Karaoke Forums

No problem.

Step One: Buy a basic karaoke player. This can be found online for about $150. The one I use is Here:

http://www.acekaraoke.com/acesonic-dgx- ... layer.html

Straight forward and easy to use, I've been using this player for two years now.

Step Two: Go to Radio Shack and get an A/B switch and Audio/Video cables. You need three sets of A/V cables to make this work.

Step Three: Wire it up. Run the audio output for your computer to input A. Run the audio output from the player to input B. Run the output for the A/B switch audio to where your board audio is plugged in now (mixer board). Run the video from the computer to the video input A on the switch. You may need to convert from S-video to RCA, but you are probably already doing this. Run the video output from the player to the video input B on the switch. Run the video output from the A/B switch to your RF modulator or Multi-distribution amplifier.

Operation:

Simple. Insert the disc and cue the track, and hit the B button. Now your show is running off the player. When the performance is over simply switch back to A. I recomment that you wire this permanently in your rack and secure the switch with velcro so shorts won't occur over time from plugging and unplugging cables and to speed up set for the show.

Caution: The volume levels from discs to computer can vary greatly depending on your compression, and the quality of the disc. I recommend you turn the volume slider on your mixer down as you cue the track, then adjust once the music starts.

Here's a picture of my system. Notice that the switch is in the middle of the rack... its the small silver box centered just above the karaoke player:

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.c ... =15665332#

Hope this helps.

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

I'm disc based, but even if I wasn't, not being able to play customer discs would put a major dent in my business. As a matter of fact, many new singers have shown up simply because I CAN, when others can't, or prefer not to.

See, we may have our preferred brands ( Not naming them to keep from a hijack), but that doesn't mean they are everyone's favorite.

If a singer practices at home with THEIR preferred version, they will want to sing THAT version, whether we might think it inferior or not.

Of course, playing customer discs also allows a patron to sing a song that I may not have as well..

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

Absolutely, Joe! I can atest that this capability has made me popular in two of my gigs, and that popularity garnered me a gig for Thursday nights! Its these little touches that says to people that you're different, and you care about the show and the singers!

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

Stl said: Unless you have a way to hack their pc's to see if they are legit or you have some other way of spying on these "alleged" pirates then you are just being too nosy for your own good. Worry about making your business fail safe and enjoyable for your crowd.

Nosy? Not - it's THROWN in our faces. Spying? Sure don't have to. Alleged? Not even. (New hosting company with 65,000 songs = PIRATE to me, without even checking.) Worry about my business - don't have to. I have a great following of singers who have visited my shows over the last 10-plus years, who come up to me on the street asking me where I'm doing shows, who e-mail, who phone me, etc.

Glad you're able to make such a hefty lifting off music - maybe you could post where you're at just for comparisons sake?

My bad - You're in St. Louis, MO. Obviously not in the PNW.
k

Some people have been doing this so long, they actually have so many songs, you might suspect them of being pirates.......sumbeeyatches ought to have to wear a patch over one eye, so I's can tell the difference..... rrrrrrrrr

Boy are you quick to respond Thank you for the detail information and the pic. I do have a basic karaoke player just was not sure how to hook it up to the computer when everything else was going plugged in and going on. I will defintely get the switch and cables and give it a try. Thanks again!

JR: I don't know of any legit hosts who have that many songs - unless they're independently wealthy and have been in the biz for 20 years. I guess there COULD be one somewhere...Yup, I like the idea of the mask over one eye. I'm going to start carrying those with me and maybe distribute a few!

The amount i stated for playing gigs with a BAND does not break down to big money by any means. I change strings weekly on 7 different guitars. Each one of those guitars is around 1000$ a piece.Sets of strings i can get in quantity for about 4$ a set. thats 28 $ a week in strings alone. What i meant was, The time invested in learning the music, rehearsing the music with the rest of the band adds up quick. I really end up investing my own money out of pocket to play gigs. StL is a pay to play town also if you are an original band but, they are few and far between here because the market doesnt care about original music.
As far as 3 chord growlers goes,they have just as much a right to perform what they put their hearts into as your guys band. Thats a very narrow viewpoint.

"I'm confused. Are you a KJ? If you are you should know having a karaoke business isn't just setting up, tearing down and being there for the night. We also don't get paid near what a band does. A decent band in my area gets about $1000 a night and an average karaoke host makes $100 - $300. I don't see the comparison."

Take you 100-300 a night and multiply it by 4-5 people in a band and you make more for doing less actually. Do you have to learn every song in your karaoke catalog? Note perfect? I wasnt trying to make this a pissing match at all so Im sorry if its percieved that way. I used to KJ in another state but, St Louis is a market where i would be forced to have to hear a ton of music i absolutely cannot stand to make money.
The whole of what i meant was that everyone is too greedy to get top dollar for what they do. The ones like the Rolling Stones or Aerosmith really piss me off with the 200 dollar tickets to their shows. Both of those bands members are disgustingly rich and really dont need that kind of ticket price i dont care how big their production is.
That filters down to people that want to be just like them but want all of the money right now. Greed is choking the life out of this country and this world and everyone has to do their jobs to make it stop.

Look at the housing market. There are clowns in this town that will buy a house for 30,000$ rehab it put 20,000$ in labor and materials into it and sell it for 300,000 $ .that to me is a perfect example of greed.
Everyone is in on it and nobody takes their weight for being out of control.

As far as being part of the problem like the one poster stated. I am nothing more than a victim of mass failure struggling just like you to keep my kids fed and clothed.
If you want to be part of the solution become a cop then you will have an excuse to climb atop your high horse.

Believe me, you're not telling me anything about the music biz that I'm unaware of. If a band is content to play covers, let them play covers - there are dozens and dozens of cover bands living off the creativity and talent of original musicians everywhere. Just water off my back. I'm a bit cynical when it comes to the music industry. It's been part of my life forever. I have a home studio; I have thousands of dollars wroth of guitars and keyboards, bass guitars, subwoofers, speakers, crossovers, amplifiers, lighting systems, you name it. I choose to do karaoke because it's a natural extension of my desire to sing and perform. I don't confuse the two.

Your attitude about The Stones and Aerosmith is somewhat naive. Their concert tours and tickets pay the living for dozens of people who do their set-up and tear down; they have massive costs in equipment including semis....and the cost of transporting their show from town to town. I agree that $200 tickets are inappropriate; I don't endorse it by buying tickets to those shows but I do buy their DVDs and CDs. I respect their ability to entertain and do it well for probably more years than you've been alive. I let my wallet speak for me....but they still sell out.

I don't do pissing contests with skunks either - This forum is a place where KJs post to communicate with other KJs - piracy is a subject that pops up occasionally - more often than some like. Sometimes people just RANT (as the OP, I'm guilty of a RANT on this one) And sometimes people come looking for advice and there are people who are amazingly knowledgeable about all things musical on this forum who give of their advice freely.

Live music versus karaoke is a topic that has been covered multiple times since I've been a member here. It was NOT the subject of this post. Like I said above, i don't confuse the two. I'm not greedy, I get paid well for what I do and I do it well. (Btw, don't assume anything about the people on this forum - you'll be surprised at who is here.) I, too, have fronted bands and I've played in bands; I've roadied, I've done press releases, I write bios, I am a band photographer. But I also enjoy karaoke, I invest heavily in the hobby side of my life (karaoke) as well as the business side, and I don't confuse the two.

Every newbie who rolls onto this forum with such a confrontational and judgmental attitude will get a dressing down eventually from those most willing to contribute. I try to stay out of those but since this all fell under a post I created, I've responded.

Oh, and if you have recordings anywhere on the 'net of your band, you can always link to them here so people can listen.

Live and learn....

My over 5000 song library does NOT include duplicates. And hard to believe or not, I have NEVER had a request for a cdg to be played. When it happens, I will tell you. As I said before, nothing has swayed my decision not to invest in a player at this time. Just my own personal preference. If you won't come to my show, sorry.

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

You will dress down nothing here. I said nothing about your greed. I commented on your need to tell on people nonsense. As far as being a skunk that wasnt very nice its not like i called you a (@$%&#!) or anything. I have been in the music business all of my life and i am far from a newb. Just because i dont have the time to be a leet extreme poster doesnt make you queen of karaoke. I really dont care that you dont like my opinion. You are nothing to me and you made it personal. Since im not married to you i dont have to be ragged by you. have a good one. (@$%&#!) attitude is like bad karma and you know what that will get you in the long run.

I don't believe it is nonsense to want to stop pirating because it is a perfectly legitimate complaint. It hurts our business. Karen has every right to express her disgust. If you owned a store and shop lifters were putting you out of business you'd want them arrested.

I agree some artists are asking outrages amounts for their tickets. I choose not to support them when they do this by not buying them.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

Rip - it's all good. I didn't start bringing my CDG player until I started getting request for it. Why bother if it isn't in demand for you.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

I can't count the numerous times I have been to a show where a kj used a computer and I can see the trash on the music they play. That definitely looks like a copy to me and it drived me nuts. I had also gone to a show where the kj said that he had everything that ever came out on karaoke. What a jerk he was! I tryed to get a show for no less than $150.00. When the manager told me that the kj that just started there offered $75.00 it made me very angry! No longer will I ever go back to that low of a price again.

Would any of you, as working KJs patronize a show you knew was run by a pirate? I suggested to some other KJs that they not attend a particular show because of a copied hard drive and they didn't seem to think it was an issue.

I don't think much about it, perhaps partly because I am an extremely part-time KJ. It isn't my livelihood at all.

The two shows I do attend regularly are definitely not pirated, but I do attend one on occasion that I think most likely is. But I don't make an issue out of it either with them or in my mind. I don't know for a fact that they are pirated, and unless they come out and throw it in my face with "120,000 songs!" noise or talking about how they download stuff, I don't know that it is my place to try and judge that.

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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.

Guess my road trip won't take me up north, Ripman.

When my wife and I travel we prefer to have our own cdgs. Not saying I wouldn't TRY the ones the host of a show has, but I have a LOT of special ones, many that you either wouldn't buy, or couldn't (due to discontinued discs, low availability, etc). Many of these rare songs people love, and I've taken a lot of pride in my collection over the years. I traveled to Lonman's show and sang on his system, and he was very accomidating. Swingcat came to mine.

Now granted.... where I started out, people were bringing them in. About one a night. Then that got the other regulars going, "ooooh, where did you get that?" and suddenly a LOT of people were bringing in discs. Also the place where I started out didn't take care of their cdgs, so some customers would buy the exact one they were used to singing on, but wanted a GOOD copy.

So when I was brought into this system, it was a natural to have to be able to play a customer cdg. So to me, having even a $40 player and an a/b switch would be a must have. There are a couple of competitors around here that won't play my cdgs, and I won't go to their shows. Not that they are a competitor, but they can't fulfil my needs as a KJ. When we talk about it on our local yahoo get together club, I'm asked occassionally why I'm so stand offish. I merely reply, "When you can play my brought in cdgs, I'll show up!"

I knowingly avoid pirate shows. And I'll tell the owners of the venue WHY. I've walked into a show, found out it was a pirate show, and left, with my dinner uneaten and my drinks not drank.

I think that's the only protest we can make at this point - and the pirate shows I've been to have been so substandard anyway that there is no reason to stay (green host mostly - apparently if you can create an entire rig in an afternoon, all you need is a warm body to load the songs and call up singers and that seems to be what happens).

A good friend who I have helped quite a bit just got a stuffed hard drive. He asked if I rsome music. I said I have what I need. Then later he asked how he could make books now without dups and all. Can you do it? I told him I wouldnt even consider it and explained what mess he has and how long it would take. Then showed him one of my new books. No dups, typos or headaches.

Now the big drives are not as attractive or important as were at the start. They found out they are not an advantage or selling point. I really dont know what the big hullabaloo is on here anyway. That was a fad for a few months now it doesnt mean crap.

When the big drives hit town I made some very good deals on legal CD'S. It was a godsend to me.

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