-09-2012, 14:03

northwest

16-09-2012, 14:09

I use the completely random technique!

Nothing goes back in the same place,artists,genres and years are mixed all together.
I like doing this,so i can flick through and play stuff,i have maybe forgotten about.Works for me!

I was going to suggest this myself but it is not a luxury I can enjoy. My OCD wouldn't let me sleep if I tried it!

MartinT

16-09-2012, 20:41

I just wouldn't find anything ever again and it would drive me mad!

Audioman

16-09-2012, 20:44

Without a database would forget what I had. I know how difficult it is to find just one album if it gets misfiled, so keeping in alpabetical order is essential.

bobbasrah

17-09-2012, 07:49

I switched over to CD before the LP collection grew too voluminous, but up until then I used a tip from an old mate and noted them by performer (minus the THE) in a rather large loose bound address book to which pages could be added as required.
Tried keeping the LPs in order in a rack which inevitably fell out of sequence on frenetic get-togethers, and had to be periodically re-indexed.
Now they are all in sequence but in archive boxes.

File based databases are a breeze by comparison if the player uses an exportable format....

cuddles

17-09-2012, 08:16

I just file LPs alphabetically and then seperately for Various Artists,Soundtracks,12'' singles and classical.
I should replace them immediately after playing them but I let them build up to 20 or 30 stacked against the speakers or rack - my thinking being that I'll want to listen to it again soon. Saying that I've often 'lost' records - latest one is Bo Hansens' 'Magicians Hat'. It should be under 'H' but isn't, tried 'B' with no luck. I've got a feeling it's stuck inside a gatefold sleeve. No option but to take out every record and check :doh:

Rare Bird

17-09-2012, 13:13

I don't see what so hard either. Just file em 'A-Z':lol:

As fer solo artist surname, file as per the previous post Hansen under 'H'.. Various artists obviously under 'V'

If i have an artist by whome i have more than one album in their discography i'll also file them in order the album was released.

MikeMusic

18-09-2012, 11:53

Hi

Its getting to the point I need to catalogue my Vinyl records

Before I do it the hard way , does anyone already do it ?

Any tips on the best way to record the data ? :)

I use FoxPro, my database software from work
Confirms whether or not I have 'it' as spread over LP, reel to reel and CD.
I've added my own rating 0 -9 with * as wonderful
Also added date issued and some notes for myself
Overall saves me time, answers questions, saves my buying duplicates and helps me to work out if I want more of that particular artist
Looking at it in that form sometimes gives me big surprises
You could use a database or spreadsheet to give sorting ability

MikeMusic

18-09-2012, 11:55

I always leave the album or CD to the left of the one I've removed sticking out. It's easy then to slot it back in.

Ditto

MikeMusic

18-09-2012, 11:57

MikeMusic

18-09-2012, 11:58

Thing Fish

18-09-2012, 13:11

Only recently filed in alphabetical order and all listed on excel with lp number and record label, printed out in a folder.

MartinT

20-09-2012, 08:40

How do you guys find the time to database a large collection? :scratch:

MikeMusic

20-09-2012, 08:50

How do you guys find the time to database a large collection? :scratch:
Started when I had less !
:)
Keeping it up to date is a discipline but it is oh so useful to have it there.

For a small outlay in time up front you can get it going and save time forever more. As with all things computers it also allows you to do things you would not have thought of before or just could not do

Once you have the data you can start looking at other things like the album immediately after your favourite/s that you don't have, the holes in your collection for that artist and spin offs or similar, comparing AllMusic or Discogs to what you have

stupinder

20-09-2012, 08:55

Stared to catalogue cds a while ago, got so far then thought better of it. Everything including vinyl is in alphabetical order...sort of - some is seperated out into genre, mainly the dance and electronic stuff, reggae and Indi stuff (manly 4ad stuff). Classical has a section to itself but i've never ventured into it :-)

Peter Galbavy

20-09-2012, 11:27

I would also recommend www.discogs.com - free, user contributed and quite deep.

Tim

20-09-2012, 15:22

How do you guys find the time to database a large collection? :scratch:
Piece of cake Martin once you have it, I started it a long time ago, when I had less than 1,000 items. The trick is updating it each time you buy a new album, which only takes a few seconds. I guess starting from scratch with a large collection would be a pain though. My mate gets his wife to do it :eyebrows:

dantheman91

20-09-2012, 15:29

No tryied and failed :doh:

The Grand Wazoo

20-09-2012, 16:04

Years back I bought the Rockbase CD-rom, spent months cataloging the entire collection & lost it when an idiot upgrading my PC saved the icon rather than the database - arse!
I still have the disc, but lack the willpower to re-do it all - it probably won't run on more recent Windows software anyway. Cost me a bomb in cash & time!

MartinT

20-09-2012, 16:18

I would only consider it with a barcode reader, the problem is that most older CDs and virtually all my LPs don't have barcodes on them.

MikeMusic

20-09-2012, 16:35

I would only consider it with a barcode reader, the problem is that most older CDs and virtually all my LPs don't have barcodes on them.

Try a few at a time
That Discogs thing must be ok for cut and paste ....?
I'm typing mine as I can't cut and paste into FoxPro (Dos !) and even that is still worth it

Peter Galbavy

20-09-2012, 18:22

That Discogs thing must be ok for cut and paste ....?

Not quite how it works - well, how it works best. You set up an account and add records to your collection. You search by any number of parameters, typically the catalogue number, and then select which edition is the best match. "Add" to collection and voila. You can then export that collection as a CSV or XML for your own use - but I've never had the need.

mike1210

20-09-2012, 19:39

Great Thread. Have now purchased Music Collector Pro and been very impressed. I have over 2000 dance 12" singles so this tool will be a big help for finding stuff.

Pete The Cat

21-09-2012, 20:36

I don't have that many, so I catalogue them simply by date of purchase, ie newest get added last. Having begun in the mid 70's this makes them a kind of diary of my life.

Pete

MikeMusic

22-09-2012, 09:00

I kept listening to artists that I *didn't* want
Added them to my list so don't bother again

tim_bissell

23-09-2012, 22:41

Not quite how it works - well, how it works best. You set up an account and add records to your collection. You search by any number of parameters, typically the catalogue number, and then select which edition is the best match. "Add" to collection and voila. You can then export that collection as a CSV or XML for your own use - but I've never had the need.

That's how I do it - typing e.g. 'bega 112T' is as quick as barcode scanning (with a webcam!) and works with pre-barcode vinyl. I take a handful (ten or so) to the computer about once a month (when I remember!) and enter them in.

-- Tim

Yomanze

23-09-2012, 22:58

I don't have that many, so I catalogue them simply by date of purchase, ie newest get added last. Having begun in the mid 70's this makes them a kind of diary of my life.

Pete

"Chronological order" like in the book High Fidelity. :)

I do something similar to this, but use large CD wallets too, which saves incredible amounts of space! The CDs in cases are my new purchases over the past few months, but they'll end up in a case eventually.

budlark

02-10-2012, 05:44

I always use "Rate Your Music " ,very conveniently.

keiths

03-10-2012, 15:57

Inspired by this thread, I decided to make a start cataloguing my vinyl collection over the weekend.

I've chosen to go the discogs.com way. Pleasantly suprised that it didn't take as long as I'd feared - I managed to add 630 titles over the two days. There were only 22 titles not already in their database (so I had to 'contribute' those myself before I could add them to my collection).

I've about 2-3 hundred more to go, many of which are 'classical' - which seem to be the slowest to add (of the 46 classical LPs I've added so far, 10 weren't already in their database and I had to contribute those myself).

Needed doing though, as I have recently bought a few duplicates when flipping through the boxes in charity shops etc. and last week stood for ages in Sifters records trying to remember if I had a particular Rickie Lee Jones album that they had for sale (turns out I don't have it on vinyl, but do on CD - should have bought it :doh:)

MikeMusic

04-10-2012, 07:12

I've chosen to go the discogs.com way. Pleasantly suprised that it didn't take as long as I'd feared - I managed to add 630 titles over the two days. There were only 22 titles not already in their database (so I had to 'contribute' those myself before I could add them to my collection).

Thanks. Must take a look. Might be better than my system or a good addtion

Peter Galbavy

04-10-2012, 15:22

Needed doing though, as I have recently bought a few duplicates when flipping through the boxes in charity shops etc. and last week stood for ages in Sifters records trying to remember if I had a particular Rickie Lee Jones album that they had for sale (turns out I don't have it on vinyl, but do on CD - should have bought it :doh:)

Don't forget you can add multiple copies of a release to your collection on discogs. I have numerous duplicate 7" singles as I've slowly inherited collections from friends who also gre up in the 80s.

To help me I added some customer fields - "Origin" with a list of where the record came from (e.g. "Shop (new)", "Internet (used)", "Charity Shop" etc.), a "Cleaned" text field for a date and a "Ripped" text field currently only for CDs. You can't search or sort by these it seems (yet) but they are good to have.

keiths

04-10-2012, 15:54

Don't forget you can add multiple copies of a release to your collection on discogs. I have numerous duplicate 7" singles as I've slowly inherited collections from friends who also gre up in the 80s.

To help me I added some customer fields - "Origin" with a list of where the record came from (e.g. "Shop (new)", "Internet (used)", "Charity Shop" etc.), a "Cleaned" text field for a date and a "Ripped" text field currently only for CDs. You can't search or sort by these it seems (yet) but they are good to have.

Thanks Peter. Just to clarify, I was referring to unwanted duplicates that were accidentally bought because I lost track of what I had on vinyl - now I can check my Discogs collection via my mobile whilst in the shop to ensure I don't inadvertently buy a duplicate.

I've several deliberate duplications in my collection - for instance I'm trying to collect a copy of Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells' with each different variant of the Virgin label (I've currently got it with first black-and-white 'two virgins' label, colour 'two virgins' label, green graduated label)

WOStantonCS100

04-10-2012, 18:22

Thanks Peter. Just to clarify, I was referring to unwanted duplicates that were accidentally bought because I lost track of what I had on vinyl - now I can check my Discogs collection via my mobile whilst in the shop to ensure I don't inadvertently buy a duplicate...

That is the best reason for me to undertake such a project. Man, if I had a catalog of all my vinyl and tape and CD's in an app on my iPhone... Of course, that would mean I'd have to get an iPhone. I'd have to buy the app. And, I'd have to get up the gumption to do it. Most likely, I'll probably just continue to wuss out and hope for the best. :lol:

MikeMusic

05-10-2012, 07:35

That is the best reason for me to undertake such a project. Man, if I had a catalog of all my vinyl and tape and CD's in an app on my iPhone... Of course, that would mean I'd have to get an iPhone. I'd have to buy the app. And, I'd have to get up the gumption to do it. Most likely, I'll probably just continue to wuss out and hope for the best. :lol:

I have everything listed on LP, tape, CD and a few Cassettes
What I would quite like from time to time is being able to find tracks.
Maybe a link to Discogs or similar will give us all that.....
I'm finding it more and more useful to have a list of music I have listened to and didn't like enough to buy. I listen to a lot of samples so was forgetting a large amount. Saves time being in the 'no' list

MartinT

05-10-2012, 12:15

Having a Spotify account helps a lot for research and quick listens.

MikeMusic

05-10-2012, 12:33

Having a Spotify account helps a lot for research and quick listens.
Gave up with Spotify as they had less than half the stuff I was looking for.
Don't think I was looking for items that rare either. Might have improved from a year or two ago

I go to Amazon.com first, about 70% hit
Amazon.co.uk 2nd which may have MP3 that .com doesn't - about 10% more
AllMusic about 10% more
Youtube about 5%

A few I just can't listen to so I take a punt or leave for another time when they may pop up - or listen to a different album for a guess at how 'this one' will be

Peter Galbavy

05-10-2012, 13:57

That is the best reason for me to undertake such a project. Man, if I had a catalog of all my vinyl and tape and CD's in an app on my iPhone... Of course, that would mean I'd have to get an iPhone. I'd have to buy the app. And, I'd have to get up the gumption to do it. Most likely, I'll probably just continue to wuss out and hope for the best. :lol:

Nah, discogs has a good "mobile" interface. Just use it online. I bought the "discoid" android app just to have a barcode scanner and offline database that syncs with discogs but it's quite clunky and not been updated in years.

Peter