Karaoke Forums

Hi guys,

Im all a bit new to this but I was thinking of hosting a karaoke party in my house for a few mates to have a giggle.

I dont have any equipment or anything except for 2 mics and some speakers but I came across this home.luckyvoice.com karaoke service and just wondered if anyone had used it before or had any tips for hosting a karaoke party

Thanks,
Chris

Mt first reaction was one of revulsion, but the more I though about it, the more I think it is a brilliant idea...as much as I hope it fails.

The questions to me is of song quality. Who's songs are these? Are they cheap MIDI renditions of songs, or actual fully produced Karaoke versions? Also...you would be running this through your home stereo I assume. Mics generally don't work well with home speakers and without processing it's easy to blow them.

If you are serious about throwing a real Karaoke party, I would inquire with a local KJ. If your just looking to screw around at home with a hairbrush, it might be OK.

Hi Barry. Thanks for your reply.

We will just be "screwing around" at first and see how its goes. I don't want to buy any equipment if my friends don't get into it.

I have registered to the service and the sound quality is really good. It looks like a really professional service, however no match for the real thing

Chris, places like AceKaraoke do rent systems, from very non professioal to semi professional. Their best rental system is $250 for 24 hours. Here's the real deal.

You have to pick up the system, and have it back 24 hours later, or there will be fees. I don't know about you, but after a good party, the last thing I want to do is have to be somewhere the next day, when I would rather be resting or watching sports.

The person who ends up running the system is not going to have a great time. There is alot of work involved in producing a good karaoke party.

The person running the system most likely won't be able to get a good sound out of the system. It takes skills to make the music and singers sound their best. There are not many things worse than crappy sounding karaoke. If you do this on your home surround sound system, it will sound "Not Good".

The music selection they give you is very limited. They will have a single set of disc, probably Sweet Georgia Brown, which means you will have 1,209 songs. Non of this music will be current. A professional KJ has much more than that. I have 16,000 songs, and I am current to June 2009.

Since it cost $250 for a marginal setup, you would be better off hiring somone to do the party for you. If you want to see if your friends are down with this, you are best off making them sound good. If I go somewhere where they don't make me sound right, you can be sure I won't be back, even if they are friends.

Hope this helps,
Felix the KJ

You can get a decent pa for home for 350$ from most online retailers. i Got a phonic 740 plus 440 watts 7 channels of mic input built in effects 2 15 inch speakers that double as monitors or front end cabs! .sounds great in my house. the cable companys offer karaoke throuh on demand with lyrics. (looks like they use sound choice) hook up from your cable box out to the pa and pay the subscription price 14.95 a month! so for a one time investment say around 500$ you have karaoke at home.
We have a 2 year old at home and NEVER get to go out for karaoke or anything else for that matter. This was a cheap investment and i have to say has done wonders for my relationship and being able to relieve stress.
I like the idea of home parties. Not trying to take away from the kj's that do this for a living at all.

I would disagree about running a karaoke party in your house being no fun for the kj.
If it sucks so bad to host a show why would you do it ? even for money? Myself cannot stand to hear a ton of country or oldies so actually doing it at home is way more fun and you dont have to drive home after a few voice loosening cocktails .
I bought pcdj kj for a reasonable amount of money and everything is automated including announcing who is up next. My bar closes when i feel like it and the drinks are cheap!

That's actually how I got started many years ago. I built up a pretty decent system in my basement bar for friends to come visit. Then one asked me to KJ their company Christmas party "since you have all the stuff", and word of mouth took over from there.

stlmusician,
it is fun for me because I know what I am doing, and I know that everyone is getting a great show. If your friends are anything like mine, if you do a bad job, they will let you know it. Stress comes from being in a situation you are not trained for, or not prepared for. I've been to bars where the KJ was brand spanking new, and sweating bullets, becuase they knew they were not meeting expectations. I didn't ask, but I guaranttee they were not having fun.

Felix the KJ

Felix is right - those of us with a few years of mixing experience under our belts don't even THINK about it when we do it - I reach up and adjust while in the middle of a conversation with someone. So it isn't difficult for us, and we get good results. I have watched a newbie as well, struggling away, pushing this button and that button, getting feedback and not knowing how to stop it, etc., etc.

Pretty soon the singers get tinkled, start yelling, saying they can do it better, and bingo - KARAOKE ANARCHY!

I wouldn't put even my best friend up at the board without about 3 hours of instruction...my home parties are easy now because I set hoster to go after 15 seconds to the next singer, and singers are listed on the screen. Of course I still have to search and enter the songs but that times no time at all. Home parties are naturally more forgiving because there's usually an abundance of alcoholic judgment. .

K

Just go for it.

You will always better for the experience and I would bet after that you will want to get serious about it. Then come back to this forum and you will get better advise to get the best set up for your budget vs asking companies that sell "karaoke" equipment.

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

I have hosted karaoke in bars in Arizona for a few years then got more involved with live music so i dont kj anymore. Only in my House twice a week. My fiance loves it.She wouldnt sing for me for years now all the sudden she cant get enough.

I think all the talk about how hard it is to setup a good mix is overblown though. Processors are so advanced these days to take care of feedback and any other issues you may have in a "live environment"
With that said the very first time i kjed years ago was on a saturday night. I was filling in for a friend that really needed a vacation. It was to say the least a horrorshow!
I had a rotation of 45 people by 9:45 (karaoke started promptly at 9) On top of that i had the owner tell me "my really good friend wants to sing a certain song and then propose to his g/f" they then handed me a slip with the worst chickenscratch writing ever on it.
this was a cd based system btw. I also had quite the bilingual crowd that night to which the spanish karaoke cd cartridges didnt make it with the rig.

It was insanity for 4 straight hours! no breaks just forward motion. I screwed up the guys song he wanted and played the 2nd one first!
The day when pc based karaoke came along was a godsend. I automate everything
And i even keep presets on my outboard gear for friends that come over often. I store eq curves in my machine for regular places i play also. Building them took awhile but now all i have to do is set up dial it in and forget it.

streaming karaoke sites such as singsnap.com are a great way to do a onetimer...