Karaoke Forums

$2500 is pretty low these days for a complete system with library.  $5000 is more in the ballpark for a good solid system & basic core selection.  
As far as downloading, there are a couple of sites available that you can get songs for aroun $1-$3 per track.  You'd be better off getting a good solid 'core' library, then download songs as you need them.

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Lonman, What do you think about this system here. He says he will upgrade to a 203 G USB, include 2000 songs on hard drive updated thru 2007, with song books and t.v. stand for $2542.00 and free shipping.

http://cheapkaraoke.com/Merchant2/merch ... okesystems

Thanks,
Kim

I'm not lonman but if you decide on this system, opt for the Yorkville speakers cause any speaker is better than Gemini Speakers.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

I think a lot of companies that cater to karaoke believe that their special 'karaoke equipment' is the best for doing karaoke. Fact is, the better the equipment, including mics, speakers, amps, effects boards, etc., the better the sound quality.

I'm sure these guys sell a decent product but consider putting components together yourself and your $$$ will probably go further. If you're unsure of exactly what you'll need, go and pick the brain of some guy at Guitar Center or one of the big places - tell them you need a small system and what your budget is ... then broach the subject of karaoke, get a decent player or go for the hard drive (you may want to investigate the legality of buying a harddrive with music on it). We have a 'karaoke' dealer in our town who smooth talks people into getting his 'specialty karaoke equipment' which in reality is cut rate and not the best, and he charges a substantial amount for it.

Consider searching around to see if anyone is getting out of the biz and selling off stuff, too.  Sometimes good libraries become available that way.  The 'brick' sets of CDGs are great core systems, have very few duplicates, and are decent quality. The prices have come down as well on those kinds of sets. Watch E-Bay, get on Craigslist, etc.

Guess I'm a cheapskate but I probably have the best equipment for the financial outlay I've made. If you're in a hurry, maybe you'll be happy with what the company in Parma is offering. Go to some 'cheap' DJ sites and see the sets they sell - pretty good prices on stuff with a great variety in quality.

Can I ask why you're choosing to have the house buy the system instead of bringing in an experienced KJ with their own equipment? I know a lot of places start out with great intentions, by being able to control the whole show if it's house equipment, but the upkeep (constantly purchasing music, having reliable hosts, etc.) can get to be overwhelming and take the backseat to other issues in a bar. There are freelance hosts but not a lot of them - anybody that is really good at it usually ends up with their own business.

There's a place in our area (the PNW) that had a fabulous karaoke show for 15 years with the same guy (now THAT'S LONGEVITY) - he left, they tried some poor substitutes, figured it wouldn't make money, ended up buying their own system (which was POOR quality), their hosts are NOT reliable (I went in one night snooping and the host didn't show!), and now they have an empty bar on the 3 nights a week they offer it.... Not to say this is how you'd do it, but if you need $2500 for something else that'll make your place better, consider contracting an experienced KJ who will set the standard at your place.

K

Honestly, the sound quality is going to lack (it will sound 'ok' but if a club down the street runs better equipment & KNOWS how to run it, they are going to have your customers & most likely the music (it doesn't state the brands) is going to be less than lacking - 10K songs of crap quality is going to mean MORE money out of your pocket to replace the songs in the long run to make the singers want to come in.

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Have you considered hiring a good KJ with solid equipment and experience in running a show?  

I brought a lot of business to my last regular club.  They did not want to see me leave. I suspect you might find the same thing.

Good luck

hey lonman, what about that equipment you told me to buy?  I get compliments on it all the time, even though I know it isn't as good as many systems out there. if they get a used laptop and buy about 500 bucks worth of music it could be decent, and they would have a subw......after they get a few requests of what music to buy the library could grow slowly.  I'm thinking they might get away with $2500.

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[glow=red]Yo sucka, we need this hea CHOPTER, and we need it now![/glow]

Below is a good system including a case for a small - medium bar - all for about $1300 - I use a similiar system and love it. You just need to get yourself a player and some music.  ( I use a Crown Amp and other mics  )

Behringer EURORACK UB1222FX-PRO Mixer $149.99

Behringer EuroPower EP2500 Power Amp $349.99

Behringer EUROLIVE B215 Loudspeaker (PAIR) $399.98

SKB SKB-106DJ DJ Station $139.99

Shure PG58 Mic and Stand 3-Pack $159.99

Musician's Friend Standard Speaker Stand(Black(2) $39.98

$1,239.92

For simplicity, since we're talking 50-100 people, I would recommend the Behringer PMP 3000 powered mixer. Plenty of power, all in one unit. Two quality 12" speakers are plenty for this size of place.

I'm a huge fan of Yamaha, Electrovoice and Peavey. Two Peavey PV115 and a small sub would sound great and would be plenty. The Peaveys are only $219 each. Two EV SX100 would sound great too and take up less space, but they are around $400 a piece. A pair of Yamaha SV115 would last forever and wouldn't even need a subwoofer. They go for around $329 each. For about the same price, slightly less if you negotiate, you could have a pair of Peavey PV215 with dual 15" woofers. If they aren't being moved around they would be a good choice since they are very heavy. They sound great and can handle lots of power. you'll need a decent player, they go for between $169 and $399 depending on brand and features. Just starting out I wouldn't recommend doing it by computer. Disks are MUCH easier to start out with. Decent microphones can be had for $20 each if you shop around. I recommend Musiciansfriend or Guitarcenter for a lot of this stuff. Almost forgot, the B52 Matrix 1000 speaker system would be a great way to go for a place your size and can be purchased for around $900. That system is DEFINITELY one to check into.

The music can be a major expense depending on what you want. If you go Soundchoice for high quality it's going to cost you $2,000 to twice that or more just for the Karaoke CDs. For around $2000 you can get about 2500 Soundchoice songs, you may be able to negotiate a better deal if you call them. I consider that to be a pretty small selection.

If you want to increase the sheer numbers of songs and make your selection look a lot bigger you can get the following off ebay: Sweet Georgia Brown 78 disk collection for under $100, that's about 1200 songs. Super core for around $50, that's about 400-500 songs, All Hits 26 disk series is about 400-500 songs. You can order a player off ebay too. Some come with thousands of songs, usually the lower quality Karaoke songs from Nutech and Music Maestro. Even that may be good enough to get stated with. You'll need someone to run it too. Once you get all the musicc then you need cases and you will need to print books so people can look up what they want to sing.

This is a big undertaking and expense, there is a lot to learn. You would be better off hiring someone to come in and do it for you.

I like a lot of what you said, but I am afraid I have to disagree with this.

If you are investing in something, it makes sense to invest in later technology as long as it is proven. CDGs are on their way out, and computer-based hosting programs are proven. The little extra time in learning will make for a much more trouble-free and cost-effective system in the long run.

Certainly for a bar that wants to do karaoke in house it makes sense to have customers request songs. To get those cost-effectively, you have to download MP3+G files anyway.

I strongly recommend you use a computer-based system. CDG handling, maintenance, and care by random people is very chancy, and most importantly, there is a very real theft risk with disks laying out there.

The learning curve and amount of set up work/time to get a computer based Karaoke system is huge IMO. Hooking up a disk based Karaoke player is easy as pie and operating one is even easier.

If I had a bar I wouldn't have customers messing with the disks or running the machine, I would definitely have one person/employee taking requests and running the machine. If they use a CAVS machine with an external USB drive instead of a computer they could get a Karaoke machine with an external drive preloaded with music-legal-offered by several ebay sellers and then later rip any other Karaoke disks they buy to that drive.

I have gone through the process of setting up a computerized Karaoke system recently and it was very challenging, also VERY time consuming. I've had LOTS of problems. Not everyone has the time or technical skills to set up a computerized Karaoke system. If I could do it over I would get the CAVS USB model with an external drive and 3 or 4 CAVS discs with 1000 or more songs each. Very easy to manage and easy to carry, also easy to store and lock up.

You don't tell us if you have any knowledge or karaoke experience.

A good KJ is the way to go if you lack KJing experience.

$2500 should get the karaoke night rolling.   That will buy 11 $150 nights.  11 weeks worth.  Any KJ worth his salt can get a good night going in that length of time.  And you would be showing a nice profit from it.    It should be at least $500-1000 a night in that time frame.   And it should get a little bigger with more time.

You run the bar.  Let them make you money and run the karaoke.

Don't hesitate.   You're losing money just talking to us now.

Questions do you own the building whereas you could install a small but adequate sound system?

Do you have a jukebox? A proper installed box with adequate speakers can be used for a sound system and you even have internal subs. An old vinyl would work and provide extra income.

Your major cost will be cd's and from experience lock them up except when they are in use and keep an inventory on them.

Just some tother options.

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I would steer away from the cavs machines since If you damage one of those discs you are out a big number of songs.  Not worth it to me. If they are only planning to outfit their own establishment, a computerized system is going to be easier in the long run. Especially if they get a system where the singers actually que their own songs.  Right now the only software that has this up and running is AutoKDJ. Compuhost is moving towards this end as well and has the easiest learning curve I have seen. I recently bought Compuhost and won't go anywhere else. My search for the right program for me is over.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

With the USB model, a CAVS disk can copied to an external HD and then be put away for safe keeping so your concern isn't really a problem to use as a reason not to get a system like that. Once all the discs are copied to the external drive it becomes simple to operate, easier than a computer based system. Soundchoice Foundations and Bricks can be ripped to the external drive too.

Computers for a professional Karaoke host are good, but for a bar, if they want a simple to operate system that nearly anyone can run, a computer based setup may not be the best way to go. Just because you are good with computers and got everything running and working great doesn't mean that everyone has that level of proficiency. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to swap disks in and out or to punch in a song number once everything is to the HD. Lots of things can and do go wrong with computers in general even aside from Karaoke software issues.

Based on my personal experience I would not recommend a computer based system to someone just starting out. You guys are looking at it from a mobile KJ point of view. If inexpensive disks containing 1000 songs each had come along sooner, fewer people would be switching to computers. Many of them switched because they didn't want to carry around 500 or 800 regular Karaoke CDs. If you could get the contents of all 500 disks on 5 or 6 disks then there is no hassle. Who would complain about carrying 6 disks around?

Now if you could buy a Karaoke computer with the Karaoke software already installed and set up, with all the songs already loaded and the books already printed then I could see someone taking a few hours to get up to speed and be ready to go. I don't know of such a thing.

If you were in my area I would supply you with the  best installation and and the best hockshop or best used deals on EBAY..  However here you will get nothing but  bubbles. If you do want  professional help there is my WWW..

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Join The Karaokle Singers Social Network. Upload Your Music!!

It is not huge. Dozens of people here have done it, and I can tell you it is certainly not all computer experts here!


Operating a computer is super-simple once you learn a couple things. It is much easier in general once you have gotten over the learning curve.

Do you use one? Everyone I know who does would strongly prefer not to go back to CDGs.


KJs have an advantage with disks -- they own them and care about them. Bar employees are going to be a mixed bag, and even if they are outstanding, there is still a theft risk.


CAVS systems aren't nearly good enough, in my opinion, to lock to one vendor.


Did you choose PCDJ or something? That is a very poor example, IMO.Had you spent a few bucks more on Compuhost you would be raving about it.

so simple, it's simple.

1. CAVS JB-199
2. Buy music on the spot when requested (download)
3. crystal clear digital sound, rack-mountable, easy to secure
4. add your existing songs and number them- print books
5. easy to deal with all-in-one system- buy it legally pre-loaded
6. add bill-changer if you own bar- set password just in case it was ever stolen (can't be used)

..i could go on, but there are thousands of kjs out there that use them and don't have the headaches that mismatched karaoke software/hardware kj have ALL the time.

It's funny how people take simple things and make them more complicated.

Trying to create the "perfect" computer-karaoke system by testing every software package, computer upgrade, and hardware device IMHO not only wastes countless hours you can never recover, but wastes lots and lots of money.

Why not leave it to the REAL computer EXPERTS (cavs/non-cavs) instead of trying to re-invent the wheel?
SURE, products can be improved upon, and feedback is necessary, but there is a reason Cavs still exists and continues to get better- they make money at it. WHAT other complete pro-systems (not home-use vocopro) is out there that's worth a hill of beans?

...and before anyone starts- YES their customer service needs an overhaul ,but the product is easy to use. The previous sync-issues do-it-yourself-computer-kjs STILL complain about were solved YEARS ago. Sound & Video is more than adequate.

Their 199 product is good, solid, and reliable. YOU pay more, but IT IS NOT some cheapo laptop with 6 cords running out of it (extremely inferior systems) like i've seen a few KJs use!

WHY spend thousands of dollars on good equipment, mics, speakers, amps, flat panels, music, etc...then run it off a $900 inferior laptop that can fall off the table?

JR

Has it been clearly established that the CAVS music inventory is legal?  Being quite interested in the system, I looked into it a few years back.  I was almost ready to buy one (convinced that it was "on the up and up"), when the retailer offered to throw in a load of Music Maestro tracks.  I asked how that was possible since they had gone out of business?  He response was that, basically, it was possible to do so precisely because they had gone out of business.

Uh Uh.  Someone owns the rights to those tracks.  Even if the ownership of those tracks is unclear, the right to use those tracks does not fall into the "public domain" simply because Music Maestro went out of business.