Best workflow to REPLACE a song file with another file

[cesarvog]

Hello everyone,

I’m new to EP and the Prime 4, having received my Prime 4 just yesterday. So far, I have been able to successfully import my Rekordbox Collection with no problem into EP in my MacBook Air, and transfer the results into a SanDisk Ultrafit 32GB USB flash drive. The files load and play as expected in the Prime 4 and I’m quite happy with it. But I think some of my files are low quality and I would like to be able to replace them with WAV, FLAC or ALAC versions of the same song. A second need to replace a file is when I end up having to warp a live band recording in Ableton Live, or Melodyne, in order to get tighter beat grids. Just this morning I was playing an oldie that had real bad tempo by a live band and I thought about the need to replace that file with another one after I go thru the warping process.

How one would go about doing it? Can anyone advise of the easiest method to accomplish this?

[jalderwood]

if the file is going to be the same filename, theoretically the simplest way to update would be to overwrite the old file on disk, then locate in ep and and reanalyze. i have not tested this.

if that didn’t work, or if it’s not going to be the same filename, or for a more thorough process you could do this:

1. locate your track within ep
2. right click > Show in Explorer (now you have the bad file highlighted in a new window.)
3. right click > Remove from Collection (this removes from the db)
4. delete bad file from folder
5. move good file into folder
6. drag good file into EP collection/crate/playlist(s) and analyze

[cesarvog]

Thanks @jalderwood. I suppose I should perform the above actions on the (for lack of better words…) “Master” Collection, right? (As opposed to the Collection that is subsequently recorded in the USB flash drive).

[jalderwood]

yea the local collection on your computer. ep doesn’t sync from a drive back to the collection or vice versa, so if you want to update the file on your usb, you would remove it from the collection on the drive, then drag it back onto the drive from the local/master collection as you refer to it.

[DJ_Didi]

I wouldn’t aim to replace the file. Simply add the new/correct file instead

[cesarvog]

If I go this route, I will end up with several versions of the same track, and will have no way to know which files have been “Melodyned”, unless I use different filenames for each version, which I find less than ideal.

[DJ_Didi]

Sure , just change the tags so you can see which version of the track you’re loading.

Hard drive storage space is too cheap to worry about a few dozen or even a few hundred duplicates.

It might be less than ideal, but whoever said DJing had to be ideal

[cesarvog]

Can anyone working for Denon DJ, or someone from de Development Team comment on the above workflow? Is there any other faster/easier method? @Nekoro_DenonDJ

[mufasa]

Just add the new better quality file to your library as normal. Then delete the old copy.

Why make simple things complex?

[Jetsound]

The easy workflow going forward is : only add great quality files to to MAIN library.

If you’ve get given tracks that are of dubious quality from dubious sources then only add those to a separate usb memory stick drive. That way they don’t “infect” your main collection

[Nekoro_DenonDJ]

Hi @cesarvog, I’d have to agree with @mufasa’s work flow. With the ability to search for tracks in your Engine PRIME collection, it’s easy to find the tracks you want deleted. Additionally, adding the ‘Date Added’ column will help determine which tracks are the newly added ones and which are the old, bad quality ones.