Big Box Sets

[Petrushka]

Well obviously you start at # 1 and work through them in strict box order, until you find one you don’t fancy/ aren’t in the mood for/ already know well, and then you start to pick out the tastiest looking discs.
I thought everybody knew that

Its called following the science…….

I've got so many of these big boxes, it's not just a question of which disc to play; it's a question of which box to choose and then which disc to play

It's all pretty random and as the mood takes me in compiling an evening CD concert except that they do have to be from the same box.

[mikealdren]

I start with the ones I know to see whether are as good as I remember and whether they have improved the transfers. Next I try the discs that I have always wanted but not managed to track down. Then I usually move on to something 'outside the box' before returning to sample at random. I'm not disciplined enough to listen to everything in these large boxes.

[cloughie]

Well obviously you start at # 1 and work through them in strict box order, until you find one you don’t fancy/ aren’t in the mood for/ already know well, and then you start to pick out the tastiest looking discs.
I thought everybody knew that

Its called following the science…….

Have you listened to all the discs in the big Karajan box yet, ts? I certainly haven’t!

[teamsaint]

Have you listened to all the discs in the big Karajan box yet, ts? I certainly haven’t!

Not even close , Cloughie.
Which is good, in a way.

[cloughie]

Not even close , Cloughie.
Which is good, in a way.

I know what you mean but a great bargain you spotted and good to have there when required!

[Petrushka]

I know what you mean but a great bargain you spotted and good to have there when required!

I think it misses the point to listen to one of these large boxes from disc 1 to the end. It is indeed 'good to have [them] there when required'. I'm under no illusion that I will play all of the CDs in every box before my time is up any more than I am that I will read all the books I want to.

[gurnemanz]

I have quite a few large boxes but have stopped buying now, preferring the space-saving and convenience of downloads and streaming. A database of all recordings, both CDs and downloads, is especially useful with such boxes. Without it, I can imagine it could be tricky to keep track of the contents.

[BBMmk2]

I would love to have the Saint‐Saëns, Debussy and Ravel box sets from Warner.

[Petrushka]

A database of all recordings, both CDs and downloads, is especially useful with such boxes. Without it, I can imagine it could be tricky to keep track of the contents.

Creating a database of the contents of the boxes would, at least in my case, be massively time consuming and not really worth the bother. Nor do I find it tricky to keep track of the contents because I treat each box as a separate entity. The human brain has a fantastic capability to 'remember' a seemingly impossible amount of information without you being aware that that is what it is doing.

The first time I open a new box, I go through the entire contents by extracting the CD sleeve, check that the CD is correct, put it back in the box and then on to the next one. This has the added advantage of 'fixing' the contents of the box in your own memory. After spending a short period of time concentrating on playing a number of discs from that box the process of memory retention is more or less complete.

The really tricky one was the recent Furtwangler set on Warner which inexplicably comes without a list of works in the booklet. Having spent some time on listening to the set, the contents are now lodged in the memory bank to a degree which I would have thought impossible when first opened.

[gurnemanz]

A database is not so time-consuming since track details can be downloaded from the internet. Maybe I'm nerdish but I actually quite enjoy the process of entering details and the resulting information is really useful, with the option to sort by artist, composer, recording date, track title (very useful with songs) orchestra and so on. You can append your own notes or internet links and add lyrics if not provided in hard copy. I do use it on a daily basis. Admittedly, my wife thinks I'm a bit obsessive, if not bonkers.

[cloughie]

I have quite a few large boxes but have stopped buying now, preferring the space-saving and convenience of downloads and streaming. A database of all recordings, both CDs and downloads, is especially useful with such boxes. Without it, I can imagine it could be tricky to keep track of the contents.

I have my ‘index’ on EXCEL which is really good as searching under different headings is useful - where it falls down is my physical housekeeping - what will make it complete is a reference on the index as to where the discs are located. My downloads are mostly transferred to CDRs.

[mikealdren]

A database is not so time-consuming since track details can be downloaded from the internet. Maybe I'm nerdish but I actually quite enjoy the process of entering details and the resulting information is really useful, with the option to sort by artist, composer, recording date, track title (very useful with songs) orchestra and so on. You can append your own notes or internet links and add lyrics if not provided in hard copy. I do use it on a daily basis. Admittedly, my wife thinks I'm a bit obsessive, if not bonkers.

+1. I've actually got two databases now, a MS Access database that gives me lots of search flexibility and also includes my LPs and a MUSICHI database onto which I download all my CDs with copious tags. Like you, I enjoy the process of adding the data and my wife also has her doubts.

[crb11]

My wife also has her doubts (both about the database and the number of entries in it) but she always seems appreciative when I can rustle up a CD with any piece she names.