Karaoke Forums

We've just pulled our cdg player "out of retirement", due to the fact that there has been a few newcomers that have their own "original discs", of songs that we might not have in our library. I was asked to play from a flash drive, but didn't necessarily want to do that, then, was asked if I had the ability to play customers discs, which I responded, "not tonight, but next week I will". So we've hooked up the cdg player. Has anyone else noticed more people collecting their own discs, and wanting to bring them to your show? I know years ago, it was the "norm", but as time went by, it fell by the wayside. Just asking if anyone has had the same experience. PLEASE NO LEGAL ADVICE, (note to moderators), if this turns into a "legal issue" PLEASE shut this thread down.

I don't host, but I did setup my karaoke for a friend at his wedding reception. Small wedding of about 30 and they weren't even expecting to have karaoke. Last minute thing. 2 of their guests had karaoke discs in their car. This has prompted me to consider a 1U player that I can put in my rack. Just not enough room for my old player.

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My statements, opinions and conclusions are based on my own personal experiences, observations, research and/or just my own $.02. I'm not a "cheerleader", but that doesn't make me a Pirate.

I play disks on the laptop.
It saves space.
That is rare though.
More common is the flash drive.

My system has no cdrom drive (so no one can ever say I copied their disc) but I do have a cdg player built in and an A-B switch to play their discs. It's one of the small AS-222 players. Not the best decoder on the planet, but it works and it's used so infrequently that it doesn't matter.

And I still have an old JVC-800 cartridge machine.

We get a disc every now and then. At one show we had a fellow who liked to do soul and R&B and, being in a country type area, we didn't have alot of it in our books. He had quite a collection and was a great singer.

We are still disc so it is not a problem for us to play a singer's disc. But I would say it averages one person every other show. We have one person who comes in very rarely who brings the original CD and sings along with the artist and it actually worked quite well, much to our surprise. I would actually like to see singers start collecting again and practicing at home and being enthusiastic karaoke addicts but they have so many more options available to them over disc that we don't.

Our friend's show is mostly run on singer's discs. I think she once told me that it was 90%. Some people had such big collections that they would even bring in a little song list.

yes i get asked if i can play disc's at least once or twice a month....

but i have a pioneer v10 player i use for this purpose.

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It's all good!

I can play them via Siglos Player and the CD on my show computer. (My computer is a rack-mount built into my rolling rack.)

I don't allow long songs, though. You can't get around my refusal to carry 7-minute-plus songs by bringing in your own.

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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.

no too often, but i play mine through Siglos as well.
mostly the guys that have that one song they want that is only on one disc, oop, with absolutely nothing else interresting on it so i wont buy it. not too often anymore though.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

Every night I get someone bringing in their own discs - either because it's simply a version they are used to or I do not have it. If they are songs that others show interest in, I write them down along with the version for possible future buys for my own collection - provided I can either find the disc cheaply or find the same version on a custom disc. But I also advertise the fact I can/will play customer discs. Some nights i've had several customer discs at a time.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Lonman has said in the past that he could even play a laser disc if someone brought in their own. I guess we could, too but so far it hasn't happened.

One thing we did do was a singer used to have a band years ago and they had cut their own CD with songs she had written. We were able to put it on the Pioneer and take out most of the vocals so the singer could perform her own songs for karaoke. But boyfriend said it was a pain in the butt to get it adjusted correctly.

It just makes good business sense and makes for superior customer service. Now for all those that REFUSE to play custie discs....how many unhappy custies would have been create by the posters if they refused custie discs(and all THIER Karaoke freinds that they would tell that they would never even be aware of).

Its a slam dunk! In this battered and cutthroat economy, no bar or KJ can afford to turn ANY custies away, much less those wanting to bring thier own dics.

Do the math on how many would be made unhappy and not come back and how much per ticket they would spend and how much that would add up to over the course of say a year= lost sales for the bar and maybe lost tips and perhaps ultimately lost job for the KJ.

Again its simply good business and customer service.


And Ill buy off on Mcky's 7-min limit......those can be tedius....even tho I like to sing YES's ROUNDABOUT from time to time. (although I might just try to slip it by himto see!!)

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

It's fallen by the wayside due to so many KJs that now operate off of a PC, and say that they either can't or won't play Customer's discs. I'm finding more and more shows that are PC operated, and the KJ does just that (refuse to play discs). Now, whether I choose to go back to those shows again, depend on different factors.

Now, in my area, it's more the norm that we (Singers) bring our own discs with us when we go out to Karaoke shows. The Sunday show that I attend has anywhere between 10 to 20 Singers there (most being Regulars). Out of that number, at least half of us bring our own discs to hand up to the KJ. BTW... this KJ is Disc operated only.

As for me personally, I am Disc based, and when I do run a show, I accept ANY Customer disc (as long as it is a CDG, and it doesn't look like it's unplayable).

This used to happen alot back in the later 90's. It's rare these days someone brings them in anymore, but can still play them. I did drop the cassette player a few years ago as no one has ever brought up a tape since maybe 96.


The people I know in bands that record I just tell them to make their own karaoke version after they get the final mix recorded - then hit mute on the vocals & re-record without the vocals. Several have and do bring in their own material - some even go as far as to putting the graphics on their tracks.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

It may be regional. In my area ( the tri-state NY, NJ, CT) being disc based and willing to play customer discs brings me a LOT of patrons. Of, course, Karaoke has been here longer than anywhere with the possible exception of California, and old habits die hard. Many singers practice at home with whatever brand they have, and prefer using what they are comfortable with. They get supremely p!$$ed at KJs who tell them that they have already picked the "best" versions, and that is what they have.

News flash: There IS no BEST version. There is only the most popular, or- more importantly- the version that any particular customer wants.

This is also why I keep ALL versions of any song that I may have in my books.

The job is to keep the singers happy, not make our lives easier.

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

Kudos to Joe!!

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

I haven't been asked to play a customers disc in forever.

But I generally play to a 20 something crowd and have shifted more twards DJ to the point it's probably 50/50 most nights DJ and Karaoke.

If you cater to the serious karaoke singer, playing customer discs is just about a must. But that's not my crowd.

I don't carry a player in my rig, and probably wouldn't play a customers disc if they asked.. instead i'd encourage them to sing whatever version of the song I have, or select another track from my existing collection.

I'd probably play a track or two from a flash drive if I knew the person or they were a regular.

we still have installed CDG player in each of our gig racks but seldom get singers requests to play their disc's. We do list on our rules page we will play any ORIGINAL MANUFACTURE'S discs but we will not play "burned discs"

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"Integrity is choosing your thoughts, words and actions based on your principles and values rather than for your personal gain."
Unknown
"if a man has integrity, nothing else matters, If a man has no integrity, nothing else matters."
Lee McGuffey

We have always had a player in the rack. Before we started hosting we always brought discs with us (didn't always use them,) and have friends and singers that have very obscure songs or the latest releases.

It's so routine to have customers bring in discs that I hardly notice.

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Swing Time Karaoke

Is there a CD+G player made with HDMI out?

We switched over all our locations and systems about 3+ years ago. I never even tried any of my new computers.

I have an old Sony computer in my office with a Plextor DVD drive is use to rip CD+gs.

I ask cause I'm going to be doing an instal and the owner would like a CD+G player with the system but it needs to be HDMI out.

I pulled out an old Sony CD/RW 5.25" drive last night and hooked it up to a USB to IDE converter and external power supply like this one

Powered up the drive, plugged in the USB, and just like an thumb drive my laptop recognized the drive.

I popped in a cd+g disk and started my Siglos Pro software.

Clicked Add Singer/Song and then selected the option add CD track then I was able to select a track and play straight from the CD/RW.

I have 1U left in my rack and am considering using the internal 5.25" drive, a 5.25" HD connected to a usb hub and permanently mount them in my rack.

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My statements, opinions and conclusions are based on my own personal experiences, observations, research and/or just my own $.02. I'm not a "cheerleader", but that doesn't make me a Pirate.