Karaoke Forums

I'm about to venture into the karaoke manufacturing game this month, it's taken a little longer than expected with all the licencing & stuff, but I am now officially a licenced karaoke manufacturer, I just got to start making some karaoke discs!

I hope I'm not stepping out of line by asking questions here, I'd like to do the best job I can to kick off with if that's ok with the site staff? I promise no spam, I'm still a few months away from having an actual product finished.

1: Do you or your singers prefer backing vocals prominent in the mix, just as they would be in the original, or slightly more subtle? Particularly in certain songs where the entire song has a dual vocal harmony. I had a guy at one of my shows complain like hell that the harmony in Elvis's 'Suspicious Minds' was putting him off. Do you ever get that? In these cases, if there is sufficient room on the disc, I will do 2 mixes, one with & one without.

2: When a song starts with a vocal, would you prefer an audio counter or just the dots ticking along on the screen. I'm also going to strum a chord at the beginning to indicate the key to the singer.

3: Fade out or create an ending? Quite a lot of the original versions have a fade out and I often find a bemused singer just looking around wondering what to do whilst this is going on, sometimes they even walk off before it has ended. Personally, I really like the way Zoom make a proper ending for all their tracks even if the original was a fade out, but that's just me. What about you?

Depends on how long the outro is on the orig. I have experienced the discomfort of those who have sung hotel california for instance...but if its an average length outro I would think that its good to leave it as close to the orig as poss.

the very best of luck in your new venture and I would love to suggest some songs but they are prolly too obscure

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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."

Thank you.
I am a musician, so this is a labour of love for me. To get going, I will have to make some mainstream stuff although I won't be starting with yet another 'favourites' that you all have tons of dupes for already.
Once I'm in the swing of it, I will put a requests section on my website with perhaps some kind of voting system and make a disc full of those obscure tracks every now & then. As I said, its a labour of love so that will be as much fun for me to create as it would be for you to get hold of for your show.

Realistically though, that's at least a year away as I am literally a one man show. I play all the instruments, sing all the BVs, program all the lyrics e.t.c. I even built my own website & will be processing orders myself so as you can imagine, production will start off quite slow to begin with.

1. As a general rule, the quieter the song the less the harmonies should be there. A couple of examples: The version of "Whiskey Lullaby" that I use has the harmonies just blasting in and I have to manually compensate at the board just before their entrance or it always throws the singers off. OTOH on a song like "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" which is uptempo and a true duo throughout, the vocal should be very prominent.

2. Click count in only if it's a cold start. But definitely then.

3. Fade outs are fine only after the vocals are completely over and if the fade is quick. I have no idea why some manus will do a slow fade during the last chorus - once again I have to manually compensate at the board. SC will write an ending if one is not there, and sometimes that's OK but often that's not the best thing either. There are some really strange endings on some SC renditions. So it depends on the song.

Personally, I would prefer if there was an musical intro to any song that in it's orignal version came straight in. I seen many a wonderful singer fluff the start note on westlifes version of flying without wings.

I also love definate endings, to the point of buying several versions of one song untill i find it. Fade outs tend to confuse new singer who don't know if they should follow the scrolling lyrics with no backing or not.

Plus with good quality endings, it may be possible for you to sell your versions not only to the karaoke market but also to cabaret singers.

Not sure if this is a good niche idea, or would ruin you chance of any sales from anyone other than me, but have you considered changing the original version in some way to make your interpretation more unique. For example Dwight Yokum's suspicous minds can give new life to an overdone song. I've very keen to buy the medleys, megamixes and dance versions of songs. . . but I tend to have a 50 % sucess rate with the versions and there quality. It would be nice to find a consistant manu to rely on.

For downstream.... Myspace features many independant talented singers and bands..

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Good luck in your venture! As far as outros go, I like them faded, but this should probably be faded by the KJ and not the manufacturer....yeah, some KJ's don't fade, and then you end up clapping for your own performance and its doubly embarrassing. I guess it's 6 to 1, half dozen to the other....

For songs that start on a vocal, maybe you could have a set of empty dots that get filled in, so you can see how many dots you have left before the song starts. A counter would work too, though.

I like the idea of 2 mixes on harmony. Generally I like harmony, but sometimes (like on Alabama's Dixieland Delight), it seems to drown out the vocals.


And don't forget, much of Sir Paul's (Paul McCartney, of course) Wings Over America, still hasn't been added to the karaoke library. I'm waiting! There, that's my $.03 worth!

Again, good luck in your endeavor!

First of all congrats and good luck !

I wish all songs had a fade out after the vocals were done. Most people stop singing when the music gets a lot quieter.

Another thing that would be nice is if I knew every song I played would fade out 10 seconds or so after the singing was done. It would make life easier. That would be just enough time to have people clap for the singer and call up the next singer.

I think most of my singers would prefer the backup vocals to be as close to the original as possible. The key is to not have them be overbearing. I believe them to be disruptive only when they are drownding out the singer.

One of the things a lot of singers complain about, newbies and regulars, is long music breaks in the middle of songs. No one likes to stand there for over a minute while they're waiting for the vocals come back. Let's face it most people listening are waiting for their turn next and aren't appreciating the musical breaks.

When a song starts with little or no music it is nice to have a key cue then a count down either a drum stick tap, visible dashes or both.

Thank you for asking for our opinions.

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1: I think, if put in the mix, they should just be mixed however you would if you were putting in your own- no more or less subtle than the original would be. That being said, as with duets, all songs should have a second version totally free of all vocals- so you can put in your own backups.

2: Strumming a chord, then silent dots, like V said. One bad example, I have a version of Rehab that just starts cold turkey. Damm but it's hard to come in at the right time- no dots, no nothing. I've learned to just use the counter... come in at 16 seconds. But still, it's a bit odd.
And Gretchen Wilson's new song "The Earrings Song" is the opposite. She starts it with the vocal. Easy enough to do in a band, where the players follow you, but would have been tough for karaoke. They did a "music entry" on that one, and reallllyyy screwed it up.

3: I don't like fade outs. A proper ending, imo, would always be better. And, some of them need cut short too, Lol. (think "I Love Rock and Roll... and "Texas When I Die")

And if you need song ideas, some more of the old Emmylou Harris and new Patty Loveless bluegrass would be nice. (I can give ya a list)

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Good point to bring up. The worst genres for that are metal... and bluegrass:) There are so many songs I don't sing, because after each verse/chorus, there's a really long banjo or fiddle part- and it makes the song WAY too long for a karaoke bar. To atleast shorten them quite a bit would be nice.

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

I'm adding to my wish list

I like to see what key the song is in and how long the song is before the start of the song. I love SoundChoice for this reason. Many people ask what key the song is in. When it comes up before hand I can make key adjustments for my singers before the music starts. Most people prefer the song in the key it was originally made. It throws people off when they come up to sing and expect it to be like the original and find the key has been lowered.

I have a couple excellent harmonica players that need to know the key before hand also. It's great when the key shows first that way they can grab the harmonica they need without slowing the show.

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Thanks so much for the kind wishes and helpful opinions guys, very much appreciated.

I think maybe a good compromise on the endings might be to keep the vocals going whilst the song is still at full volume, then perhaps a message & a little thumbsup smilie or something saying "Thank you for singing" and a fairly short fade out, unless the original has a proper ending. How about that?


That's a great idea, I will show the key at the start of the song. You think I should add the length too? I guess it would give the next guy a good idea of how long he's got to go have a pee!

As far as changing key goes, I always planned to look at making 2 versions of some songs, particularly the rock stuff where the original has been sung by one of those amazing, but impossibly high pitched voices for most males. This again will depend on space on the disc and also production time as it means a complete re-recording of all guitars, bass & backing vox. Definitely something I want to do though.

I prefer the disc to have any backup vocals if they were in the original song.
On certain songs that had 2 part harmony, I do wish their was a multiplex feature that a kj could hit to either keep the second part in or delete for an actual duet. Same with duets. Have the option to be able to keep the second vocal or remove for someone to actually sing. Not sure if that is possible or not. Have never seen it done, I know some companies did provide both a duet & a solo version w/recorded partner.


When a song starts with just vocals, yes a chord strum indicating the key that the singer should start, then a short dot countdown. That strum has to be there though before the countdown. I have a couple songs I bought that just start cold & the singer usually cannot get into key until further into the song. Not fun for them.


Again, I prefer the song to be as close to the original as far as outros go even if they are longer. As a kj I can fade out the ending if i'm time crunched or let it play out if I am trying to fill out time without actually having to go into just playing filler music. Sometimes I use the outro of a song AS my filler music & call the next singer up with it playing in the background.
I don't like faded out endings, simply because the singers will usually keep singing in their regular volume as the music is going down. Sound Choice is one company that does create live style endings on most of their songs.

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Agree with having the key of the song & time would be nice. Just don't do like DK & assume that certain songs should be recorded lower. This can be adjusted via key change by the host.

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Yeah, that gets on my nerves too. One particular version of Bruce Springsteen's I'm On Fire is lowered by about 2 tones, when the original was already perfectly comfortable for any man to sing. Why someone decided to do that, I just can't fathom!

Everything will be done in the original key. If there are any transposed versions, they will be in addition rather than instead of.

Lawrence Welk had the best method to start his singers.. A oneaaa and a twoaa...........

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being in the UK may I make a request for some Joan Armatrading?? down to zero and me myself I are great songs and arent avail on cdg...and they arent too obscure...she featured at Glastonbury last year

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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."

I also wish to make some requests, I requested these songs to Zoom but I don't believe they'll record them

Whispers / Blue Avenue / Amazes Me - All from Elton John

I would love to see anything by Bruce Springsteen that isn't already out on karaoke discs. It really sucks when someone finally puts out some Springsteen songs and I already have them all. There are so many great Bruce songs out there that have never been done for karaoke. I know I'd be the first in line to buy a full disc of unreleased Springsteen HITS.

projectile vomits all over brooose's feet

your feet look so much better technicolour

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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."