Karaoke Forums

I'm interested and will have the ability to spend up to $3000 for whatever I would need. I have about 4 months to figure out if I am going to do this and what I'll get if I do. At the very least I want to buy something better for home karaoke. Right now I have a Singing Machine with monitor and between 900 and 1000 songs. I am guessing I have enough CDGs to start out, but I would have to have a new karaoke system. The Super CDG compatible systems sound promising, and I'd really like to hear more about just how good or bad those are from anyone currently using them. I asked about this on the "Ask Sammy" forum, but it seems that no one is reading there to answer, so I thought I'd ask here as well. I'm not sure how easy it would be to be a full time KJ in my area (Vermont/NH border), so anyone living in smaller areas could share any advice or opinions about their experiences.

Thanks!

ladycentaur

Lady
personally e-mail me and I can send you to some people who can direct you on affordable BUT YET QUALITY PA systems. and another who I buy my CDG from in bulk.. the audio retailer is getting ready to move and blow out a bunch of equipment.. at less than musicians friend.. so alot of killer deals can be found there and alot of kj's do seem to like how they seem to help them assemble the systems right. they do know me well over there actually i somehow spend a couple grand or more over there a month without thinking twice.

Are they cleaning house right off, or at the beginning of the year? I don't have the money to spend right now, so it will depend on when they'll be clearing things out. I'll shoot you an e-mail in a minute so you can send along any info you might have.

Thanks!

That 3 grand could go along way. Thats how much I had when I first started. Half went into a great Peavy P.A system which I still use 7 years later as a back up . Then comes the Other stuff, mics, stands,books,monitors,and MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC. You can do it.......

You can find out a lot about prices etc., by doing an internet search for "karaoke" and checking out some of the dealers. Look at the professional systems - that'll give you an idea. I don't recommend purchasing a turnkey system as you'll more than likely immediately want to upgrade. Stay away from all-in-ones and go with components, that way you can upgrade as you like. If you want to e-mail me, I'll share my sources with you (who I've been dealing with for about 2 years now) who are dependable, competative, and reliable. But if you're talking 3K and you already have 1000 titles, you'll probably be amazed at what you can get. You'll need to quickly add more songs. Unless you're working extremely small places, you'll probably want to double your song list, but you've got a great start.

LadyC,
Things are indeed a little slower on the Ask Sammy forum.

Like Ron said, stay away from all-in-one turnkey systems.
These are not packaged systems. A turnkey system will have a built in amp, a built in speaker, a built in player, a built in cassette deck, built in mixer, etc.

In addition to the Carvin systems that I wrote to you about on the Ask Sammy forum, I would like to direct you to www.musicansfriend.com
Go there and click on packaged systems.
When you look at these systems be very carefull not to look at a mono system and think that it's a stereo system.

I haven't looked at all of the systems there yet but I will tell you that he best choice that I've seen there so far is the Fender P-250 Passport. This is an efx mixer/amp with 2 speakers that all snaps together into one unit. One of the speakers covers the mixer so that you can toss this little jewel into the back of a truck. Both speakers are stand mountable. If 69 lbs is too much for you to lift, and you can't find a big strong man to do it for you, you can unsnap each speaker and move them and the amp/mixer seperately.

I heard a Passport system at an outdoor show. Quite impressive, especially considering the cost. You need more volume at an outdoor event than in an indoor enviorment since all of the sound is held in inside of a room. The Passport did QUITE well and has a nice quality sound.

When you look at the lower end systems pay attention to thier power ratings. Stay away from the Escort system. One look at how low its power is tells half the story, and the speakers tell the other half.

About power:
To double the volume coming from a speaker you need 10 times the power. If you have are driving big speakers at 100 watts, you need 1000 watts to get twice the sound.
The differance between a 1000 watt amp and a 1200 watt amp, (200 watts), is small.
However, the differance between a 100 and a 200 watt amp, (100 watts), is quite large.
The average KJ probably uses around 100 watts at a small to med sized club. One of the best ways to get more sound from your system is not to use more power, but to add speakers. Speaker sensitivity is also an issue.

More latter!
Kojak

Wow, thanks everyone! I stumbled onto the right website to ask questions.

Does anyone use Supercore CDGs? I just bought the new 2004 Supercore 20 CDG set online. It has close to 400 songs and I paid $99 for it on ebay. I had about 600 songs before the purchase. I've never used this brand before. I have a lot of Top Tunes discs, Karaoke Bay, Priddis and Karaoke Party as those are the brands available in my area. I intend to buy songbook software fairly soon so I can practice with my current all in one home system at friends' small parties, and I definitely will need a book. I downloaded a demo of one songbook maker and I like the concept. Does anyone reccomend CDG brands or book software? Thanks!

I've got a few of those I got before I started KJ'ing. I do have some Pridis. I like the SongChoice, Chartbuster, and DK personally. I also have a number of the Pop Hits Monthly Nashville Edition - they do the monthly ones that are currently hot. Everyone has their own preference as to what brands they like. But one recommendation is while you're at someone else's show, pay attention to the brand names that pop up on the screen when they play. A lot of singers like particular brands better (and some brands are better, both sound quality and closer to the original recording of the song) and you'll need to keep your singers happy.

I like the versions of the songs I sing that I have better than the versions at the place I go to sing. I notice a lot of Sweet Georgia Brown songs when I go out. I really like the Top Tunes CDs. I bought the ones I have at my local KMart for $19.99 for around 40 songs on a two disc set. I'll have to check out the SuperCore set when it gets here and see what I think of it. If I don't like it I can always sell it on Ebay.

Yea, ya can always change them if ya need. Ya have to be careful with the Sweet Georgia Brown. Some of them are ok, but a lot of the SGB's leave something to be desired. A lot of it depends on what ya like, but as a KJ, its more important to please your crowd of singers than yourself.

I'm not a KJ but I do have a substantial personal collection of CDG's that I carry with me. I only sing about 400 songs out of the of the 2,000 I have. Its very heavily talored to my own passions for jazz and swing stuff and hard to find in most general songbooks at Karaoke venues.

I always offer their use to friends and KJ's when I'm there. The result is that I made a song book that is on par with any pro books I have seen. My best advice for making a songbook is to use Microsoft Excel software for that purpose. It's not cheap software and not paricularly easy to get the hang of, but if you are considering going into business, Excel would be enormously useful for accounting and a plethora of other business uses.

I will leave the sound system to the experts.

_________________
Jazz and Swing Live (as long as I do).

Lady as a newer person in this biz here is my advice. If you already dont have alot of songs then by all means spend the money on a Cavs JB99 for less than 2000.00 you will get a library that is unsurpassed by most other KJS that have a long time in biz. My cavs has almost 11,000 songs with about 50 repeats total. A great peavey mid line pa system will cost 1200.00 pm me for more info on what I did

and I couldn't disagree more. Mostly what you'll get from Cavs is Music Maestro and other mostly okay stuff.

Many of the main manufacturers will not give their approval for copying nor conversion...

You're best bet is to NOT go gung ho... but rather to buy either the foundation and bricks, or the dk millinium (even though personally I'd rather have the whole dk1-99), and then the greatest hits of the last four or five years... and then buy songs as your customers request them. Individual spotlights. Star Series, etc.

There is NO easy, or cheap, way of of getting started. The very concept of getting started is starting small, therefore affordable and not breaking your bank, and then taking your profit to continue to buy new and additional discs.

Matt

I found this ready made system and wanted to ask if it's a good setup, good price and whether I should consider buying this one.

http://hydra.karaoke.com/itemdetail.las ... tem=VSKJ03

The JVC 3 drawer player is good. I'm not familiar with that amp. Its nice to have the road case and the DK's. If you're not pressed for time as you said, I'd continue checking around, or maybe see what ya can upgrade there. I've dealt with that company and they are reliable and competative with just about anything you'll find. I got my system from them, but I opted not to take a pre-fab type. If you catch the sales, you can upgrade the mixer/amp, maybe the mics, etc., for basically the same total price.

Lady,
from all appearences.. just from the brand names and the media it looks to be a great starter set up.. and for the price it's good to build on.. but upgrades would i'm sure be advised.. like more media and subwoofers.. i'm almost sure that the speakers don't quite go as low as you'd like them to.. but alright to get into it to start.. and it would get you by for a while...

I'd say heck yes! I couldn't do you better here.. unless I purchased it for myself. then of course I would only tell about it later ..

I agree with the above comments, to a point. The only thing I would point out is what m'man Brian said.

"Good starter".

Now personally, I would go this route:

The DK set - $999 http://hydra.karaoke.com/itemdetail.las ... tem=DKGMIL (I personally would go with SC's Foundations and Bricks... and they recently lowered the price... but I'm quoting this set since it's what you pointed out from the others that are on sale at K.com!

the jvc triple tray - $ 237 WOW! AND it comes with a 180 Priddis song pack! I have that pack, and again, it's fine for starters!!
http://hydra.karaoke.com/itemdetail.las ... =XLMV303BK

I personally prefer the AKJ7000 amp for a starter unit - $ 469 http://hydra.karaoke.com/itemdetail.las ... em=AKJ7000 You will need to also get a fan from radioshack for the unit. The akj7050 has one built in, yet I STILL think an outside cooler would be best. You can hook this up to a standard multioutlet strip.

the speaker stands - $85 http://hydra.karaoke.com/itemdetail.las ... em=SS7761B

Radio Shack sells a terrific AudioTechnica wireless Mic for $99. I use this sucker in my show. Terrific mic for the price. http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?c ... =32%2D1253

They also sell shure mics. the RS230 is a great wired mic, and shure covers it with their standard warrenty! $60 (get two!)
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?c ... =33%2D3058

I wouldn't go with the speakers they are saying, however. I have got some terrific SubZero speakers I bought from a local vendor by the name of JMAK. Over three years going, and I haven't had a problem yet. Rated at 150 watts, I've never had them clip or had any problems. I loved these suckers so much, I have bought a second set, and some smaller ones for the home use!

All for $270 a pair!! These are 12" Pioneer woofers and tweeters. The smaller ones I bought are 8". They were $140 for the pair. Now, this isn't an option for purchase and shipping. But some smart shopping around will find you some speakers elsewhere. I wouldn't go for top of the line JBL or Peavey speakers right off the bat, unless you run across a terrific deal.

Road cases - SKB ones are very sturdy, and you can customize the outside for connections if you ever want to upgrade later for a cd player to add in as mix music or whatever. Then you'll need to add a mixer, such as a multi-channel one from Carvin or Mackie. $ 106 for the eight space. I personally have a larger one, but I also have an additional cd player and an additional cdg/dvd player as well in there! !

So, let's see what we have WITHOUT speakers:

$ 999 The DK set -
$ 237 the jvc triple tray -
$ 469 the amp
$ 85 the speaker stands
$ 120 two RS230 mics
$ 100 one Audiotechnica cordless mic.
$ 106 eight-space roadcase.
========
$2116 Total (without any shipping and handling)

I didn't include the mic stand, nor a TV, cables, rf modulator (if you have to hook up to coax - get it at Radio Shack for $29!)... mostly because you can do all that locally. My partner got a terrific deal on a 19"TV at a pawn shop for $50!! and not just one! He got SIX at that rate!! I about crapped! !

With some smart shopping, it's possible to do quite well!!!

I would also look into getting some of the additional packs from Pop or Top Hits Monthly, as well as maybe the different six-pack series from Sound Choice!

As with all things, this is merely my opinion! Best of luck to you!

Matt

For demonstration purposes only, check out my "docs" folder on my website to see the various pics of my equipment, and stats with some of them. I even have a couple goofy bitmap pics I did explaining how my cases are modifiied! http://www.knightshow.com/docs

M

LadyC, I think that this system is a terrible waste of money.
Let me explain why:
Knightshow found the DK Millinium for $1000, but since we don't shop as well as him let's say that it costs us $1100. That sounds like a reasonable price doesn't it?
At www.musicians.com we can get a TV monitor stand and a 13" color TV which is regulary on sale for $250 for $230 on sale. We don't know that so we're going to pay $275. I hope that isn't too much.
SM-58 mics cost about $100, ($200 for two), but since the RSQ mics are so special that they can't tell us the model number we're going to pay $255. Is that too much? Maybe, maybe not.
I couldn't find a price on the wireless mics, but since they're special we're going to pay $500 for them. Go to musiciansfriend.com to get a general idea of the price for a wireless mic. I know that I can get a better deal, but since I'm rich...
Karaoke.com will sell us a JVC triple drawer player and 180 songs for $267 but we paid $270.
We all know that stands cost about $100.
An SKB 12 space ROTO-RACK costs $130.
Since they aren't going to tell us anything about the mixer amp let's say that it costs the same as Carvin's 1000watt, (333wattsX3), 8 channel mixer amp. $670.
Now let's run a total.

$1100 DK set
$275 TV and stand
$255 RSQ mics.
$500 Wireless mics.
$270 Player and 180 songs.
$100 Speaker stands
$130 Rack case
$670 Mixer amp
-----
$3300 Total

This means that we've paid $700 for a pair of Community speakers.
Give me a break!
Let's see what the total would be if we did a LITTLE better at shoping.

$1000 DK set
$250 TV and stand
$200 SM-58 mics
$400 Wireless mics
$270 Player and 180 songs
$100 Speaker stands
$130 Rack case
$670 Mixer amp
------
$3020

$980 for a pr. of Community speakers? It's a good thing that we didn't get the TV and TV stand for the sale price of $230. That would mean that it would cost us $1000 for a pr of Communitys.

I know that I could shop around and get the different pieces cheaper. I don't mind paying a little extra for convenience. My area doesn't have many places to buy things like this, so I would have to order and pay shipping for just about everything. The way I figure it, the separate shipping costs for everything would push the cost up. This is why I would prefer to get some kind of package like the one I linked to. I'm not going to insist on getting something like that, but if I can do it at a reasonably good price, that will most likely be the route I take. I've been looking around online and there has to be other places that offer pre-made set ups like this other one. That's really what I want to look at first as far as potential purchases, while still checking out the individual prices of the different pieces if bought separately. As for the speakers in the system I linked to...I suspected they might be a little small. At the same time, this area doesn't have huge clubs. I'd most likely be doing small-ish bars, pubs and taverns. I could always upgrade the speakers at some point, too.

from the same site, though, you can make your own package!!

SO all tha shipping and handling is mostly from them.

You telling me there is no radio shack around you? Seriously??

Well, you're online, and you can make a choice! Best of luck to you!