Karaoke Forums

Some K music is just plain goony. But I've noticed that some of the music has been created very, very well...

Was just curious if there are any specific brands of K music CD's I should look for? Or some brands I should avoid.

thanks

I can personally speak to the Chartbusters discs, good selection especially country. DFK/DGK discs I've had luck with as well.

Impk is a lot of bang for the buck, but some songs are mislabled on the disc which is a real downer when you are running a show.

The recording level on Sweet Georgian Brown varies greatly and I won't purchase them.

Thanks,
Ken

I prefer Sound Choice for the majority of my picks, generally if they have it out, that's my first choice - especially 70's-90's rock/pop. Country I am leaning toward Chartbuster lately - don't really care for their rock/pop, although they aren't the worst and sometimes have songs that other manus can't seem to get.

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I'd echo what's already been said on Sound Choice and Chartbuster. I like some of the Monster Hits renditions too, though I'm not sure if they are still putting out new titles.

I also echo the Sound Choice for rock and Chartbuster for country.

I am a fan of DK, though they do have their foibles. Tonight we had a singer do "Chain of Fools" by Aretha Franklin, and it the DK version we had wasn't in the original key. I only had one other version, SAVP, and according to the (music teacher) singer it was OK.

For the price, Supercore is an excellent starter set that is a cut above other low-priced brands. And finally, Pop Hits Monthly is a good source for the newest hits.

Dk has always had the problem of putting some of their songs out in lower keys, when the orignal owner was over at another forum years ago he explained it was because they felt that some keys were too high for the average singer & lowered them to a more 'average' key of the general public (whatever that is).

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that other forum, when it closed down, lost YEARS of excellent history like that!

Or in the case of Folsom Prison Blues, they raised it a half-step.

I agree with the general vote here on Sound Choice and Chartbusters, also for the same reasons mentioned. Monster Hits seems to be, for the most part, good stuff, although they are no longer in production. I would also like to add the Zoom line of cd+g's to the list. They are very very good mucically reproduced, but the selection is limited still, because they are still a pretty new line.

Scott

I would projectile vomit if I had to sing to a DK track...if you are a musician Jerry, you would have to ask yourself why anyone would ruin a perfectly good backing track (yeah they have some nicely arranged backings) with a ruddy horrible melody line where the singer should be singing

Zoom produce some quite nice backings.

Lonnie and I love to disagree over sweet georgia brown...although I agree some can be a tad noisy I do like their blues and pink floyd tracks

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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."

Yeah those make me projectile vomit just listening to them

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all right , im going to disagree with the majority here...Sound choice and Chartbuster DO have about equal quality on most tracks imo. I have tryed both on many songs and find most to be a wash, Chartbuster seems to be at minimum an equal. BUT, sound choice seems to be MUCH more expensive than chartbuster and has a more limited selection of current music. for these reasons IF I were starting fresh I would buy all of the Chartbuster multi packs. you would get more bang for the buck and spend less bucks. later on I would fill in with Sound Choice

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the voices arent real, but they have some good ideas

Depending on where you shop & how the retailer marks them, they are no more expensive than CB. SC Spots run about $17.95 (15 songs) at most sites. As a matter of fact some of the NEWER Chartbuster (again depending on where you go) discs with only 10 songs are as high as $19.99. Their 15 song pro series are equivalantly priced at $17.99. So either the place you shop is jacking up the prices or you haven't really looked closely lately at the prices.
Hmmmm, weird I just went to look at prices for CB on karaoke.com & they do not list ANY anymore. CB website is not online for ordering right now either.

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I am a Chartbuster fanboy, but I have to admit that SoundChoice does rock better. Chartbuster is usually much better on country, because their pedal steel and fiddle players really twang a mean string. Might be a Nashville thang...Soundchoice versions always sound thin in comparison.

But when it comes to lead guitars and keyboards, Soundchoice has them beat. And those are by far the most important instruments in rock.

I have mostly Sunfly. Nobody use them much in USA?

Not much. From what I understand, they sell artist collections as Legends Series, and I have a few of those. But I am not the person to talk to. About 80% of my new song purchases are country, and that pretty much leaves Sunfly out.

I go to a lot of shows though, and while I do see Sunfly pop up on the screen it is not that common.

I don't care for their overall quality sound wise. But do have a handful with songs not available over here.

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

If even as a raw newbie with only a few songs behind him, I can tell the quality of Sweet Georgia Brown tracks can vary a great deal. They also tweak some lyrics to the point that I'd rather just memorize the original studio version. But SGB's are easy to come by cheap, on Ebay.

I've noticed on these Karaoke forums there's a lot of appreciation for Sound Choice... but with Chartbusters, Zoom and Sunfly outpacing them with new music I have to wonder how much longer they'll be at the forefront of people's opinions.

The VAST MAJORITY of people will go with Soundchoice.

I agree for the most part. But to just blanket say that ALL the other MFRs dont come close at all is SIMPLY NONSENSE.

There are SO SO many REALLY GOOD tunes that SOUNDCHOICE simply does not offer, either in the versions of the songs or the titles themselves.

SOUNDCHOICE IS NOT THE END ALL OF KARAOKE MUSIC.

For someone starting out it is clearly the favored choice to build a core selection from.

But for someone looking for more obscure stuff, different versions or different feel you cant just BLANKET DIS the other mfr's.

Sorry but, SGB, ZOOM, Chartbuster, Amerising, Legends, and most of the others(cant remember them all right now) all have strengths and weaknesses. All have gems and all of them have thier share of turkeys. Soundchoice is no different.

It comes down to a matter of opinion and what you are used to and what you are looking for.

For me its primaily been about finding stuff that others dont sing or dont have at thier shows--so that means turning to brands other than Soundchoice.

IN GENERAL Soundchoice DOES provide a higher quality musical product. But to simply write off the others as garbage is SIMPLY REDICULOUS.

For general purposes Soundchoice is the favorite choice----but for me they dont offer most of the kind of songs I sing, or i prefer other versions of songs than Soundchoice offers. I will sing the Sound Choice versions if I have to, but they usually are NOT my first choice.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

The majority of the time (for the genre I like) I feel I won't go wrong with Soundchoice, however for certain arrangements Chartbuster is actually better sounding IMHO. I have to compare the two.. So I'd say SC and CB with few other manus that come close.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".