Karaoke Forums

I am new so please look over me. I ordered a set of CD+G's on e-bay. It was the 1300 song set. It was Sweet Georgia Brown, brand new for 98.00. What I was wondering is when I order another set of some kind, is there a database somewehere that will quickly crossreference songs to keep from ordering a set with too many duplicates. Hope I didn't confuse anyone. Just not wanting to buy two or three sets and having a bunch of songs the same.

KJ Pro's web site will let you browse their data base even if you don't own the program.

If you buy by the set or disc individually, you are going to get duplicates no matter what. I understand not wanting to waste money on songs you already have, but how do you know the versions of every song you have are good ones? Some regular singers have a particular version that they prefer.

Many KJ's make sure they have no or few duplicates, I don't. There have been many times where I have a favorite version of a song, but then I ask 2 other people, and they have different favorites. Hey the customer is usualy right. I am the point where my library is so large, that when I look for a disc with a song I need, it usually has several or all songs I already have.

Bottom line, your collection is currently very small, just buy the sets, and don't stress the duplicates at this point, or until you have a lot more music.

Felix the KJ

Whenever I buy new discs I always cross-reference the list with my existing catalog - if a disc or set has more than 50% duplicates I will pass & figure out another way to get the songs I need (unless of course it is the absolutely only way to get that one song that everyone wants - but that is rare). But chances are you may find yourself wanting to duplicate much of the SGB library over time with better versions.

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

Lately what I've been doing is cutting and pasting the song list onto Excel (or just typing in the titles if it is just one disc). Then I change the font color to red. Then I copy and paste it to my master list, save and alphabetize. That way all the potential or new songs are in red and I can see how many are duplicates. Then either undo it all or delete the red ones. (I usually add a letter code like "N" in an unused column so I can alphabetize by that column later and just remove the "N"s if necessary).

FastTracks has a DUP-Finder feature that automatically compares your songbook to a prospective disc, showing you how many and which songs are duplicated. Use it all the time!

Thanks guys for the answers. I like the fast tracks setup, sounds good.Maybe when I gey my laptop next week I'll be able to get the program too.

Lonman's method is a good one. I personally look at two things, does the set have good sound quality? How much would it cost me to get the "non" duplicates if I bought them separately? I currently have about 3800 song but only about 2600 unique songs.
As you continue to buy lots or sets, the % of duplicates will go up. Not a big deal, but if you already have 80% of the songs, do you come out ahead money wise? Where is the break even point on cost and quality?

I think if you buy one of the low-cost sets, you should plan on throwing them away later. They are only $70.00 or so for SGB, so I wouldn't worry about duping those tracks. So to begin with, you can have quite a few dupes for a good reason.

Later on, you have to decide if spending $16.00 on four custom songs or $16.00 on a disk makes more sense. Lots of songs will *never* get sung, so it is less common for the disk to make sense than you might think. I tend to buy Chartbuster popular artist compilations (SC has very few). In my area I want to have every Reba, Conway Twitty, George Jones, and Gene Watson if I can.

People notice quality, so if you can get that, do. You are better off in popular nowadays, because a lot of Zoom and Sunfly are available for $1.00 - $2.00 per track. I can download individual tracks as they are requested. Country is much harder to find, which is why I am spending so much money on Chartbuster artist compilations and monthly disks.

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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.

I know that Fasttrack will let you know how much of a particular CD is already duplicated in your library by highlighting in red. This is very handy.

SGB songs are all midi produced. Some are done well, many are lame. While servicable, over time you will duplicate those songs with better versions.

My advice would be to check Craigslist and Ebay for used disk sets such as the Sound Choice Foundation series. This has saved me thousands of dollars, frequently picking up disks sets at only 1 or 2 bucks a disk!

Good luck.

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

Duplicate songs are par for the course. You are going to get them. However, when you are considering a purchase, look at it this way - online, an individual song generally costs between $1.50 and $3.00.

So if you get a bunch of songs on one disc (SCDGs are particularly beneficial), just count the number of NEW songs you are getting and divide it by the price. If you end up getting the songs for less than say, $1.50 each, and the disc(s) are original, legal discs, then you are getting a good deal.

If I was paying $98 and I got at least 75 or 100 new songs, I would be pleased.

Well I'm just now building my library and the first set I got was Supercore 2008. Iwas free with the player. Then I got the SWG set.for 98.00 . I understand now, with so many companys making cdg's theres no way around igetting duplicates. I really need to get lined out with a laptop setup as I can see this venture will be hassle trying to keep track of 100 or more discs. Oh well gotta keep on keeping on.

Also, don't see duplicates as necessarily bad things. Some singers prefer certain versions.

That said, it's unlikely anyone will prefer an SGB version.

Hey Nlouch, I actually prefer a few SGB songs. When it is a wilder party, I prefer Closer by NIN on SGB.

Felix the KJ

Actually, that's a fair comment. But it is rare

Agree with Felix. A lot of the regular karaoke goers actually enjoy seeing duplicates of their song so they can decide which version they prefer. Sweet Georgia Brown has some great renditions, but also some very crappy ones, so it would be good to have duplicates from a different set (for example, Chartbuster, SuperCore, or Sound Choice) and let the singer pick which version they prefer.

Also, there is the occasional misprint or bad/scratched copy of a song and they're up there wanting to sing THAT SONG. By having several different copies of that one song, you'd be able to avoid this hassle by grabbing one of the duplicates.

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"K-Jay"
www.kjayskaraoke.8m.com

That's why I have a singer's book, and a master book, with everything I have.

If a certain version is to their liking, then that's what I can help them with,... hopefully! !

9 out of 10 times when I listed duplicates, the singer would ask what the differences were, after trying to explain that different manus often create the same songs for their own library. The number 1 response I would get is 'give me the version you feel is the best'. So that is all I list anymore with a disclaimer for those who want a different version, just ask, I may have it in the books. Those that do want specific versions either ask me or bring in their own discs.
My main book has all songs listed so I can find a different version IF something did happen to the disc.

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

This is my method as well. Have a book with all the doubles removed, leaving only the ones you feel are the best. Then have a master book for your own reference. But either way, it's not bad at all to have doubles.

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"K-Jay"
www.kjayskaraoke.8m.com