Karaoke Forums

Hello all,

I am currently in the market for some hardware for weddings and bar parties..I am looking for hardware that can handle karaoke and heart thumping hip hop musics for around 300 to 400 people. Anybody has any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I don't have a lot of hardware experiences..so please be clear on what the hardware does. It will help me learn more about the hardware...

I currently have Mackie CFX12 mixer which I use at home..."if there's any other better mixer..please advise so I can put it on my wish list", a laptop and Virtual DJ to handle my karaoke and musics with the B52 Matrix1000 spekers. Can I use the B52 Matrix1000 as monitor speakers?? Also...Do I need a sub if the B52 Matrix1000 already has one? Here's the link.

http://www.planetdj.com/i--MATRIX-1000

I am also looking for an external sound card or any piece of hardware that allows me to cue songs in headphones. I alos heard there's a mixer board with USB..what does the USB do?? Is it good to have??

Thanks!!!

If you are really intent upon buying equipment to handle crowds of 400, you will need more powerful speakers than those B52s you already own. I suggest you don't buy them until you have a gig that big though.

That mixer is fine, keep using it. You will want some signal processing for your mic channels, as karaoke singers are notorious for screaming into your mic and aggravating the crowd just when you have stepped away from your table to go get a beer As an inexpensive expander/compressor/limiter for vocals, I suggest the Behringer MDX4600. It costs about $130 and has all the features you need, and is 4 channels in 1U of rack space. Hook this up to the insert I/O jacks of your singers microphone channel strips. Play with it at home until you are comfortable with the controls.

Next, you will probably want a little more EQ than the 9-band GEQ in that mixer. I can think of about 10 suitable products with various features and prices, so it would help to know a little more about your budget. The cheapest thing I'd suggest would be the Behringer FBQ3102 2-channel equalizer, again about $130. Don't use the subwoofer output, use the one on your mixer; but use one channel of an EQ like that for your front-of-house mix, the other channel for your stage monitor.

And speaking of monitors, the stage wedge I like is the Kustom 15" one which costs about $100 KPC15M. I have used plenty of $400 Yamaha monitors and IMO these Kustom ones are better. The boxes are not quite as nice, but they sound better and are so cheap, if someone spills a beer into it, you won't cry yourself to sleep over a broken speaker.

Don't forget to buy durable mics for your drunk karaoke singers, and extra cables for when they get broken. I have a box of $6 Whirlwind EC20(?) mic cords and when they are all broken in 6 months, I'll buy another box.

When you are ready to buy bigger speakers, power amps, a digital cross-over, more EQ, etc. then post again. For now, I think you can get by with just a little bit of stuff you don't already own, and then you decide where your weak spots are after doing a few gigs.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

Jeff,

You made good sense. Too many posters "prod" others into purchasing more equipment than is actually needed at the time.

I started with a Fender Passport. It worked more than adequately in the small venues where I gigged. More important, it's paid for itself.

Now that I am experienced and have begun to tackle larger venues, I have purchased (more than) enough equipment to deliver the results that I desire for those larger places!

Thank you for your suggestion...yes..you're corect that I should spend some time learning the hardware before buying bigger and better stuff for big gig... But a friend of mine is getting marry in 6 months and she would like me to play some music during the reception and some hip hop later on. I was thinking since I need to buy hardware..mind as well do this wedding gig and get some money to pay towards the hardware that I am buying now...that's why I am asking these hardware suggestions so that I can decide on what to buy...

So any other suggestions on speakers and how many do I need for a hall that carrys around 350 peoples??

Thanks!!

Okay, so you want to buy the stuff anyway. If you answer a few questions, you will get better suggestions from the board:

* how many times a month will you be using the stuff for DJing, how much karaoke?
* how portable, will you be using a trailer, van, car? 1 or 2+ person load in/out?
* do you expect all the gear to last years, or are you okay with less expensive stuff even if you know you may have to replace some components within the first few years?
* do you need effect/stage lights or dance floor lights?
* if you know your budget, post that too
* are any of your venues really small, e.g. no stage for karaoke, or not enough floor space for a table, a couple racks of gear, speakers, and whatever lights you want, for DJing? if so, keep footprint in mind too

Without knowing any of that stuff, here is what I would suggest to keep your expense down, because so far it sounds like you only have one job that is too big for the stuff you already own, so let's not talk you into buying a lot of stuff you might only use a few times a year. Here is the stuff I suggest, and links to musician's friend for each thing. That is my favorite online vendor.

* 1 Behringer MDX4600 compressor, see my previous post
* 1 Behringer DEQ1024 graphic EQ, ~$200 link
* 1 Behringer DCX2496 digital cross-over, ~$300 [URL=http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/search/detail/base_id/104116[/URL]
* 2 or 3 Crown XLS 402D amps, ~$400 each link
* 1 or 2 Behringer B1800X Pro 18" subwoofer, ~$350 each link
* 2 Kustom KSC 215H 2-1/2-way cabinets, ~$200 each link

* 1 Behringer FBQ2496 digital parametric EQ / feedback suppressor, ~$150 link
* 2 Kustom 15" stage wedges, see my previous post

* one mixer top rack case for signal processing
* one amp rack, or put amps in the first one if floor space is at a premium
* cables, mics, etc. etc.

Now all that adds up to a bunch of money, so hopefully you will decide to wait a bit or even hire a band PA guy to do the sound and just give you an input for your music and mic; that is a lot to invest in gear if you are not sure how often you'll use it!

And the stuff I suggested above is pretty similar to the simplified system I have put together for lending out and using where there is not a lot of floor space to work with. I would not ordinarily use something like an automatic feedback destroyer, but if the user might be inexperienced, it can save the show.

Also, if you buy all that gear, eventually you will end up replacing some of that Behringer stuff. I think that's fine because (I assume) you are trying to grow your business and probably don't want to break the bank doing it. If any of those pieces of equipment break in the middle of a show, you can unhook that piece and deal with it later, no show-stopper.

Now, that is what I personally would use for that size crowd, with some simplifications for ease-of-use. I am not saying it's the best setup for you. I think you are pretty ambitious to buy a ton of gear for just one gig, but then, I have upgraded a lot of my stuff for one band too

Oh yeah, and if you buy all that you better have a cargo van or a trailer to transport it in. I use a trailer with a ramp door, cost about $3000 at Home Depot. So now you are into real money! ;P

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

Kustom speakers? That's just bad advice. He would be better off buying Behringer speakers or even Peavey PRs. The only good thing about Kustom is they're cheap. Lots of better speakers out there for just a little more money. Jeez, Kustom? feh

My friends said the same thing when I bought the Kustom speakers, but I don't mind telling you they were all really surprised when I turned the system on. I have JBL 2-1/2-ways and Peavey 2-ways also, and I have not taken them out of my trailer since I bought the Kustom ones. The power and clarity of the horns is better than my other speakers, and the rest sounds about the same. I have never used them for low bass reproduction as I run my subs with a broader bandwidth than most people do.

I suggest you hear the Kustoms before you assume they are junk. The reason I didn't tell him/her to buy Behringer or Yamaha is I really think the Kustoms are the best value in their power range for mobile DJ duty and weekend band gigs. I drive them with a Crown XTi 2000 and they get used about 20 hours a week by myself or my partners. And I can justify spending money on Yamaha club-series anytime I want, but I would rather invest my money in other system improvements instead. I am hoping for a Soundcraft GB4-32 by the end of the wedding season.

I will admit, I honestly thought about taking the Kustom logo off the grills!

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

I agree with jeffsw6, the Kustom speakers make fine monitors.
I use 2 of the KPC12Ms and they sound wonderful.

(jeffsw6, they do handle the low end very nicely also.)

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Music speaks to the heart in ways words cannot express.