Karaoke Forums

I do have a wired mic with me at all my shows in case my wireless mics ever go out.

Luckily for me, my wireless mics have worked flawlessly all these years and have never gone out.

GTD Audio 788 wireless mics, yeah baby!!!!

#1. I'm not a KJ
#2. I understand the difference between us. KJ's are usually the ones that control the mic, and give it to the customers. After they sing, they will give the mic back to Host.
#3. The ethnicity of the people. The clients that we have are really rough. The nationality of these people are Meh. Something that you guys don't experience.

The biggest problem I have with cord mics is this




It tends to get damaged every time, and I would need someone to solder the mic wires.

Just purchased the dual 788h recently. Amen to yeah baby!!! Awesome mics at an unbelievable price!

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To be fortunate enough to derive an income from a source as fulfilling as karaoke music has got to be as close to heaven as we can get here on earth!

Huh? What does any of that have to do whether you buy a wired or wireless mic?

What everyone is trying to get at is ANYONE can use a wireless mic that actually sounds ever as bit as good as a wired.
I echo that the Shure SM58 is my first choice - $100
However, for $169, you can get the GTD Audio 622 dual mic wireless setup.
http://www.amazon.com/GTD-Audio-G-622H- ... =gtd+audio

You hook it to wherever you will connect your wired mic.

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

Are you using a mixer of any sort - if so, what is the make/model. Your first problem is using that 1/4" connection. Get yourself an XLR connection (unless the 1/4" is your only connection). Then as others stated, go to Guitar Center & get a cord with a lifetime warranty - if that little solder connection ever breaks, you bring your cord back to them & they give you a brand new one - FREE. I haven't paid for a broken mic cord for over 15 years now.

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

this picture is wrong for live audio.....

anyways $15 soldering iron from radio shack and a roll of solder and that's it for fixing a
cable. no need to have someone do it for you. a little practice soldering a wire to the
connector and you'll be a pro after a couple times.

and you can youtube a video on solding wire's to connectors it's really easy.

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It's all good!

Or get a lifetime warranty cord & get a new one if it ever breaks. I know how to solder, but why - me personally I have better things to do than to take my broken cords apart & cut them, strip them, take the old solder out & resolder them! When i'm out and about and close to GC, I take it in, get a new one for free & walk out. That way I know maybe the other end or somewhere in the middle (opther than the ends) isn't broke (which is nearly impossible to diagnose & fix).

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

*Sigh* Ok.
This is what I have.




This is what we used to carry.

http://www.apikaraoke.com/u808.html

Given about every 2 months these microphones would break. Once again the types of customers that we have are different than you guys.

This is what we use now,




Every time you put the cord in, it makes that BUZZZZZZZ sound and if you twist it left, and right it makes a BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzz sound.

I have been trying to stay out of this thread, but it's starting to make my skin crawl, so I have to jump in.

OP.....you have a low quality powered mixer. You really need to upgrade that.

Then.....you really have low quality mics. You really need to upgrade those...BUT....it's not going to do you much good to plug a good mic into that powered mixer.

Then.....WTF does the ethnicity of your patrons have to do with your mic/mic cables breaking? I work in a bar with a bunch of entitled young punk a-holes (black, white, red, yellow, and purple) that don't give a crap about my equipment. As such, I buy rugged gear. It costs just a bit more, but when it's gotta perform and last under tough conditions, you gotta spend a little more for the pro-grade stuff. VocoPro and APi are consumer grade home-use kinda stuff. You flat need better equipment.

I have Shure SM58 and Rode M1 mics, and both have lasted for several years, and will last for several more years. I also spend just a little extra to get lifetime cables from Guitar Center (Sam Ash has their version too). These cables cost $15 more than the cheap cables, but every time one breaks, I just take it in and they give me a new one for free. Considering your cheap mic and cheap powered mixer, I would bet you are also buying cheap mic cables - and you are right, those break easily. You just need some better stuff. My mic cables typically last about 2 years of some pretty heavy abuse, and I spent $80 on two mic cables in 2004 and have not bought another one since then. So my mics cost me about $0.04 cents a show each so far.

Sorry about my tone, but you just have low quality stuff, and low quality stuff has more problems than solid pro-grade equipment. It has nothing to do with the ethnicity of your patrons. You need better mics, better mic cables, and a better powered mixer (and I would assume the rest of your equipment likely follows suit). Buy some quality gear and you won't keep having things break and buzz!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

Ditto this!

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

Ok, I normally don't get involved with these brand wars. However, the OP did not complain that his equipment was not working for him, nor did he mention any complaints about sound from his singers. What he ASKED FOR was a tough mic. His system is what it is, and he seems happy with it.

SO - one route would be Shure SM-48s instead of 58s. Sound fine, still backed by Shure, and about half the price. Tough, but still breakable.
If it were me, for his purposes I would recommend an inexpensive wireless made of solid steel. I think Pyle makes a dual set. The one I remember was pretty much unbreakable, though his singers would find them to be great billy clubs.

A great mic? Nope, but a great drunk mic that is a match for his system. He's using a VocoPro mixer amp, so I guess I should mention that VocoPro makes all-steel wired mics, for what it's worth.

When the OP is READY to upgrade his system, all of the non-mic suggestions above should be kept in mind.
I would agree that basing his crowd's roughness on ethnicicity is incorrect.

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

I may have misread, but I was under the impression that the OP was saying his wireless mics were broken, his mic cables kept breaking, his current wired mics were about to break, and there was a buzz coming from the 1/4" mic input of his mixing amp.....then he inferred that it was mostly due to the ethnicity of his patrons. I'm pretty sure he also said that he is not a KJ, so I'm not exactly sure what he does.

Anyway, rough as his ethnic patrons may be on his equipment, I was attempting to say that the build quality of his equipment is certainly not helping the situation. My patrons, who I would describe as more young punks than ethnic, treat my equipment very rough, but I buy tough, pro-grade equipment that is built to last for this very reason, and all my stuff has weathered the abuse.

Ergo, if I were going to work in a bar with rough, ethnic patrons, like the OP, I'd invest in more rugged equipment.

Did I miss anything?

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C Mc
KJ, FL

Yes. He didn't ask for other equipment upgrade assistance. JUST for his mics, which seem to be the center of his problems. When he is willing and ready, I'm sure he will return for the other info.

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

That's all fine and good, just a new mic isn't going to fix his problem. "Lipstick on a pig...."

See....this is why I should have just stayed out of it!

OP....check out the Rode M1. I used Shure SM58s for years, and still do, but the Rode M1 is the same build quality with a little less proximity effect, which I think is better for amateur singers. Also, the Rode M1s actually have a much more durable grill than the Shures, which is really the only down side of the SM58s.

Good luck!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

Which one are good? well, most major brands are good but a good mic is something personal, it needs to fit your voice The sm58 is indead a great mic but not for me, I had one and sold it to a friend who ended up selling it too... For live I use an EV N/D 767a and for recording a Rode NT1-A

I thought he was just looking for a good durable mic.

and again everyone goes way off topic.

hands down the sm58 is going to be the best for durability and long lasting, and get the
one without the switch. everyone that I know has bypassed the switch because it goes
bad.

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It's all good!

Also depending on the mic impedance requirement for that mixer (low vs high), a 'good' mic may not even work very well as if it is too high or too low impedance for the mixer. 1/4" jacks are typically high impedance mics (cheap, lacking quality usually) and may be only what that mixer will accept, a low impedance mic (more expensive and usually better quality) may not work well with that mixer. It wouldn't sound very loud and he'd be trying to turn everything up just to compensate, because the mic volume would have to go up while the music volume would have to go down & to compensate to get any overall volume, the system main would have to be raised, possibly risking blowing the speakers.

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

I wasn't going to chime into this topic either,, but I thought I might be able to suggest a mic that works almost as well as the Shure SM58,, but much less money. How about the Behringer XM8500 .. They are nearly as durable as the Shure,, in fact the screen is more durable, and they sound nearly the same,, however they do have a lower feedback threshold. But I can get them for less than 20 bucks each any time I want. In fact,, if you look for the deals you can get 6 for $100 sometimes.

If I am reading the OP right,, he doesn't host as a professional KJ,, but only does it as a favor in situations that are a little more rowdy than what you and I would expect or accept out a normal karaoke show. So, they are harder on his gear than what we would allow. And he doesn't want to spend a ton of money on upgrading gear that won't pay back his investment,,, in other words,,, he is trying not to empty his wallet for nothing. As far as the cords go,,, he may not be "tech savvy" enough to be willing to learn how to fix his own cords... but this is to the OP,,, it's really not hard at all... actually if you have 2 hands and can see past the length of your arm,,, it's really very easy to fix broken soldier connections on mic cords...

Hope this adds to what everyone has already offered in advise.

I'm sorry Mr. Quality person, why not just send the junks over to me once your done using the old models.

We have been in business for the past 15+ years. Our first Brand that we used was Vocal Pro 8900. The Mixer's have been fine, no problems. Sure some broke down, but we still have someone that can fix it. There's no point in buying new equipment if the old models are still working right?

I'm not a KJ. I'm not anywhere near my equipment. We are more like Private Rooms. If I was working as a KJ Heck I don't mind wireless Microphones, as I would be the one to control the mics after the singers are finished. As for the ethnicity part, I don't really want to say it but we hardly have blacks. Whites and Yellow's have been nice. But the main focus now is Samoan's and Pacific Islanders. You guys probably don't have them in your shows but we do.




This is what I was using.