I've been discovering the Masstagger....very neat...however:

This applies to both .flac and .mp3 files. I use fb2k for the heavy lifting and Winamp for library and playing and loading portable. Now, if I manually add a string to the comment field using fb2k, I can see it using Winamp; and if I add more (as a test) using Winamp, I can see that back in fb2k. BUT, if I use the masstagger, it won't show up in Winamp. As a matter of fact (in the mp3 case anyway) it deletes the ID3v2 comment altogether.

At first I thought it was a Winamp issue, but now I'm not so sure.

I'm just discovering Masstagger and would like to use it to add some technical (what DSP's and method of RG etc) info to the comment tags, but I'm held up now. Winamp can edit multiple files too, but like I say, I like to use fb2k to do the lifting and the scripts are cool. Also Winamp crashed once doing a multi edit, but that's beside the point. I since upgraded to Winamp 5.33.

I did a search, but all I really found was some old threads that had the opposite problem. There are no APE tags on these files. I rip using EAC to FLAC and use fb2k to RG and convert to mp3. Then I add my comments and change any tagging that I may need. I am a minimalist when it comes to tagging; no album art, no lyrics, just the basics and my comment. Oh yes, i add a small comment on the rip thru the EAC interface, and that can be read by both programs no problem. It just seems to be the Masstagger that introduces the trouble.

Anybody know what's going on here?

What script do you use for your comments in fb2k? Could your script just be faulty?

Add "COMMENT" = "fb2kRG(A&T)"

More simple it couldn't be. I think the clue must be that manual changes are fine, but Masstagger isnt'.

I recently upgraded to flac114 and Winamp 5.33 if that has any significance.

I just did a test and confirmed it, your script is the problem. Using your script above, this is what I get in fb2k after running it 3 times in the comment field -

fb2kRG(A&T); fb2kRG(A&T); fb2kRG(A&T)

The Add function appends your comment instead of rewriting it. Now in fb2k, the comment field is not multivalue (separated by ; ) but is just a multiline text field. I do not know how it is handled in Winamp or if there is a way to control it. It's clear though, that Winamp (5.33) cannot handle appended id3v2 tags when written by masstagger (even in id3v2 writer compatibility mode). If you look, you'll see the first value in the id3v1 field, but id3v2 is blank.

Change your script to

Set "COMMENT" = "fb2kRG(A&T)"

This will totally rewrite the comment field instead of appending to it. Winamp can now read both the id3v1 and id3v2 tags.

AhHa!

When I use Masstagger, I already have a comment in the field from the ripping process describing that I used EAC to Flac at compression -8 from a CD (as opposed to vinyl later on):
"eac.flac-8.CD"
and that I why I used add. I want the finished comment to read:
"eac.flac-8.CD>fb2kRG(A&T)"
so I will now use SET and simply rewrite the comment from the beginning, and that should achieve the desired result.

I supply this info for others that may be reading along.

Thank you for helping. I will test this later today.

This seems to work to append to an existing comment and is readable in Winamp too!

Choose 'Format value from other fields...'
Destination field name = COMMENT
Formatting pattern = %comment%'>fb2kRG(A&T)'

The single quotes are important because 'Format' seems to follow the titleformatting rules and special characters will be parsed as code otherwise. Basically this just reads the existing comment, adds whatever you want, and rewrites the comment tag completely.

It's always nice to have a choice.

Thanks again man!

(still haven't changed computers to test yet-stock mkt is a little hot this am)

All confirmed...I adjust my method.