Karaoke Forums

Ok.... I'm in a bit of a quandry... I dropped out of the karaoke scene for a while and I'm currently putting together a rig for a bar karaoke gig that I picked up recently.

I have the following gear.... What would you use for a bar karaoke gig?

I'd prefer to not rip my main wedding rig apart, but I can if I need to:
M-Audio NRV-10
M-Audio Xponent
M-Audio Trigger Finger
Audio Technica 2000 Handheld
Audio Technica 3000 Handheld
Behringer DEQ2496 Processor
The above is mounted in an SKB Mighty GigRig w/ 2 Gig Wings.

Other gear:

Shure Beta 58
3 Fender P-51 Microphones
M-Audio Sputnik
2 M-Audio Pulsar II Matched Pairs (4 mics)
Mackie Onyx 1620 w/firewire
Peavey DeltaFex Twin Effects Processor
Behringer MDX4600 Compressor/Limiter/Gate/Expander
Behringer Euro Rack Pro 1202FX
Soundcraft Compact 10 (no send/return - great mixer - lousy for live sound)

For sound reinforcement I have:
Fender PD-250
2x Bose L1 w/ a total of 4 Bass Bins

I have other gear... Including 2 Technics SL-1200 MKII Turntables, 2 SLDZ-1200 CD players, 4 TASCAM CD-DJ1 CD Players, some Numark DJ mixers, etc but it's not really suited for the karaoke thing...

I've been using an RSQ-333 and CAVS-203 for my gigs. My CAVS 203 died on me yesterday and I'm debating going computer based (I'm computer based for my DJ'ing but kept pushing off doing computer based on my karaoke stuff). If I don't go computer based I'll need to pick up a pair of CAVS players since I actually have some SCDG discs I use.

So.... for the gear experienced... what would you go with... I'm hauling this into and out of each gig so I'm looking for something small, lightweight, and still sound at least half way decent. It's a fairly small bar - to give you an idea, the DJ on Friday and Saturday nights has been using a single SRM-450 for 'dance' nights...


The questions come down to this:

What mixer?

On-board only or add the Peavey effects?

Use the InterFX Pro software for the NRV-10 or add the external compression?

Do I go computer based or ship in those two players quickly?

Is the 4-5" monitor I have sufficient for the singers or do I really need to use a larger screen? I have a 15" LCD TV I picked up on clearance at Target a while back but I'd have to come up with mount for it other than a wall mount.

What would you use for sound reinforcement?

On a side note: I'd have to rip my SCDG discs - which I can do between now and Wednesday when my first night at the bar happens... and still use the RSQ for my CDG discs if I have to...


I know I could sit down and hammer this out but since some of the people here are a bit of a gear head I'd appreciate some guidance since I'm short on time. Given the gear list above... what would YOU use?

if it were me, I would use the mackie, with effects for now. might just buy the one player (how much are they??) figuring you are going to end up computer soon. I would get the show rolling for a few weeks and address what you really need. use what you have as much as possible . dont dive in head first, its a good way to break your neck

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the voices arent real, but they have some good ideas

I would try a Mackie Mixer/Amp with your RSQ 333.A pair of 15 inch speakers for the house and a twelve inch monitor. This is great for a small house. Mackie has several Mixer/Amps with effects. They are great. I think mine is a 406M, not sure of the model name exactly as it's not within my view right now. It has separate amps for monitor and house levels, but can be combined. Has six channels, graphic EQ for both monitor and house, panoramic EQ for each channel.

What I would personally choose out of the stuff you listed and since you already have it is what I highlighted in yellow - plus your mics. SM58 for sure then whatever else you got.

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

His question was referring to out of the equipment list he HAS already (listed in the OP), what would we personally choose for a karaoke rig.

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

Lonman,

Thanks for the help! With everything going on I really just didn't get a chance to sit and decide what gear to pull out and use. I've been busy trying to resolve my track issues, get books printed, etc. Guess that's what happens when you drop out of the karaoke business for almost 2 years...

I'll be putting a rack together tonight with the gear in it.

I ordered a single CAVS 203G player (came in today) which I'll use with my existing RSQ but will be trying to do most of the night computer based.

BTW, I figured you'd pick the Mackie. I remember when I bought it a couple years ago and how you were talking about it. The only drawback is that mixer is a BEAST. I'll rack everything up in a 12x16 carpeted rack tonight (it's heavy but it works!) and get ready for the gig tomorrow.


On a side note, since I know you're a bit of a gear head, have you checked out the M-Audio NRV-10 mixer?
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/NRV10-main.html

It supports 10x10 firewire (so you can play back directly to the mixer), supports up to 5 mics, has built in effects, and if you use the software you can apply compression/limiting/gate/expander and up to 6 VST effects per channel. I've had a lot of good use out of the one I have in my wedding rig.

That looks very cool. It would be interesting to see if a PC could do the real-time effects processing and still run a karaoke program without dropping bits.

The only downside is I am not sure my laptop has firewire, and I am not sure many laptops do. A lot of the audio crowd are Apple-based, I know, and that firewire fits them. I also know that the sound community adopted Firewire even on PCs before USB 2.0 came out.

I just checked -- the laptop does have 1394/firewire, albeit with a teeny-tiny connector that I have never seen a cable for.

Firewire has 2 different types of connectors.

A 6 pin connector that can provide power, and a 4 pin connector that cannot.

What you see on the side of your laptop is a 4 pin connector. It's also on early Sony laptops labeled as i.link, and other laptops as IEEE 1384. It's fairly common but has recently been dropped from the cheaper laptops in recent months.

I'm not sure if my current laptop will handle the graphics on top of the audio processing. I've run the InterFX software with Torq (a DJ software) rewired into it, but the graphics subsystem on my laptop isn't the greatest in the world. It works ok with motion dive .tokyo (a VJ application) but I keep the resolution low for that.

I might give it a try at home and see what happens though...

Many device manufacturers are dropping 1394 to standardize on the ubiquitous USB2.0.


I will be interested -- though I can't justify buying one of those mixers knowing me I might still.

In addition to the "old" 13" TV I most typically use at my gigs for the singers, I also have a flatscreen TV that I have mounted to a Music Stand by drilling holes through the stand. This setup is particularly important for me to have when I work places where there is no screen for the audience to see!

When not at gig, the TV, still attached to the stand, sits on my dresser. It mounts on a tripod base which stays with the rig (in the bag with the speaker and mic stands)