Karaoke Forums

What is your opinion on the Thompsons Vocal Eliminator from LT Sound?

Don't bother. It's overpriced for one & i've heard some karaoke machines that do just as good of a job - if not better. BTW some discs will work great, some won't work at all on any machine. Anything originally recorded in mono - don't even bother. All the units - expensive & cheap - use the same phase reversal technology to cancel out "like" frequencies on both channels. Most often vocals. But it will also cancel out several instruments that are recorded the same on both channels i.e. bass, kick drum, snare drum, some guitar solos, etc. Leaving only loud guitars, tom drums & cymbals, any effects of the original vocals & quite often a ghostly trace of the original vocal. Save your money & buy a good karaoke player with a vocal eliminator....

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And what equipment would you recommend?

The JVC SV-22 single tray or the JVC MV-303 triple tray player. You could also try the Pioneer V-10 twin tray. All of these have a vocal elimnator that will work as good as the Thompson.

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To be honest Lonnie, this is an aspect of the machines I've never played with! I used to with the old Pioneer laser machines that had true MPX...

hmmm, I'll have to play around with it myself! you got me thinking! And that's a dangerous thing! !

For some, the Thompsons Vocal Eliminator is worth its weight in gold -

I don't have any actual figures but a "wild" guess is that only around 30% of all the songs are available on some type of "karaoke" format and maybe 50% of the 30% instrumentals are questionable


With the Thompsons Vocal Eliminator you can sing along with anything -

The only downfall is you won't have anything to point the finger at or complain about

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The opinions of Sammy do not necessarily reflect the views of the Karaoke Scene Magazine - Advice is given with a sence of humor and should be taken accordingly - If you have problems setting the clock on your VCR - You've come to the right place

with karaokebuilderstudio, you can! !

Could we please revisit the subject of voice elimination??

I am new to owning a Karaoke "Outfit" and my outfit is currently on its way to me from the Lower 48 States. Years ago I owned a Recording Studio and about the time I sold the studio a device appeared on the market that would "allow" the lead vocal to be "removed" from a CD or tape when passing music through this device.

Now that I am *sort of* back into music, I think I have need for such an elimination device. Most specifically, I recently aquired a Lee Greenwood CD and the song "God Bless The USA" has been re-mastered (changed) from the original version and the back-up features the *Fisk Jubilee Singers*. This back-up-group was not in the original release. In some ways I find this particular version superior to that of the original. The name of the album is *Lee Greenwood - Stronger Than Time". I fear that I will have a most difficult time finding a Karaoke CD with this version featuring the backup music of the *Fisk Jubilee Singers*. For this reason I am searching for a device that would "allow" me to remove the lead voice without diminishing the quality of the back-up.

Along the same thoughts, rather than paying a great deal for, let's say, the Thompson Vocal Elimination device, I would be excited to find a company or organization (or an individual) who would produce for me the product I desire.

Still, along the same lines, should ANYONE know of a Karaoke CD that has been mastered, using the version I desire, I would greatly appreciate your telling me where I can immediately aquire this item.

Now, back to the vocal eleminator . . . . how much would the Thompson device cost and would this device reasonably eleminate the lead vocal without taking away from the fidelity of the back-up?

Thanks,
Harold

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Time is not money . . . . . . Time is an opportunity to live before you die.

I looked into the Thompsons...They quoted me $2495 last year and this years price was to go to $2695...They will send you a sample recording of what the vocal eliminator will do on your CD's...You might want to contact them IF you are willing to shell out that kind of money..As you can see these guys have other recommendations which are substantially less money..

Harold:

Why don't you try using a commercial vocal reduction service such as
www.vocalreduction.com

Details are on the site, but you will have to send them the original disc (no burns)

Hello Terry:
Thanks for the reply. Have you heard anything at all regarding recording fidelity or quality degradation once the recording has passed through the Eleminator? I am concerned about "drop off"/"drop out" and I am wondering does a significant loss in either "highs" or "lows" result from filtering. Do you know about this . . . . . or anyone else reading this posting?

Thanks,
Harold

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Time is not money . . . . . . Time is an opportunity to live before you die.

Again, The way it sounds in the end is all dependant on how the original recording was done. Some songs work well, some don't work at all. You will lose some instruments (kick, snare sometimes, bass guitar, guitar solos), you will hear some unwanted things (like reverb from the original vocal).
This unit works on the same premise that the vocal reducers in karaoke players work. The main difference is it has a little eq'ing that isn't included in the players, otherwise it doesn't do any better.

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Thanks Lonman:
Do you have suggestions where I can have the song, cited above, prepared so that the lead voice is removed? In other words, is there a business that I might contact to employ the services I desire?

Harold

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Time is not money . . . . . . Time is an opportunity to live before you die.

As suggested, vocalreduction.com but again they use the same technology as what's in the players, but they can eq a little to somewhat enhance lost frequencies but most likely will still sound "washed". You can pay to have it done but you are stuck with the result good or bad. $25 to get 1 song isn't worth it to me, especially when there is a 1 in 5 chance that your disc won't be successful - they admit that & also go on to say 'no refunds' or guarantees......Any sound clips you may hear are obviously going to be of songs that DID work well.

Have you tried using a karaoke players built in vocal reducer yet?

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Hi Lonman:
No, I have not tried the unit's reduction yet. As a matter of fact, I haven't received the unit yet as it's being shipped from the Lower 48 to me in Alaska.

I know nothing about this unit. I have purchased a Martin Roland MA-3000K 600 Watt Mixing Amp and a RSQ DVD-505G Dolby 5.1 Player.

Do you know if these devices have built in reduction?

Harold

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Time is not money . . . . . . Time is an opportunity to live before you die.

Harold .
The Last price I had recieved on one was $2,100.00 net + shipping
from Albuquerque, NM. that was 6 months ago.. I still haven't purchased one. To this day it is NOT a priority to get one.

I don't think that particular model has one, although I haven't used it - I could be wrong.

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Thanks guys for the information. I guess I'll figure everything out when it arrives.

Harold

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Time is not money . . . . . . Time is an opportunity to live before you die.

As an after-thought, had I known about this site before buying this unit, I could have drawn on the experience of you guys (and ladies that may be reading this) and maybe have gotten a better unit for the same price. This wasn't the case . . . was it?

Stevieb & Brian: I did not mean to snub your Postings and I would like to address this matter at this time. I have been having computer problems and because of this, I was viewing only parts of messages being posted. Now that this problem has been corrected (hopefully), I found your messages and I didn't want you to think that I placed no value in your Postings. Thanks guys for your Postings!!!!

Harold

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Time is not money . . . . . . Time is an opportunity to live before you die.

Harold:

I did not feel snubbed. Based on your subsequent replies, I deduced that you did not see my post. At any rate, you are the first person I know of that has purchased the Martin Roland mixer amp. When you recieve it, I would be curious as to your opinion of the unit. I am just one of those people that like to know as much as possible regarding smaller manufacturers and their products. Since your background is in recording, you can probably give a learned critique of the units performance.

I do not know where you purchased your player, but if you do not need the DVD capability, you may want to exchange it for the JVC or RSQ CDG/VCD unit. Both of these units have the vocal reduction functionality. To be honest, I only used the functionality once at the request of a guest, and neither one of us was impressed. It was Diana Krall's version of " 'SWonderful".

Good luck to you and happy singning!