Karaoke Forums

I have a home karaoke set-up using an RSQ Triple tray, a Yamaha EMX 312 Mixer and 2 Yamaha 10-inch PA Speakers. Typically I may have 3-4 wired mics in use via the Mixer at one time.
I have a couple of questions:
1. Is there something I can use to control the tempo of the CD-G without affecting pitch?
2. Can anyone recommend a multi-track recorder with removable media that I can use for recording? I'd like to start recording at the beginning of the night and pick and choose what I want to keep later.
3. I don't want to lose the ability to use 4 mics for recording.

You guys are so knowledgable; I really look forward to hearing your responses. My budget is around $500. Thank you!!!

Do you use 4 mic to sing at the same time? You do not need 4 mic to record one vocal source.



Have you consider using your computer to record?

I often use 4 mics at once; in researching recorders I am thinking that the recorder could essentially replace my Yamaha mixer thus the request for a recorder that allows me to connect 4 mics.

If this is cost-prohibitive, I could keep the Yamaha mixer in the loop but I'm just examining possibilities.

I have used Audacity and an M-Audio external card to record on a laptop in the past, but I would prefer not to go that route. I have over 7000 songs (including duplicates) and I have a feeling that someday I will want to move away from huge books of cd-g's and use a laptop w/ an external drive.

Is it time for me to bite the bullet and go with the computer? I'm afraid after spending $X on a laptop, external drive and software for organizing my music and reading CD Gs I'm going to be in the $1200-1500 range.

If you're interested in recording singers at your show (or yourself at home), consider a Tascam CD burner mounted in the rack. (PLEASE DON'T LITTER THIS THREAD/POST REGARDING THE LEGALITY OF RECORDING) I have used this to record CDs to send to an elderly aunt who can't get out to see me sing live. I have used it to record music to play at funerals, weddings, etc., when you don't want to do it live. I have given CDs to new singers at my show (only good singers or ones who are obviously comfortable with their singing ability, not to singers who are just starting or who may be turned off by the sound of their own voice). Lots of uses for it, it is VERY simple to operate, and other than the initial cost (you don't have to get a new one - wish I could remember which model I use but that escapes me right now) you can do live recording very easily with it.

k

Karen---thank you for the response. Actually I've seen the Tascam online and it looked promising.
This is stricly for personal use; I've got a great group of friends who love to come over and sing and I've wanted a way to capture recordings.

I know I'm going to have to bite the bullet someday and move to a computer-based system but it will take me forever and a day to load all of my cd-gs into a software program.

What about hooking up a minidisc player/recorder? Once you have what you want you can burn it to CD or copy to a PC hard drive or? I've seen minidisc recorders going for not much money on ebay.

You should just bite the bullet & go computer. Use Audacity or Krystal - both free & do good jobs. Both multitrackers if you need them to be as well.

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Ideally I'd like to have a recorder for several purposes, including the ability to record the entire evening in one sitting, then pick and choose what I want to keep later. The mini-disc or CD-recorder wouldn't allow me to record 2-3 hours in one sitting.

I use Audacity for that purpose. I don't do the entire evening, however you can. It is set up so I record a song. The R key on the keybord starts the recording. The S key on the keyboard stops it. When I start recording the next song, it automatically starts a new track without affecting the first one at all & you can set it to turn off the playback of the previous tracks. Very easy, take it home, normalize & export to mp3/wav/ogg formats. Here is a track I recorded live at my show with Audacity.
http://www.singersshowcase.com/song.php ... act2=65877

If you just wanted to record the entire night in one sitting, then you'd just highlight the section/song you wanted, copy & paste into a new track. A lot more work but could be done.

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Thanks for all of your feedback. Great recording, Lonman. So my best bet is to use a laptop with Audacity freeware for recording. I've seen the other forums regarding KJ software so I'm not going to even ask about that aspect!

I know it sounds strange to want to record the entire evening, but I just don't want to have to start and stop constantly while I'm trying to play hostess as well. And some of the funniest stuff I've heard has been in-between songs, too.

I'll research in the other tech forums, but it sounds like I need a dedicated laptop with Audacity, some Karaoke Hosting software, an external storage drive and external sound card as well to interface with my existing Yamaha mixer.

Is that accurate?

taht would be my suggestion too...minidisc recorders are editable and easy to carry about...perfect for what you need...my friend uses one exclusively and we do online duets with me using the computer as my recording medium and him using his minidisc...it sounds fine (mind you he is mind blowingly talented)

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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."

He stated he wants to record an entire evening though 2-3 hours straight. Can this be achieved on the minidisc recording media at a quality sounding bitrate? From what I understand it can only do 80 minutes per disc. A hard drive based recorder would be a better option for long continuous runs that last a couple hours or more.

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

dunno Lonnie...want me to sit on my hands?

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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."

Just FYI I'm a she, not a he , but I appreciate all of your feedback. I've used Audacity in the past and didn't have any problems with it for recording 2-3 hours at a time.

I just want to clarify: if I go to a computer-based system essentially the only things in my current system I'm losing are my RSQ 333 and my huge books of Karaoka discs. And instead of manually swapping out discs, I would use MTU Hoster or other KJ software to first burn all of my discs to an external storage drive (and copy to another one for back-up), then use an external sound card to connect to my Yamaha mixer in lieu of the RSQ 333. From the mixer's Recording or Monitor outputs I would connect back to the sound card to the the PC using Audacity to record.

Is that it in a nutshell? And thank you ALLl!!!!

I know this will ruffle feathers, but don't care. I'm an EE (Electronic Engineer) as well as an experienced host....

Just be prepared to lower your expectations of sound quality when you record using MP3s instead of discs..

Even if you're not an EE, if you just think about the processing of the music you'll know why.

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

9 out of 10 people can't even begin to tell the difference.

If the bit rate is 192K or above, anybody has a hard time telling the difference. If it is 128, it won't be as good, but it is certainly good enough to kick a large house. This is proven every day.

Don't know about your location, but in my neck of the woods people are kinda particular about sound-thankfully- and it brings me more work. MP3s, unlike other strides in audio media, are the first step backward since recorded audio started.

1) They only record definitive tones- no nuance or harmonics- they sound flat to those who notice such things.

2) Virtually all downloads contain random time compressions, keychanges, and sound drops. All you have to do is put a scope on them to prove it.

3) MP3s are the only media that aren't professionally recorded, but downloaded by consumers. Different bit rates, transmission media, sound cards, storage....No conformity.

If you wish to record at home with quality, use CDs

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

Music sound quality is certainly a big factor in recording a song, but in less you plan on only listening to it with no one else in the house, refrigerator unplugged, a/c turned off, neighbors all asleep, or in you car out in the country windows rolled up and engine off... you won't really hear a any offensive quality loss at 192k. Floor noise will surely reduce your ability to hear the difference.

Mrmarog (not BOB)

I appreciate all the feedback; I know there's controversy surrounding mp3 recording vs. CD. One issue that's currently preventing me from recording via mp3 is a shortage of Vista compatible external sound cards. I've checked out zzounds and Guitar Center and can't come up with a viable solution.
Does anyone have suggestions for a Vista-compatible external sound card?

With all eFx and procs bypassed and at low volume I can tell the difference in rip rates. With all on and at crowd volume I defy anybody to tell the difference.

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