Trouble with tags

[ultrarunner2018]

Hey all;
I have been playing around with MB for several years now, but only recently got interested in working with tags.
I have been using another app - Tag & Rename - to edit IDV3 tags.
I had never figured out why MB wasn't reading the tags when I updated them in T&R - until today.
I had always thought that the action: 'File > Scan folders for new files' would also update the tags, but it did not.
As a matter of fact, if I make changes to the tags in MB and then Save, the tags are updated in the files themselves.
After several Google searches - most of which took me to threads in this forum - I found that the process for updating IDV3 tags is to highlight the tracks, right-click and select 'Send to > File rescan'.

Now, if I can figure out how to automatically activate a view filter when loading a library, I'll be all set. Until then, I can do it manually.
I guess I shouldn't complain about the relatively steep learning curve for MB, as there is so much that can be done with the app.

Your thoughts / suggestions
Ultrarunner

[hiccup]

I have been using another app - Tag & Rename - to edit IDV3 tags.
I had never figured out why MB wasn't reading the tags when I updated them in T&R - until today.
I had always thought that the action: 'File > Scan folders for new files' would also update the tags, but it did not.

As someone also using Tag&Rename before adding files to MusicBee:

Can you specify what tags you are adding using T&R that MB will not recognize after a rescan?
What is the file format? (If mp3, have you aligned T&R and MB to use the same id3 version?)

[ultrarunner2018]

Actually, I'm not sure what's going on right now.
I think at the time I posted here, I had failed to tick the 'flac' item in  'Scan Folders for New Files > Filter'.
I also seem to be getting my artist and composer tags mixed up.
I'm going to need to evaluate this a bit longer.

[jcquino]

use mp3tag this is a free software and works really good. easy to use. after tagging just refresh your library at MB
Cheers

[hiccup]

I'm going to need to evaluate this a bit longer.

Have fun ;-)
And don't hesitate to share experiences or issues.

[ultrarunner2018]

I think I'm finally getting the hang of MB.
I completely removed, then re-installed the latest version of MusicBee from the website (not from Microsoft store).
Instead of keeping Rock and Classical in separate MB libraries, I have added all folders from both genres, and am using custom views and filters to select which music I want to see and play.
But probably the most important change is that I am taking my time, and not spending long hours working with tags. It can be quite tedious - and frustrating if I push myself when I'm tired.
I think that (my being tired) was one reason I was having so much trouble with this.

I think I am beginning to understand why so many people use streaming services. You don't have to worry about organizing your library!

[phred]

Since you're trying to keep Rock and Classical separate, using filters is the recommended way to go.

Taking your time is important. Look over the WiKi (see my signature) and ask questions here if you're not certain.

Lastly, I recommend that before you change or move all your music files, test with a couple to make sure you're getting the results you expect.

[ultrarunner2018]

Thanks for the advice; it is well taken. I have been reading the Wiki, but probably not as much as I should. Sometimes I learn best by trying (and failing) to figure things out. Click this or that and see what happens.
Phred; I agree with your suggestion to test with a couple of files. Besides that, I am creating regular backups of my MB config files.
At this point, I have Classical and Rock music in separate folders on my SSD, but keep them all in the same library in MB, and using filters to sort them out.
Before this, I was trying to keep two separate MusicBee libraries. It was making my life more complicated than it needs to be.

An interesting note about file names:
Do you recall when I said that MB wasn't reading some of the tags? Well, I think I was mistaken; it was the FILES that MB wasn't reading.
For some mysterious reason, MB would refuse to read the contents of certain folders in my music library.
I tried File > Scan Folders for New Files, and Send To > File Rescan but those tracks would not appear anywhere in MB.
I disabled all filters, so even if the files were mis-tagged, I should have seen them, but that was not happening.

Finally, last evening I figured it out. Here's what I found (with examples)
The files in a folder 'Classical \ Beethoven \ Symphony #8_Cleveland" were not being read by MB.
I tried changing the name of the folder, thinking that MB didn't like that I used an underscore in the name (even though it is a perfectly legal folder name in Windows). That did not help.
Then I started looking at the file names in that folder. The following files were located in the suspect folder:

05 Symphony No. 8 in F major Op. 93-i.flac
06 Symphony No. 8 in F major Op. 93-ii.flac

There were  two more files in the folder, but they have the same naming scheme so no need to list them.
I suspect the file names were created by EAC when I ripped the CD.
So I thought perhaps the combination of the dash  and the letters -ii.flac immediately before the .flac extension might be causing the problem.
I removed the dash from the file names and replaced it with a space.
Now I did a Scan Folders for New Files, then a Send to > File Rescan.
The missing tracks suddenly appeared in the main window of MB.
Since I had already set the tags in Tag & Rename, the new tracks were properly organized.

This has led me to ask what other file names does MB not like?
I am going to do some experimentation with this over the next couple of days, but in the meantime, perhaps I will find the answer in the Wiki, or someone will post it in reply to this thread.

This can all get very frustrating when all I'm trying to do is organize my music library.
At one point, I gave up on MusicBee and installed MediaMonkey. I didn't take a close look at the listing in MM, so I don't know whether it read all of the files and tags.
In any case, I didn't like MM as much as I do MB. Partly because I have been using MB for some time, and also because I do like MB's UI better than MM.
I think that MB is far more 'configurable' than any other music management software, and that is the reason it has a steeper learning curve.
If I had wanted simple and maintenance free (at any cost) I would have kept my sub with Spotify and left my own music library in archives. But I like having control over my music library.
In addition, I don't have an unlimited data plan on my Android phone, so I would have needed to download music to the Spotify app on the phone.
But probably what made me leave Spotify (after a free trial and a couple months paid) was that I found myself listening to the same music I already owned on my SSD.
What is the point in paying $10/mo to listen to tracks you have already paid for and spent the time ripping to PC and/or phone.
And then there's the quality issue. Although I was streaming at the highest quality Spotify allowed (I think 320Kbps), it did not sound as good as what I played from the files on my PC.

Perhaps it might be worthwhile to sign up with Spotify (or another streaming service) for the sole purpose of searching for new music I want to purchase.
While I could use iTunes for free, it will only play a short cut of any track.
Of course there's YouTube, but it's not as convenient as Spotify or iTunes.

OK. I think I've said enough for one post. Thanks for reading.
Ultrarunner

[hiccup]

So I thought perhaps the combination of the dash  and the letters -ii.flac immediately before the .flac extension might be causing the problem.
I removed the dash from the file names and replaced it with a space.
Now I did a Scan Folders for New Files, then a Send to > File Rescan.
The missing tracks suddenly appeared in the main window of MB.
Since I had already set the tags in Tag & Rename, the new tracks were properly organized.
This has led me to ask what other file names does MB not like?

I don't think anyone ever reported such an issue as a result of filenames.
  (Unless they contain illegal characters, which seems isn't the case here.)
The only cause for files not getting imported by my knowledge is some sort of file corruption.
  (Which also doesn't seem to be the case.)
And lastly, what is far more often reported is that users don't see the new files appearing in their library because they were placed in the 'inbox'.
  (Which with you also doesn't seem to be the case.)

So it's a mystery for know. I hope you can figure out what is going on.

[ultrarunner2018]

The problem I was having where some files appeared to be ignored when scanning was caused by my having set a filter.
I filtered the Music tab by genre, setting to 'Classical'.
Some of my files had their genre tags left null. So when selected 'all Composers' in the navigation pane, then selected all files in the 'Classical' file listing, those files which had the null genre tags were not being included in the 'Send to > File Rescan' command.
The solution is of course to set all of the genre tags to whatever the genre is, but if I want to list all files in MusicBee regardless of whether they have a genre tag or not, I need to turn off the filter.