Small iPod, large library

[BuddyFey]

I've got an iPod mini, hot-rodded with a 32GB CF card. That's more than enough tunes for me to carry around.

Right now, my iTunes library is smaller than the iPod. That's just fine with me - I was getting really tired of manually syncing when I had the original 4GB drive. Now, I just let it automatically sync, and I have all my music.

But, I'm starting on a project to rip a lot of LPs. My iTunes library is going to get bigger than the iPod again.

Is it just as simple as unchecking all the songs I don't want to sync? Or is it possible to have two libraries? Or,are there other approaches?

Bottom line
1-I want to stay with automatic syncing
2-I don't want iTunes deciding what to sync to my iPod
3-I'm not interested in having ALL my LPs on my iPod. In fact, probably only a handful of them. The rest are just archived and available.

[Sparkee]

There are many options to keep auto syncing your library and most can be found in the iPod's Music tab in its sync settings in iTunes. I use a variety of settings with my devices but you can't beat syncing to selected playlists. Create one or more playlists to hold the music you want on your iPod. Smart playlists come in handy for this method as well. If you make many playlists create a folder for them in iTunes to keep it clean. Once the playlists are created go into the iPods Music sync settings in iTunes setting it to sync selected playlist then choose the playlists/folder you created. Once set to sync selected items you'll see the many options available. Now when syncing to the selected playlists you simply add and remove tracks from a playlist to manage the iPod. Manually manage the playlists with all the benefits of auto sync.

[rockmyplimsoul]

If you want to know how to gain control over what is auto-sync'd and what isn't, take a look at Code Monkey's very thorough document:

http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/1154...df?da=y&dnad=y

[BuddyFey]

Originally Posted by rockmyplimsoul

If you want to know how to gain control over what is auto-sync'd and what isn't, take a look at Code Monkey's very thorough document:

http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/1154...df?da=y&dnad=y

Thanks, RMPS. It's a comprehensive bit of work and I'll dig through it on an upcoming long plane flight.

[BuddyFey]

My gut feel it that playlists might not be what I'm seeking. They are about what to put ON the iPod, but my need is what to leave OFF. In other words, I want everything in the iTunes library BUT the ripped LPs.

[rockmyplimsoul]

Originally Posted by BuddyFey

They are about what to put ON the iPod, but my need is what to leave OFF. In other words, I want everything in the iTunes library BUT the ripped LPs.

Not true. With a little creativity, a playlist can exclude your ripped LPs, allowing you to sync everything else in your library. You can do this a couple ways:

1- Create a playlist just for your ripped LPs, then create a smart playlist that is defined as "Playlist Is Not <LP playlist name>", and then sync your iPod to the smart playlist.

2- Tag your songs from ripped LPs. Maybe utilize the Comment section to include "Ripped LP". Then create a smart playlist defined as "Comment Does Not Contain Rippled LP", then sync your iPod to the smart playlist.

In other words, either create a playlist that defines what you do (or don't) want on your iPod and sync to that playlist. You can also refine this further to take the songs that are "eligible" to sync, but filter them out of your sync routine based on rating or maybe the last played date.

Playlist management is what sets iTunes and iPods apart from other choices out there, especially when you start using smart playlists to control the content on your device.

Since my library greatly exceeds the capacity of my iPhone and iPad, I use about 25 playlists to define what I want sync'd, plus one master playlist that sums them all up. Why 25? This allows me to do things like:

- Filter out 1 & 2 star songs, and control the relative quantity of 3, 4, and 5 star songs.

- Automatically un-sync songs once they're listened to and replace them with something I haven't heard in awhile (the un-sync'd songs will come back once they become eligible by their last-played date).

- Statistically add some emphasis to certain artists or genres to "boost" their presence on my device, over and above the randomness that my playlists choose.

- Designate albums or songs that I always want on my device.

- Designate new stuff to keep on the device, until I'm ready to drop them into the pool of the rest of my library.

- Designate a temporary playlist for a particular song, album, or artist I want to listen to for the week.


Yeah, you can get really crazy with this stuff!

[BuddyFey]

Thanks again, RMPS.

Sounds like either option 1 or 2 would work for me. Simple, one-time setup with no ongoing maintenance.