Karaoke Forums

Helloooo, all!

Great forum!

I'm a (pretty good jazz/standards) singer and want to start performing my own gigs in small venues, etc. I'm also a proficient pianist/accompianist but it doesn't come naturally enough to accompany myself (and I don't have a band, I travel a lot, etc.), so I'm interested in purchasing my own equipment and being a "one-woman" show.

It seems to me that buying a decent karaoke system would be the best way to go. I don't really need a very powerful system (I probably won't be hosting karaoke parties ... unless, of course, it may support my singing endeavors) but I do want something that I can add to/expand/upgrade if needed.

Right now, I need something of good quality so that as I practice and get my show together, I have a true idea of the sound, etc. In other words, I'm willing to spend a little money, even at the outset, rather than purchasing a cheap system to only be greatly disappointed. Then, when I start booking gigs, I want to be able to use that same system for my sound system (without the monitor, of course).

I've seen several professional all-in-one systems and the 2 I'm considering are:

Vocopro-IDOL 200w Digital Key Control System -- around $700 plus mics and (eventually) a separate recorder,

Vocopro-Twister II 250w Digital Key Control w/cassette recorder -- around $1200. plus mics.

(These can be seen at http://www.vocopro.com/p_sysp.html.)

Does anyone know anything about these systems? If not, any other suggestions or ideas on how to get started?

And, I'm assuming that once I actually get a gig, I may need an additional speaker and some other things. Any ideas?

Also, I just came across a website (www.antbytes.com) for software that cancels vocals on CD's and MP3 files. Can this possibly work on regular (not multiplex) CD's?

I'm just very new to this 'equipment-buying' thing so thanks very much for any help or suggestions anyone has ...

Peace.
laura

Many people feel that VOCO PRO should be labeled VOCO CRAP.

CAVEAT EMPTOR.

Laura:

Consider getting a small mixing board (4 to 8 channel) that you can plug a mic into; then get a couple of small powered speakers. You could place your music on a laptop and since you probably don't need a monitor showing you the words, you could just use even something simple like windows media player (which is readily available) for your music. Connect your laptop to the board, your mic, and your speakers, and there you go. If you get a higher quality board, with 12 channels, and with vocal effects (for example, Mackie makes one for around $250) you won't need to get an effects board. More channels on the board would allow you to expand easily. Small powered speakers do not weigh much and are easy for a female to lift up onto speaker stands.

Do not go cheap on your mic - Shure SM58 is the industry standard but companies like Audix (and others on this forum will add to this list) make great mics for a decent price. Go somewhere where you can demo a few mics and find the one that best suits your voice. You can hound your local Craigslist or E-Bay for microphones and mixing boards.

I have used a setup like this and it is easy to set up and tear down and affords better quality than one of the all-in-one items you noted above. BTW, although Sweet Georgia Brown doesn't do anything that is even remotely remarkable in the pop/rock/country genre, they have 3 CDGs of freestyle jazz in their set (it might even be their FIRST three CDGs) that are very, very good. Might be an easy and quick way to put together a set of songs to sing.

Best of luck. You can PM me if you have questions about anything I've written here.

Karen

"I'm a (pretty good jazz/standards) singer and want to start performing my own gigs in small venues, etc. I'm also a proficient pianist/accompianist but it doesn't come naturally enough to accompany myself "

You could also pre-record your own piano playing and store it on either CDs or on your computer, if that was your decision. Then you could sing along to your own piano playing without having to play it live. You'd be able to get the music just the way you like it and then just have to deal with singing live and not doing both at the same time.

Good luck with your venture. Have you posted some of your singing on the Singers Showcase yet?

As an alternative to Karen's equipment suggestions you could also consider a quality powered mixer, with effects, and two non-powered speaker cabinets. I would also recommend a vocal monitor to enable you to hear yourself better.

Carvin maintains a website and sells over the internet and via a catalog. Their equipment is excellent and more moderately priced than Mackie and some of the other big names.

I agree with the recommendation of the Shure SM58 mics. They can be had for $100. There are good reasons why these mics have been used by virtually all of the top pro singer and bands for years.

To add to the general comment about VocoPro; I do not have any experience with the equipment you have been considering. But I have had experience with VocoPro equipment over the years and my observation is that you can find much higher quality equipment at a better price.

I play in a duo. I play guitar and my partner plays bass. We both do vocals. We've been doing this with karaoke CDs as our "band" for 4 years now. I was skeptical at first but I have discovered that no one cares ore really notices that there are only two of us. What seems to be important is our performance. What has surprised me is that we are very busy and we play a lot more regularly that any of the 4 or 5 piece rock & roll bands I've been in over the past 42 years.

I think there is a market for what you are trying to do. There are several acts in my area, both solo and duo acts who are using karaoke tracks to back them up. We all seem to be doing pretty well too.

Good luck. I hope this venture works out well for you. I hope you'll let us know how you are doing.

Larry

_________________
"Life is too short for diet soda and lite beer"

IT'S COOL THAT YOU HAVE EMBRACED THE KARAOKE TECHNOLOGY AND MADE IT WORK FOR YOU. I've run into some musicians who really look down their noses at anyone who uses karaoke tracks to make money, whether it is a straight karaoke show or people like yourself who use karaoke tracks instead of a band. A bar can afford one or two performers much more easily than they can afford a band with maybe 5 or 6 members and a roadie to run sound for them. I was at an outdoor Street Fair kind of environment last winter where a friend of mine was hired as one of the many performers hired to promote business in a very nice shopping area in Naples, Florida. The performers were spread out over the entire area so they didn't interfere with each other but there definitely seemed to be some jealousy with one couple of acoustic guitar players. It seemed like after every song that they sang, they had to announce that they didn't use any pre-recorded tracks and that all of their music was played live without any help from CD's and or Computers. They had very few people hanging around where they were playing and the part of the area where my friend was singing to karaoke tracks was packed solid. It was obvious that the attention the "karaoke" singer was getting was REALLY getting under the skin of the two guitar players.

I think there is room for everybody. Entertainment is the name of the game. I've never pretended to be an "artist". I'm not. I'm an entertainer. I don't think it matters too much how the entertainment is delivered.

On Friday nights a local steakhouse features karaoke. On Saturday nights they have a solo singer there. He doesn't play any musical instruments, he doesn't have a band. He uses karaoke tracks. He's very talented and very popular and no one gives a rip about where the music comes from.

Your comment about my duo being more affordable than a band was interesting. Four years ago when we started this I would have agreed with you. I don't completely understand why but our fee is higher than what we got paid in the 4-piece band we used to be in.

Our approach has been that the venue is paying for enterainment. The number of people has nothing to do with it. A friend of mine is in a band that has eight people in it plus they hire a sound/light company. When all is said and done they are lucky if each person in the band clears $10. Our duo gets paid more than their 8-piece band.

While I really like performing with a full band, I've really enjoyed the paydays we've had as a duo.

Larry

_________________
"Life is too short for diet soda and lite beer"