Karaoke Forums

Hey folks,

My trailer including all my equipment got stolen this weekend. Unfortunately my car insurance is not covering the trailer, since I missed to add it to my policy. Also the inside of the trailer (my equipment) would only be covered over my home owners insurance, which I don't have. Since the outside of my apartment is insured over the association, I never really had the need for a separate insurance for my furniture. Big mistake... I lost about $12,000 altogether. All I have left is my laptop and external hard drive, which I always keep at home.

Fortunately I have very loyal regulars that came up with the money, so I can buy new equipment (as a loan of course). I can't say how glad I am to have that good friends.

Anyway, long story short. I need to start over and build a new system from scratch for Karaoke. I pretty much have my mind set to what parts I want/need. I just need some input on a couple of things.

1. Mixer: I used the Peavey 16FX before, which I was very happy with. But now money is tight. So I was looking around and found this Allen and Heath Mixer: ZED-12FX.

How are those mixers in general and how useful is this particular mixer for Karaoke purpose? As far as I know, Allen and Heath is more related to DJ than Karaoke.

How are the effects on this mixer? Anyone with experience here on board?

2. I used to have a BBE 882i Sonix Maximizer. Now I just recently bought a Driverack PA. Fortunately, I didn't put it in my rack yet, because I didn't fully understand that unit at the time. So I still have this unit at home. If I use it in my new rack, is there still an improvement with the BBE unit, or do I just don't need that anymore?

3. What is the best way/place to buy a used trailer with ramp door? Possibly in the Palm Beach (Florida) area? Maybe one of you has a tip for me.

4. Does anyone know a good/cheap shop (possibly online) to buy EV Sx500+ Speakers?

In general, any kind of input is appreciated, even though I pretty much made up my mind.

And if you happen to have a trailer, please do some research on trailer security and possible insurance. You never know! I learned my lesson the hard way and will for sure handle this subject with more care in the future.

OH NO

What a real bummer Severan! I'll bet the crooks don't even know what was inside unless they have been watching you

I'd sure be watching the pawn shops and E-Bay and also looking to see if someone new is starting up a new DJ or KJ service.

I'm also sure (like me) that you know a few shady people tell them to be on the look out. Heck even offer a reward.

One thing for sure I'll bet you get insurance next time.

Lone Wolf

The only thing I do not like about that mixer is the stereo channels ONLY have a high & low for the eq - assuming that's where you would want your players, which I would, 1 fader for 1 stereo source - a 4 band (high, high mid, low mid, low) makes more sense on the stereo channels or even a 3 band minimum - 2 bands they are intending those for keyboard, sub mixes from other mixers or effects returns. Otherwise you would probably like the sound even over the Peavey.
Are you dead set against some of the other brands, Yamaha, Mackie, etc.?

The Driverack would be pretty much all you needed, the BBE would make a difference, but not necessarily an improvement since the same type of processor is also in the Driverack. But if you do decide with a BBE, check ebay for a used one.

Speakers again, would check ebay.

That sucks, I think I am going to go price insurance this week!!!!

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

Yeah, I know... I was really devastated for the last couple of days, still am actually. But I need to get back on my feet.

I do check ebay and craigslist every day like three times. I also went to the local Pawn shops, but most of them even told me, that they wouldn't buy that high end and specific DJ/Karaoke equipment anyway, since the request for those things is low to nothing. I did offer a reward of $1,000, posted it on myspace and facebook. The sheriff's department has a report, too.

I thought it might help, if I post a list of what I want to get, so you get a better picture or even have some recommendations.

• Odyssey Rack Case FZ1116WDLX
• QSC PLX2-3602 Amp
• 2 EV Sx500+ Speakers
• 2 SLX24/Beta 58 Mics. I still have a brand new SM58 at home
• DBX 1046 Compressor
• Allen and Heath ZED-12fx Mixer
• Cables and Accessories

Thanks Lonman, I will definitely keep an eye on ebay anyway. I really liked the Mackie ONYX Series, too. But they don't have effects on them. I'm not so sure about the PRO-fx modells. What do you think?

I know, what you're saying about the stereo channels only having high and low knobs. But honestly, that were the only two knobs I ever touched on my old mixer. I either reduced or increased the highs and lows. Or is there still a significant difference?

Do you know anything about the quality of the effects on that mixer?

The PROFX series is still relatively new, replacing the old DX series with some better upgrades to the channel eq (adding a mid), adding 7 bands over the 5 band. And it being USB, it acts as a I/O sound interface if your computer don't have a sound card, it will act as one. I haven't had a chance to audition one yet so can't comment on the quality, I would think it would be fine. The internal effects are ok on it.


To me it does make a difference. There are times when a song just has a little too much 'mud' & a slight cut on the low/mid will help clean that up or when a singer is just not cutting through, cut the high/mid on the music a bit & it will usually bring the singer out without changing the highs or lows of the music.


I have not tried this particular model so can't comment on the effects, this is A & H attempt at a low budget mixer and is relatively new.

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

How is the Mackie M4000 Amp compared to the QSC PLX2-3602?

Mackie has always made some decent amps. I had an older M2600 series that I would equal to an old QSC Powerlight PL 4.0 I worked with.
The QSC is probably a little cleaner, but chances are you wouldn't notice a huge audible difference. Biggest difference will be the weight of the unit itself. The Mackie is around 54 pounds vs the QSC at 21 pounds. The extra couple hundred may be worth the weight difference alone.

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

Extreme bummer. I am so sorry to hear about it.


Personally, I think they are overkill. I would still go with the MG124CX at a much lower price, including compression. I believe you would find it the equal of the Peavey from a noise standpoint. But you can't go wrong with the A&H brand.


No sorry. But again, I can't imagine they are bad.


You won't need it.

I can't much help with the other things. I am so sad for you. Losing all those mics, the amp, and those wonderful speakers.

Two more suggestion, though, about the rest. Consider the powered EV speakers. And when you get the trailer, do some ID marking. (Note to self to do just that despite rurlal Indiana location.)

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

I've been very happy with my Yamaha P7000S. 750wX2 @ 8 ohms. 26 pounds... a little heavier than a PLX but much lighter than most with this much power. MAP is $699 but you can find them for over $100 less if you shop around online.



I agree with Lonman here. A mid cut is especially helpful if there is a prominent guitar in the track when it comes to inserting the singer. If there's no top mount graphic onboard I wouldn't be without one.

Actually I wouldn't be without a top mount graphic on a mixer for karaoke. It's just so handy for quick touch-ups. Take a look at those Yamaha MGs. I"m personally using a Behringer for karaoke but hesitate to recommend one because of reliability issues. But I also don't use it's effects either.... have a T.C. M-One for reverb and echo.

I'm very sorry to hear of your loss. This is everyone's worst nightmare. Best of luck.

Very, very sorry to hear about this.

I am in the process of getting a new mixer and have decided on a Soundcraft EFX8 because of the quality and because of the built in Lexicon vocal effects. New the EFX8 is $399, the previous model can be found from time to time on ebay for around half that. I have recently seen some very good deals on Yamaha mixers on ebay that would work for you.

The best price I have found for the SX500 is
http://www.topdjgear.com/electrovoice-sx500.html.

I don't know how they are to deal with or if they have them in stock at that price,
but it's worth a phone call.

Another speaker you might want to consider is the ZX4 if money is tight.
You can get ZX5 speakers on ebay for $750 each plus $27 shipping.

You might want to consider the QSC GX5 amplifier, I saw it going for $399 on ebay with free shipping. 500 watts per channel at 8ohms.

Check your local craig's list, there are some good deals to be had.

So sorry to have about your loss - definitely a nightmare many of us share.

Have you considered going active? Just wondering....no amp necessary.

Main thing that turned me off of these amps is the lack of being able to bridge. But if he gets the same speakers, they are rated at 800 watts program & the 3602 is a perfect match & pretty postive he would notice a big drop in sound quality.

Although Karen brought up a good point. Consider going active with the QSC HPR1521i or the JBL PRX515's. About the same price per pair as a pair of the EV & the QSC.

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

I'd ask the bar owners that you work for if anyone has approached them recently about doing karaoke at their establishments. One of your competitors might be behind your loss of equipment in hopes that your gigs might become available if you didn't have back up equipment to keep going. It would also be a good idea to mark your equipment with serial numbers in case you spot some of your equipment being used by someone else in the future.

One more thought... Have you taken over any new gigs lately that someone else might have lost?

I just realized the Yamaha you would want is the MG166CX, which is what I use these days. It is rack-mountable on the Odyssey, and has sweepable mids on the mic channels. It also has 3-channel EQ on every channel, and dual groups.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Sev, my sincere condolences to you on your experience with the huge theft. Man, like it was mentioned before, that's a horror that all of us fear!

Sevarin,

Maaaaaaaaaaan, does that really suck...I actually had a "nightmare" last weekend that...that exact thing happened to me. I woke up wet with sweat, thankfully in my situation it was all just a bad dream. Best of luck to you with the rebuild...darn theives!!! MrD

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[highlight=midnightblue]MrD - KJ/DJ Specialist
Visit MrD on facebook - mrdsentertainment
& on myspace - larrynance[/highlight]

I still hope, that this is all a bad dream and I wake up any moment...

Ok, here is a thought: Let's say, I go with the Mackie ONYX and separate Effects Processor. Which unit would you recommend? How is the Lexicon MX200?

Great. That is what I use. It has some useful presets, and you can create custom presets to suit the various vocal types.

I have user presets one through five set for my most common profiles:
[pre]
1 Modified "Big Pop Vocal" Most commonly used
2 Unmodded "Nashville" Good singers for country
3 Modified "Big Vocal Verb" Rock ballad, i.e. Journey
4 Unmodded "Retroverb" Oldies / 60s-70s
5 Modified "La La Land" Soul (rarely used)
[/pre]

_________________
[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.