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I'm just curious to see where the CDG manufacturers fall as far as quality. There are just so many choices out there, how do you know which ones to look for?

I have purchased CDGs from quite a few different MFGs and I think Chartbusters is probably the one of the better quality Cds for reasonable price. I'll take a closer look at the collection and report back with the ones I would avoid.

-Kona

Thanks for the fast response.

I have a few sets myself but it seems that all of them have issues or one kind or another.
1. The lyrics are wrong.
2. The music doesn't sound anything like the original.
3. The color change on the words is too subtle to read changing from white to pale yellow.

I guess I should have asked first, but it is okay to name these manufacturer's specifically for bad products or should it be limited to what is recommended in order not to break forum rules?

Good point. I will exercise caution in naming those I prefer and those I am less fond of.

I have noticed that the contrast and the TV/monitor itself can play a significant factor in being able to see the scrolling song lyrics.

-Kona

Feel free to name manu names.

Anyway, I tend to prefer Sound Choice, for my number 1 pick for most. Chartbuster for country & some pop/rock that aren't available from SC. Pop Hits Monthly (now Chart Hits). Most of the time you can be assured of decent quality, accuracy.
Can't STAND for a set Sweet Georgia Brown, Backstage, Music Maestro (now defunct as a manu), Star Disc (I believe is now defunct). They do have their diamond in the rough cuts that are very good but these are few & far between.

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I don't have complete sets of anything but I do have quite a few SGBs totaling 29 discs that I bought as a lot. Most of them seem okay to me musically, but the lyrics are way off on more than a few of the songs.

I think its my "All Hits Music" discs that have the poor color change visibility. I may be able to adjust the contrast on my set but it really shouldn't need much adjustment since it is a fairly new monitor.

And then there is Legends which came highly recommended. I have 9 of their CDGs and I am happy with most of them, but the Metallica disc is simply terrible being the worst reproduction I have ever heard.

I am currently waiting for a full set of the Headbanger's Pack Vol.2 from Sound Choice and expecting it to arrive within the next few days. I've heard good stuff about Sound Choice so I am expecting solid quality.

I've also been trying to find some good 80's - Modern Pop music in Sound Choice but I've only found singles so far and the foundation set which is more-than-a-little out of my price range ($350.00) at the moment.

I like Lonman's choices as well, for about the same things.

I will add DK and Supercore.

On DK, the music and production values are high-quality, and the lyrics are extremely accurate to the point of being the best. Downsides to DK are 1) I think they are no longer making tracks, 2) they have no lead-in dots, and 3) they have a pan flute that can be annoying (especially if you pitch the song different than the original).

I bought all the DK disks over time from karaoke.com on sale, for an average of about $5.00 per disk. That was a heck of a deal, and now they form the backbone of my collection. At 33 cents a song, it was great -- they have a lot of stuff that gets sung and make a great foundation collection.

For value, you can't beat Supercore, which gives you 16 disks for $60-$80.The tracks are high-quality for the price, being a combination of Pioneer for the older ones and Pop Hits and Soundchoice for the newer ones. (There are some Radio Starz and Big Country/Big Hitz in there too.) They, like DK, have a lot of songs that get sung.

Yeah, I forgot about the lead in dots! How do these companies expect you to be on track when the first few lines of a song don't have any musical accompaniment?

Mostly agree with Lonman, though Music Maestro, I feel, has some good tracks. I would add in Sunfly as a good one for obscure stuff, but much like Legends, they're hit or miss.

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hi-voxentertainment

legends and sunfly are one and the same company

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

I loathe DK, CK in fact anything with a melody line...any singer worth their salt will say the same thing...why have a stupid flute trying to elbow you out of centre stage

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

Agreed. One example: "I Just Died In Your Arms" (Cutting Crew). MM is the best sounding version I've got. It's way better than the version I've got in on SC. But with these two brands it's usually the other way around.



I have a two CDG set of Metallica on Sound Choice and I think it's one of the best things this brand has done. I'd definitely recommend it if Metallica is important to you. I agree Legends can be hit or miss. With me it's mostly "hit". But they can really miss. Korn's "Falling Away From Me" for example... once again SC has that track covered pretty well.

All brands have their strong and weak tracks. No one brand is always the best.

How are you displaying the graphics to the tv? Using a player, or the computer?

Many manus use light colors for the display of the lyrics, and a light color for the highlighting of the words. If you're using a player with a RF Modulator, you MAY have the switch on the modulator on the wrong setting. I found this out the hard way. Since the modulators are made overseas, I think some of them are shipped with the overseas frequency set, rather than the one our TV's use...

so light colors, such as yellow, orange, white and variations in between, all show up as WHITE!

Flip that switch while it's playing and see if that helps you IF that's the case!

stay away from this junk Nikkodo CD+G and northstar. can't go wrong with soundchoice or chartbuster.......cal

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cal's quote:"the best things in life are free, yet those things are priceless"

Well, I guess that's why they're both hit or miss.

The vast bulk of my LG and SF collection came from a lot purchased from a retiring KJ, so I guess I never paid attention.

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hi-voxentertainment

I dont like sunfly/legends cos they are too midi sounding. Lonnie doesnt like SGB but I like a goodly number of them, especially their pink floyd stuff and their jazz and blues...so really ya just gotta go with what you like.
I do however concur that soundchoice is my first port of call when looking for a track
Zoom is another reliable manu

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

legends DOES have some good ones, as does Nikeddo/NuTech. But far more miss than hit.

I think the review sections at karaoke.com and other sites are excellent ways to find out which ones you like. If you can get them on custom discs, even better if you know ONE song is good, but the rest of the tracks on a disc are a pile of donkey doo!

((Rolling Stones disc 120 I think... Gimme Shelter is a superb song, yet the rest blow chunks!))

Yeah, same with their Beatles from legend, Revolution is really good ( distorted guitar beginning sounds great ) while the rest are pretty poor sounding. Rudy.

An excellant disc is RadioAlso Starz.. Garth Brooks and Neil diamond are teriffic. Alsofound the Cher disc the best looking forward to trying there other discs

Radio Starz also has a really good Pearl Jam disc. I've got that and the Garth and Neil Diamond discs. Been meaning to see what else they have.

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hi-voxentertainment