Karaoke Forums

We probably have the best equipmwent in the area and definitely the largest selection. We get great singers, good singers, medoicre singers, and just plain awful singers. And like Diafel said, the important thing is that everyone has fun, fill seats and buy products. There are shows around here that only allow great singers to sing. I do not like "Diva" shows. We get singers who are not allowed to sing at other shows. We allow anyone to sing. We've had blind people, deaf, yes deaf, people, ppeople with Down's Syndrome, etc. Karaoke is for everyone and most people interact with others. To us, that's sucess.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

I think it certainly makes financial sense to cater to all singers (good, mediocre, and bad). However, as a karaoke patron I can put up with bad singers as long as there are at least some good ones in the rotation to balance it out. I don't expect perfection, but listening to terrible singing all night does not make for great fun, no matter how you slice it.

On the flip side, I almost think that if all of the singers are excellent this could intimidate the lesser talented or new-to-karaoke singers and prevent them from joining in. There needs to be balance between the two (excellent and bad), that's for sure.

I SO agree with the above statement. If it becomes painful to stay around, people will and do take their money elsewhere - it is up to us to make the punishment as minimal as possible by working the mix a little.

For some reason I can't seem to keep my nose out of this thread. I get the distinct impression from several posts here that just because the attendant singers are really good that people aren't having fun. Couldn't be less true in our case. And when I'm a singer (not hosting) I make it my business to MAKE SURE there is fun happening.

The good singers in our area may not (not saying this is absolutely true) spend the most money but they certainly attract crowds that DO spend money, which MORE than makes up for the money the singer doesn't spend. Someone referred to having singers of all kinds, including deaf, etc. We do have singers that have been given the bum's rush at other places. I will stand up for those singers to stay with us forever and ever. I keep reminding people that it ISN'T American Idol or any such thing, that we are all present to enjoy singing. My original comment about attracting good singers still stands, and after re-reading this entire thread, I will state that we have great equipment, we are punctual, we run a fair rotation, we know how to mix sound, we are personable people who make everyone feel special, and we LOVE what we do. So, maybe good singers like that combination - so do the mediocre singers and so do the 'can't carry a tune in a bucket' singers - we have 'em all and we love 'em all.

I SO agree with the above statement. If it becomes painful to stay around, people will and do take their money elsewhere - it is up to us to make the punishment as minimal as possible by working the mix a little.

For some reason I can't seem to keep my nose out of this thread. I get the distinct impression from several posts here that just because the attendant singers are really good that people aren't having fun. Couldn't be less true in our case. And when I'm a singer (not hosting) I make it my business to MAKE SURE there is fun happening.

The good singers in our area may not (not saying this is absolutely true) spend the most money but they certainly attract crowds that DO spend money, which MORE than makes up for the money the singer doesn't spend. Someone referred to having singers of all kinds, including deaf, etc. We do have singers that have been given the bum's rush at other places. I will stand up for those singers to stay with us forever and ever. I keep reminding people that it ISN'T American Idol or any such thing, that we are all present to enjoy singing. My original comment about attracting good singers still stands, and after re-reading this entire thread, I will state that we have great equipment, we are punctual, we run a fair rotation, we know how to mix sound, we are personable people who make everyone feel special, and we LOVE what we do. So, maybe good singers like that combination - so do the mediocre singers and so do the 'can't carry a tune in a bucket' singers - we have 'em all and we love 'em all.

I don't believe that anyone implied that good singers don't have fun - just that you don't have to be a good singer TO have fun.

As KJ's we often have discussed how we can "lose energy" during a show when a few singers get up in a row with songs that the crowd doesn't really enjoy - wrong genre, wrong tempo, too old.

And while some of you find that your ears start to hurt after a tolerating a "certain" number of bad singers, my sensibilities hurt when I have to listen to the same "good" singers, singing the same material all the time - particular when I don't like that material.

And while I don't appreciate rap, I can tolerate some of it. Rap is not only irritating to me; it's often long. But I suffer in silence and patiently wait for the next song that will re-energize me.

And to get re-energized, all I need is an ENTERTAINING singer -- not a good or great singer. And what's entertaining to me is more a factor of the selection than the quality of the singer. A great singer, doing "Rappers Delight" is far from a delight for me!

Yes, I don't understand the people who are thinking "attract only good singers". That's never going to happen, nor should you want it to as others have pointed out. In fact, if you have diligent wannabes like me they will gravitate toward the good shows to learn a little bit.

Part of a good show is getting people rocking. We had a show last night where the main audience was a Texas Hold 'em game, with a few other people just staying to listen to the music and drink. We had 'em rocking -- two good singers and two not so good. The poker players were having a blast -- singing along, tapping their feet, and requesting songs. That is not going to happen if all the singers are bad.

People come to my shows not because of me so much as because of the good sound and good selection. They have told me as much. They like to hear themselves, for one thing, which is often hit or miss at other shows. Plus, they get to sing through Shure and EV mics, there are differing effects based on song type and there is compression. They may not know what the technology is, but they know they sound as good as they can. Good singers like all that. Bad singers can't always sound good, but I suspect they can hear.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

There are people who DO come to my show because of ME, and have told me so.

There are men who go to the shows of the most attractive (looks and personality) female KJ's and don't hesitate to let there reasons for attending be known

There are lots of different reasons people attend a particular show, and finding fun and comradarie are very compelling reasons!

If you make good equipment sound bad, well, that is one thing. But I rarely see that happen -- typically people who care enough to have good equipment know how to make it sound decent.

But you can't make bad equipment sound good. I don't care how competent you are, if you have a $49.00 wireless mic it is going to sound awful. If you are really, really good it may just sound bad instead of awful. But it won't have the richness and tone of a good microphone no matter what you do.

Furthermore, good KJs with good ears don't use bad equipment, because they know how bad it sounds and they get rid of it. It is only the poor ears that stick with lousy equipment. The others strive to improve things, replacing weak links in the chain.


The mixer and amp makes the least difference in the chain. The microphone and speakers make the most difference. I would agree that you can make a bad amp and mixer sound good, usually. Bad speakers and microphones, no way.


I disagree with that. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, no matter how much you wish you can. You may make it sound as good as it can, but that isn't very good.


That does happen. Not often, but it does.


All of those things affect the overall evaluation of a show. Good sound by itself doesn't mean much. But bad sound, to me, kills the show. I have never seen a good show with bad sound. Perhaps shows muddle along like that, but I don't see them because I don't go back. And other singers don't go, either. So if they survive, it is by getting singers from their normal crowd. They may as well offer cornhole or Wii tournaments if that is the case.....

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Cueball,

There continues to be those who "live in their own world"; "dictate" was is good and bad; and totally ignore the opinions of others. The last part of your post along with the post of many others on this thread is a widely shared sentiment - EQUIPMENT ISN'T NECESSARILY THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT in creating and delivering an enjoyable karaoke show.

And while I can appreciate that there are people who won't regularly attend a show with "bad" equipment, my experience in S Fl has taught me that I'm not sure HOW bad equipment has to be before people won't attend a show.

The "free" show I attended that used a Singing Machine player was quite enjoyable and I don't think I've been anywhere with worse equipment?

Big time disagree here. My 3 primary components of HIGHEST importance is speakers, amps & mics. With mixer being directly under those. Biggest problem is people do not have enough power for their speakers which is why many shows sound like they are ear piercing tinny loud. Amp is typically too low powered.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Couldn't agree more. I've always said, there are certain songs where it doesn't even matter if the singer has talent: take "Mack the Knife," for instance. And I have some very talented friends who insist on singing the same &^%$#@! songs over and over until I just wanna puke!

And as there are certain exceptions to every rule, I give you one here: there was this white dude, Tony, who knew several rap songs backwards and forwards. Just the sheer level of talent and obsession involved in knowing those things so well and delivering them so perfectly - very entertaining! And I, too, am not much of a rap fan.

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See/hear the serial version of Michael's karaoke novel, "Outro," at outronovel.blogspot.com

Since the point at which I initiated this thread, I have invested thousands in by "business", including equipment. Not because I want to have the best equipment; not because I was concerned about attracting good singers; and not because I like to spend money......

I bought new equipment because I am coming close to retirement and planning to do gigs more regularly - so now (as someone once suggested a few years back) I don't want to "leave any money on the table"

- I want to be able to present myself to ANY size public venue

- And most important, I will actively be pursuing private parties, the type of which I am looking for will be, most probably in large venues

And, towards that end I have two yellow page ads coming out this spring!

I think one thing that attracts good singers is a good crowd... If you suck, you don't care if anyone is in the audience. If you are good, you want a responsive large crowd. Also, good singers like to be able to hear themselves, so KJ's should use a monitor. I'm really only posting this cuz I have to in order to post an event to let everyone know that Feb 5 there is Karaoke at the Farmers' Market in Anaheim!!

<3
Devon
Downtown Anaheim