Karaoke Forums

My wife and daughter love karaoke and they want me to buy a karaoke machine. I don't know what kind to get. I have a Yamaha receiver and speakers hooked up to my HDTV at home which is where they will do their Karaoke. I don't want to spend more than $125 if possible.
James

$125 is not going to get you anything more than toy quality in a karaoke machine.

Use your computer or laptop! Plug it into your mixer or stereo (not really recommended but...) It's free.
Then use a basic software to play karaoke files like
http://www.karaokeware.com/kmp.html - It's free - good to start out, no bells or whistles just a straight mp3g player.
Buy the songs you want through a source like All Star karaoke - in mp3g format
http://www.allstarcustom.com/ - usually $1.99 a track or you can get prepaid cards for discounted tracks.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Karaoke%3A+ ... st=karaoke card&lp=3&cp=1 - breaks them down to $1.20 per song. I've seen better deals though.

Only thing you would need is a small mixer and a mic and small PA system of some sort or your stereo (not really recommended, but...).
Something like
http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHXENYX1002FX - $100
http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHXM8500 - $25
You would need to get the mic cords & connectors between the mixer & stereo still.

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

Welcome to the forum. For that kind of money, all you will get is a cheap little all in one karaoke box from places like Radio Shack. The experience will be puny bad. You will have to buy CDGs, that will cost you money, go on ebay and buy a set of Sweet Georgia Brown, you will get more for your money that way although the music won't sound as much like the original artist as some manufactures will. Probably won't make much of a difference since the sound quality coming out of the karaoke box will be less than desired.


Commit to at least 6 or 7 hundred bucks and the members of this forum will help you get something decent.

I won't be the last to tell you this but you won't want to use your home speakers to run vocals through, you will blow them.

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

If you are looking for a simple cheap machine then you could buy something like I bought my daughter and wife just to practice on at home. JC Penny was selling a 300.000 machine for 150.00. It is basically a stand alone machine with it's own mics built in speakers, black and white monitor. A very basic machine I bought 8 years ago and it still works. If you are looking for cheap it is it. Karaoke Vision's "Singing Machine". This is not professional equipment just for home use, keep that in mind.

Echoing what everyone else has said. You will have to invest more than $125 to get better quality and good sound.

But, if you are steadfast on doing it on the cheap, I recommend going to Craigslist in your area and do a search on "karaoke". Depending on where you live, you will probably find a 1/2 dozen or more that folks are selling.

This is also an indication to the quality of the cheaper units. People think "Ooooh! I can do home karaoke for $100!" only to find out that the sound coming out of a 3" speaker doesn't cut it.

-Chris

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-Chris

I still think they need a computer based system - since it's for home use, there are plenty of legal download sites that would better than trying to buy a bunch of discs they will probably never use. It will overall be cheaper & they will get the exact songs they want!

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

Ditto on the PC. Hardly anyone here would tell a fellow KJ that the best thing to do is to run out and buy a player. That goes quadruple for home users. Computer, Player program (free) audio cable and boom. Add a second monitor to the laptop if you want to or just play from the laptop screen. 1/8th inch to RCA cable is the cost aside from purchasing the music.

I am not a fan of over-buying, especially for a couple of peoples' home use.

Though not a fan of Voco-Pro for professional use, I think you would have a LOT of fun with a Voco-Pro Duet II. A terrific all-in-one machine, and the 90 watts is plenty for a small quiet room (living room). This is what I practice with in my office. Nothing but a TV required.

Features includ: 5 band digital equalizer, digital key change ( to help you sing songs that would normally be to high or low for you, digital echo, Music/vocal balance, 2 mic inputs with separate volume controls, a master volume control.

Also, something fun. You can record your performances on cassette. The recording is internal, so external noise is eliminated. There are two cassette decks included so you can make copies.

When not being used for karaoke, it also includes an AM/FM radio. Want to sing outside? It also runs on 12V DC and includes the cord.

While 2 mics are included, I would reccoment upgrading as soon as convenient.

The price has dropped considerably, to about half of what I paid, so figure around $200-$250.

Will it be anything like a pro show? Nope.
Will it be a lot of fun? Absolutely!

Later, when you are more financially able, and more comfortable with the ins and outs of equipment usage, you can always upgrade. No matter what, it's still a player, and can be run through an added amp and mixers when you so desire.

NOTE: I am not in any way connected to Voco-Pro, I just know a fun and inexpensive piece of equipment when I see one. I just don't think that every home beginner that comes here for advice is looking for a semi-pro setup, but rather for some inexpensive fun

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

Are blank cassettes even available anymore, I don't think i've seen any in like 5 years. Talk about antiquated.

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

Wow. Speechless.

Why stop at cassettes? Record your performances on this fine record lathe! The kids will have so much fun!

Agree with the computer. Probably already have one. Get a cheap software player, buy a couple cheap PAs, maybe even used. A small mixer, buy a couple cheap mics, but still, buy cdgs from ebay. Will get a good selection, people will get tired of having a 100 songs (what's that $200?) collection. But, don't buy cheap cables! Buy cables and cords from monoprice.com.

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

I don't understand really. If they have a couple sources to purchase just the songs they want through like All Star, Karaoke Version & selectatrack or tricerasoft, why would they buy a collection of songs they probably wouldn't use half of - no matter the price? There would be no limit, they want a new song, they go buy it.

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

I disagree from the standpoint of the quantity. I started out with All Hits, about 400 songs. I can't remember what I paid for them, maybe $40. There were a lot of "good" songs. Good to me from the standpoint of classics, popular, withstood the test of time. Were they close to the original artists? Somewhat. I still use some of them and some still get picked at shows. Are you going to get the songs at the download sites for ten cents a piece? I will no longer buy "lots" of songs but that's because the amount of dupes is probably 30 to 50% duplicates. Starting out, that's when you can really grow your library for an economical price. Especially if your budget is tight. Also, considering this is for home play, magnifies my points in my opinion.

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

They sell many units, that play from cdg, and external hard drives......online stores & ebay sell them for much less than that......I'm not sure which one is a good one, though...for home use, they'd be good for the price...

Available everywhere- just hard to see with your eyes closed.

In case no one read the OP, the poster is looking for some inexpensive fun, not a wannabe pro setup.

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

Exactly why I recommended the computer route - very inexpensive. Free players, cheap songs - and for home use, plenty of legal download sites!

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

Was just looking at my CompuHost statistics. I have a little under 14,000 unique song selections (closer to 21K with duplicates). My patrons only sang 1362 unique songs last year, and a little over 30% of those were only sung once. I have a little under $9,000 invested in my library.

Obviously, as a KJ, we know that REALISTICALLY, you hav to have a respectable SIZED book, or some singers will just pass altogether, though THEORETICALLY, if I had just had those 1362 songs that people wanted last year, it would have cost me closer to $1,500-2,000, and my business would have been much more profitable. That's the balancing act for the working KJ.

If I were a home user, especially, I would just buy the songs I wanted to sing, like Lonman is suggesting. Sure, you might be able to get discs where you pay $0.10 a song, but who cares if you don't sing them? If you end up only singing 1/10 of those songs, then you are back to paying about $1.00 a song for those songs that you do actually sing.

If I were a home singer, I'd go the a-la-carte route. I think you'll save $$ in the long run.

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C Mc
KJ, FL

home karaoke works a little different.....people will try songs, that they don't even know. Throw in a cdg, and friends will start with the first song, and try one song after the next, saying "ok, enough of this song, skip to the next" till all songs on the disc have been attempted. As one person starts, others jump in as they recognize a song. You get a few sets of cheap "tool" type selections, and you're ready to go. Unless you have nothing but Die Hard Karaoke friends, you don't need the professional club presentation, and even if all your friends are divas.......they won't be satisfied with an at- home audience. They want to get out, in front of the public.....

You are also opened up to options like Singsnap and Digitrax for home use streaming if you use a PC at home. That way a home user doesn't have to buy a one sung wonder if a guest requests something they do not have. I had Singsnap on hand for my birthday party last November. It was 15 bucks well spent and I had their full catalog for a month. I'll probably do it again if I do another large home party with guests bringing guests.

I also like the idea of Ala Carte, but I think a reasonable collection of karaoke classics is a good idea as well. Something like the Chartbuster Essentials 1, Sound Choice Foundation I, or on the low end the old SuperCore pack, would be a good starting point to give people to choose from.

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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.