Karaoke Forums

Thanx, Joe and Karen for the support.

In fact, I have interview for another gig this evening. The place is huge and has a house system with a sub the size of a VW. If I get this gig I'll be working there two nights a week.

I'll probably need to take just my Yamaha mixer and 3 wired mics. So much for my equipment. Oh.... and I did forget to mention that my partner works 5 days a week and only uses his speakers one of those days!

A small caveat on the house system Eric. Do a complete sound check using karaoke and a singer besides yourself way before you do the first show.

My current Tuesday wanted me to use the house system- 8 Bose speakers lined up along opposing walls and two huge ceiling mounted thumpers.

Sounds great, right? Absolutely terrific for the dance DJ.....and absolutely HORRIBLE for karaoke.

Great lights to work with though....

I'm not saying your house system WILL be bad, I only suggest you check it THOROUGHLY in advance leaving you time to figure out how you may wish to set up YOUR system- just in case.

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

Joe

Thanx for the advice. I will definitely follow it. After my meeting yesterday, I am being considered for the gig for Saturday, which is a new night for Karaoke. They are not, however, immediately replacing their current Wednesday host.

I always want the Singer to feel like they have a Full Band Behind them also to have Enough Pop to Play Dance Tracks in Between
Also i have a Light Rack that is Pre-Set Up and I have 6 Effects Lights that add to the Performance and the mood.
Everything is on Wheels and I make 3 trips each way to my small trailer.

Marathon Rolling Rack with;
Laptop Flip Top
QSC 2450 amp primary
behringer 2500 for back up
Yamaha Board
JVC Triple Play Karaoke Machine with Back Up ( Ready to go with a switch but haven't used since switch to Laptop)
Voco Pro Vocal Effects Mixer
2 Audio Tech Cordless Mic's

2 Dual 15 JBL 3 way Speakers on Casters, also 2 JBL 15 3 way Speakers When Needed
12 inch Moniter Mounted in Box with Casters
Rock and Roller Cart

Light Rack with 2 LED Lights, Eliminator, 2 Mushrooms, Red/Green Laser, 4 Way LED Lights

i think we have pretty much covered how much is too much for the gig..how much is too much to own? I have 4 big sonic "scoops" loaded with evs , two have not been out of the shed in almost two years. another ev loaded smaller cab with an 18" sub that hasn't gotten any use since 2 shows last july. i did use that one a lot for quite a while but got away from it due to the weight of the amp i use to push it. it always sounded better even in small rooms, but i got lazy on that one.I have 3 pairs of single 15 pa speakers and 2 pairs of single 12 cabs. i have enough stuff to run 4 PA systems at once, but theres no point in that as im a one man show. I did have one PA rented (what a pain). all together i have enough amps to fill a 10 x 20 shed half full 6 feet up. is that too much (my wife says it is)...i think im addicted to gear.

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the voices arent real, but they have some good ideas

Classic gear slut. I am too, except I started as a rank home amateur so I have some really crappy stuff. I have been restraining myself for the past year, and I still have four complete systems of varying quality. My weakness is microphones. I have four wireless sets and 12 wired mics.

I actually have a few of my crappiest things on Craigslist right now, but the stuff isn't moving. I don't get the impression a lot *is* moving right now.

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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.

Classic gear slut. I am too, except I started as a rank home amateur so I have some really crappy stuff. I have been restraining myself for the past year, and I still have four complete systems of varying quality. My weakness is microphones. I have four wireless sets and 12 wired mics.

I actually have a few of my crappiest things on Craigslist right now, but the stuff isn't moving. I don't get the impression a lot *is* moving right now.

I've Got 3 systems same thing and if I could do it over I would go with the;
Bose L1 Model 2 System. I've seen these used and the Sound is terrific and the System really portable.
Also I would like to move a lot of stuff but you end up giving it away. Just to much in the market although the JVC Triple Trays are going up to twice the price that was paid for. The window for this might be closing with everyone going to Laptop.

OK reviving an old thread, but it is one that is near and dear to my heart. I've been questioned (and told I must be foolish) a number of times why I bring so much gear to a gig. My answer always is the same, I want everyone to look and sound their best when they sing with me so why would I use any less than what a band would use (minus of course the instrument specific effects, processors, etc).

So here's my rig. I can load in and setup the whole thing in about 30 minutes, tear-down and load out takes about the same.

I've got a 12x10 slant top rack with the following:
Mackie CFX 12 Console (onboard effects and 9 Band house EQ)
DBX 166 Stereo Compressor (used for KJ Vocals and Instrument channel)
Behringer MDX4400 Quad Compressor (4 channels of compression, one for each singer mic)
Behringer Composer Compressor, Limiter, Gate (I use this for ducking house music)
Roland SDE1000 Delay Unit
TC Electronics M-One Multi-Effects Unit (This is my primary reverb unit)
DBX 2031 EQ (Single channel EQ for the monitor send)
AB 1100A Power Amplifier (600W/Ch @ 8 Ohms)

I've also got a smaller 4U rack with all my wireless gear:
2 Shure SLX4 Receivers (1 SL2 Beta58 Microphone, 1 SL1 Instrument Pack)
Vocopro UHF-5800 Receiver (4 Karaoke mics - soon to be replaced by a pair of Shure PG288 Dual Microphone kits)
** I keep the mics in a separate rack because I use the 2 Shure SLX for a band I work with.

In addition to the racked equipment, I have the following:
A pair of Mackie S215 (15" + Horn) passive Speakers
A pair of Mackie SRS1500 Powered Subs (only use these on rare occasions)
A Podium Audio (off brand) 2-way 8" powered speaker (Stage Monitor)
2 Lighting Trees with 5 Par Cans each run with Chauvet DMX4 Dimmers (run a static chase pattern for now until I add a controller later).

And of course the computer and tv.

So do I need it all to do the show, absolutely not. I could certainly put on a workable and respectable show with much less. But why would I want to? From the feedback I've gotten, my singers like hearing the effects brought in where they belong in specific songs. They like the wireless mics. I love having the ducking setup so I can talk to the audience from the stage without having to be at the board to turn down the house music first. The ducking also allows me to roam the bar while someone's singing if I want to and not have to worry about being there to turn the house music back up when their song is done (the house music gets ducked by the mics and by the Karaoke music).

So I don't know, I might be a gear slut (to borrow someone else's term) but my show would not be the same without each piece that I have and the people at my shows do notice the difference.

So to the original question, I guess my answer is the only time it's too much is if you're not using everything you bring for a specific purpose in your show. If you've got a bunch of outboard equipment you're not using, then yeah why bother bringing it. However I don't look down on people who bring less than I do to a gig, so why should they look down on me because I bring more?

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke