Karaoke Forums

Since Joe C's thread is a poll and he specifically asked that we limit our response to the two quetions he posed, I thought a thread that includes some discussion of the SC products would be of interest!
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About 4% of my tracks are SC

Clearly, it wouldn't make too much difference to me if I got rid of all of my SC tracks. But consider I have so few of them. There was a definite reason for me buying each and every disc at the time. In most cases, I originally bought the SC disc for my personal use because they were the only manufacturer offering the song I wanted, such as "Another Saturday Night" by Sam Cooke.

IMHO, I don't think the absence of SC in a KJ's library is going to make an important difference in the long term, and probably not even much difference in the short term either. If nothing else, there are good alternatives available to those who insist upon having the best quality track they can find for each song!

Several pirates in my area have already removed all of their SC tracks from their libraries and I haven't heard any complaints or noticed a big drop off in attendance at those shows. And don't forget, without SC tracks those illegal shows still have and advertise over 100,000 tracks!

And based both upon my library and what I have seen of late at other shows, it appears to me that what I have believed for years has clearly been confirmed - SC ain't all that important to the average karaoke show because it ain't all that important to the average attendee.

I am also convinced that those who ARE extremely particular about the tracks they sing to, are the same people who bring their own discs! And such discs aren't exclusively SC.

And what this all means to me is that while it may not have been a bad decision on the part of those who concentrated on purchasing SC discs, it wasn't necessarily a good business decision either. I have seen too many examples now of successful operators who have little SC representation in their libraries.

Ii'll respond to Joe's tomorrow after I have time to make the count.

Our show could survive without SC but I don't want to.

1. Lyrics are presented in a way to make it easy for the singer--good size, good contrast, the screen changes in time to start the next verse, a tone and beat lead-in are provided when needed.

2. No surprises on volume when the songs first start.

3. The sound is usually excellent and gives you that "live band" feel. Certainly there are other brands that I like, including Zoom but sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the instrumentation singing on those, even with volume adjustments. PHM has an accurate sound but not so "live." CB sounds pretty good these days but the lyrics screens are too far behind. Most companies have a combo of some of the above but not always all three as reliably as does SC.

We had a professional blues singer in the other night who had requested I get "Texas Flood" so I got the SC version. It sounded like we had a live band in the place when he sang. I asked him afterwards if the version was OK for him and he was EXTREMELY pleased. He couldn't believe it was a karaoke track and insisted that he knew Stevie Ray Vaughan inside and out and that this was "the real thing." It is that kind of response that makes me hope SC sticks around.

We had a professional blues singer in the other night who had requested I get "Texas Flood" so I got the SC version. It sounded like we had a live band in the place when he sang. I asked him afterwards if the version was OK for him and he was EXTREMELY pleased. He couldn't believe it was a karaoke track and insisted that he knew Stevie Ray Vaughan inside and out and that this was "the real thing." It is that kind of response that makes me hope SC sticks around.

How ironic Mimi - I have a regular singer who has started singing this song, this version - we always stand there with our mouths hanging open... it is by far one of the best karaoke tracks I've ever heard. Glad you got to experience that, btw.

As far as how important is any one disc manufacturer -- Since track choice is most of the time mine for 99% of the singers (the other 1% bring their own tracks, and like someone said, many times these are NOT SC tracks), based on my knowledge of my own library, I am able to put my finger on the best version.

Actual song versions are a very small part of my show, and to me all the SC tracks in the world wouldn't make for a great show if anything/everything else was lacking to any degree. I think it is a mistake to believe that the karaoke world will fall apart if any one manufacturer disappeared, even SC. I've still got SC discs that I didn't return for non-protected ones...makes me so mad they did that that I just removed those songs from my books.

Sound Choice is certainly a regular part of the show for me. Required for success? No I don't think so. I will say that Sound Choice is the most consistent with delivery of the goods; good music and easy to track lyrics.

I default to Sound Choice for the tracks I have for those very reasons.

I got 2 soundchoice spotlight discs. Other than that, my library is mostly Sunfly & Zoom with a few chartbuster, legends e.t.c. So for me, not at all.

Again, most of the tracks requested at our shows are SC versions, if I didn't have them, the show would go on, but do not think I would necessarily have the same singers as that is their biggest gripe to me about other shows not having those tracks.

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I guess this question doesn't really apply to UK shows as SC are not very well known here, so nobody is going to miss what they never had. Having said that, in 2 years of doing karaoke, I can only remember one instance where a singer requested a particular version of a song. He asked for Sunfly (they are the most well known here). I think I actually gave him the Chartbuster version because I knew it was better. He was none the wiser anyway..

Ours may not be too aware of the brands but they are vocal when they get a bad version and they will get excited if they hear some good guitars on a track. A rousing backing track will also bring out the dancers, even if the singer is butchering the vocal.

A few weeks ago a fellow new to our show got up to sing and after the first few "guitar" notes he appeared to choke. Then he regained his composure and did the song. Later I heard him laughing to his friends, "Did you hear the MIDI on those first few notes? At first I thought I was back in the service."

Replaced this week.

LOL, which song in question?

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Priddis, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling." It wasn't that bad once it got started--just the first few notes, I guess.

Uk based show here and I could cope without SC, but don't want to. A lot of my singers requests are only available on soundchoice. I miss their custom burn and the fact I struggle to buy their disks over here.

I'm UK too...and I only get asked for Soundchoice on specific songs......one or two Beatles tracks.....modern Country numbers.....so I think in general SC wouldn't be missed too much over here

I like the "DK " version of that track

I think SC versions of songs are GOOD. I don't believe that every track they record is the "BEST" karaoke version. Some are some are not.

But I think the perception amongst KJS and SINGERS is that you really can't go wrong with any one of their versions. SO therefore many singers choose SC when given the option. I think if you replaced every SC track with a POPHITS MONTHLY or the old TOPHITS or ZOOM or CHARTBUSTER (Country) your show would NOT SKIP A BEAT OR LOSE QUALITY.

Your post, 6 String, puts an interesting new slant on the whole discussion - specifically that KJ's outside of the US don't have much if any involvement with SC in the first place.

So, is it possible that the US KJ's who believe SC is quite valuable to their shows outwardly have an attitude about SC at their shows, that has been nurtured by a mentality that starts with the premise that SC is the best? So, when there is a choice of manufacturers, they always choose the SC track, thereby reinforcing their theory. Thereafter, they let us know that when there is a choice they always default to SC.

I gave 3 reasons why I think SC outshines other brands. I don't think my preference is the result of brainwashing or marketing. Being new, our library consists of all sorts of brands so it is not as if we haven't tried others. In fact I use the SGB versions of Squirrel Nut Zippers and "Zoot Suit Riot" myself, just because those are what I got used to using. So I'm not a "brand snob" but do like to get as close as possible to a live band sound when picking music.

I thought Zoom was going to be the best for Beatles and do like many of the tracks but ended up replacing some with SC. Listen to the beginning of "Here Comes the Sun," on Zoom and try to figure out just what Beatles song it is going to end up to be. Listen to SC and you know from the first note.

Would the world go on without SC? Absolutely. But as part of what I like about karaoke is the thrill of the MUSIC, then I would have to say that I have formed an appreciation for SC tracks.

You're forgetting that there's more to North America than just the US. Canada is here as well
As for versions, I always choose THM over any other unless it's a British band. Then I choose ZOOM. Second choice for British bands is Sunfly. SC is my next option if the song doesn't exist in one of the aforementioned brands, but that's pretty rare.
My show would not skip a beat if I didn't have any SC since I have so little as is. But I would sure miss Joey by Concrete Blonde and I Love Myself Today by Bif Naked.

OT: Incidentally, I would like to have a couple extra of these discs for my other system (more for myself than anything because I'm the only one who usually sings them) but I see they are long out of print. Anyone have an extra to sell? They are SC8800 and SC8338. Just private message me, and please don't respond in this thread. Thanks!

No but they do have a higher hit ratio then miss.


That is YOUR perception that a show wouldn't skip a beat. I have a HIGH number of people who come because I have the SC versions and if another brand is listed they have even been known to ask if I by chance have the SC version. Singers aren't as stupid as some would like to make them out to be & can tell the difference. And since this is a big gripe that I hear from singers about other shows NOT having these versions, yes I believe my show would skip a beat. I have had to replace Pop & Top hits versions WITH SC because those versions were not what people liked.

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Me too!

Back when DK starting getting scarce after being THE gold standard, people talked about how their shows might be affected. The new kid, SC, along with CB and several others seemed to fill the niche just fine. I truly believe that ANY brand can be replaced at no real cost to a show, because I've been around since the beginning, and watched it happen. No one brand owns karaoke. If SC and all their music disappeared tomorrow, , nothing would change, IMHO.

I mean, SC has been out of production long enough that if a dent were to be made, it would have been.

Also, back in the day, singers would quite often request a certain manufacturer, and knew what they liked. While I still get plenty of mfr. requests, they are diminishing, and many don't know who makes what, and rely on me to choose the version. They seem very happy with what I choose, and with a presence of less than 4%, it's rarely Sound Choice.

They are of minimal importance to my show.

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" Disc based and loving it..."

Here in the UK most KJ's will have three manu's only.
Sunfly, Zoom & Legends.
Country over here is a small market so we would not buy much American produced stuff.
You can spot a pirate over here a mile away.
Every manu under the sun.

I often have a problem using Sound Choice.
I prefer it but my singers are used to mainly Sunfly and prefer to sing what they are used to.
I have about 6% SoundChoice and would have more if I didnt have to please the singers.
I recall someone before on the forum mentioning "Singers like what they are used to even if it's not very good"
SoundChoice would not be missed at all in the UK but think it would in the US.
I would miss it. I have about 60% Sunfly, 30% Zoom and 4% Legends.