Review by bonejob
(10 months ago, using version 2.42)
Features:
Performance:
Interface:
Price:
It's a good program; actually, a REALLY good program considering the price
(free). I'm not crazy about interface though; icons are too small for my taste,
and their design does not make it obvious what they do. If I had Window's
ToolTips function disabled, I would have only trial and error to show me the
way. And, at least to me, while its operation is simple enough, it is not
particularly intuitive. For instance, it took me a couple of minutes to figure
out that the little floppy disc icon at the upper left is how tag edits are
saved. <DOH!> And it STILL doesn't seem quite right to do it that way. I
keep expecting a prompt or a dialog box to pop up. THAT is the normal
"Windoze" way of doing things.
Secondly, applying tags is pretty slow going. FLAC tags seem VERY slow. While
applying new tags to an opera CD I had just ripped, it was, left-click
"Save," then "Go Make a Sandwich!" Of course, this CD had 35
tracks. I rip everything twice - first to FLAC for archiving purposes; second to
MP3 for use in my car or portable. The slow tagging appears most obvious when
embedding an album cover or commentary. ID3 tags go slowly, FLAC tags seem to
take FOREVER!
Thirdly, the "comment" tag appears to have an operational
restriction, at least with cut-and-paste operations. I am used to being able to
cut-and-paste editorial reviews into this space. If I select the track(s) to
which I want to add commentary, then right click, then left-click on
"Extended Tags...", then select "COMMENT", AND THEN
left-click on the "Edit field..." icon, I can paste text of any length
into the field. A lot of folderol if you ask me. Especially since there is a
"Comment:" field in the Tag Panel which would seem to invite the
logical conclusion that one could also perform that simple paste operation
there, too. NOPE! No joy... For some quirky reason, that field will accept one
paragraph and stop at the indent to the next. WTF???? Granted, not everyone uses
this field as I do, but I think this qualifies as an honest-to-goodness bug, not
a "feature."
I downloaded and installed Mp3Tag because of the rave user reviews, but up to
then, I had been using Tag&Rename by Softpointer, a company specializing in
music organizing software. Personally, I still like Tag&Rename better. It
was more intuitive out of the box and faster too (A LOT faster on FLAC tagging).
What's more, it lacks the frustrating (at least to me) cut-and-paste bug I
mentioned above. But Tag&Rename is not free; at $30 it is not even
particularly cheap. Nevertheless, I still recommend that program over Mp3Tag on
the grounds that it is more polished, without the flaws that make Mp3Tag more
cumbersome to use. Tag&Rename is available for download as 30-day, fully
functional expireware from Softpointer.com for those who want to see for
themselves before they buy if it is worth the $30.
I recommend Mp3Tag to people who balk at spending $30 for Tag&Rename or
who don't mind the flaws I have mentioned. For myself, I will continue to use
Mp3Tag for awhile longer and see if my opinion changes as I get more used to its
quirks.
Review by bonejob (10 months ago, using version 2.42)
It's a good program; actually, a REALLY good program considering the price (free). I'm not crazy about interface though; icons are too small for my taste, and their design does not make it obvious what they do. If I had Window's ToolTips function disabled, I would have only trial and error to show me the way. And, at least to me, while its operation is simple enough, it is not particularly intuitive. For instance, it took me a couple of minutes to figure out that the little floppy disc icon at the upper left is how tag edits are saved. <DOH!> And it STILL doesn't seem quite right to do it that way. I keep expecting a prompt or a dialog box to pop up. THAT is the normal "Windoze" way of doing things.
Secondly, applying tags is pretty slow going. FLAC tags seem VERY slow. While applying new tags to an opera CD I had just ripped, it was, left-click "Save," then "Go Make a Sandwich!" Of course, this CD had 35 tracks. I rip everything twice - first to FLAC for archiving purposes; second to MP3 for use in my car or portable. The slow tagging appears most obvious when embedding an album cover or commentary. ID3 tags go slowly, FLAC tags seem to take FOREVER!
Thirdly, the "comment" tag appears to have an operational restriction, at least with cut-and-paste operations. I am used to being able to cut-and-paste editorial reviews into this space. If I select the track(s) to which I want to add commentary, then right click, then left-click on "Extended Tags...", then select "COMMENT", AND THEN left-click on the "Edit field..." icon, I can paste text of any length into the field. A lot of folderol if you ask me. Especially since there is a "Comment:" field in the Tag Panel which would seem to invite the logical conclusion that one could also perform that simple paste operation there, too. NOPE! No joy... For some quirky reason, that field will accept one paragraph and stop at the indent to the next. WTF???? Granted, not everyone uses this field as I do, but I think this qualifies as an honest-to-goodness bug, not a "feature."
I downloaded and installed Mp3Tag because of the rave user reviews, but up to then, I had been using Tag&Rename by Softpointer, a company specializing in music organizing software. Personally, I still like Tag&Rename better. It was more intuitive out of the box and faster too (A LOT faster on FLAC tagging). What's more, it lacks the frustrating (at least to me) cut-and-paste bug I mentioned above. But Tag&Rename is not free; at $30 it is not even particularly cheap. Nevertheless, I still recommend that program over Mp3Tag on the grounds that it is more polished, without the flaws that make Mp3Tag more cumbersome to use. Tag&Rename is available for download as 30-day, fully functional expireware from Softpointer.com for those who want to see for themselves before they buy if it is worth the $30.
I recommend Mp3Tag to people who balk at spending $30 for Tag&Rename or who don't mind the flaws I have mentioned. For myself, I will continue to use Mp3Tag for awhile longer and see if my opinion changes as I get more used to its quirks.