Those of you who are still reading this blog are at least willing to consider the idea of a component karaoke system... a system where the various pieces of the system are in separate boxes. In this post, I will consider some various options for components.
As I have mentioned before, I hope it is understood that the products mentioned in these posts are meant as examples, and not as endorsements. I heartily welcome comments about people's experience with this equipment and with other equipment.
Getting away from CDs
Have I ranted enough about how bad all-in-one systems are? Well, I have one more rant. All of the systems mentioned in the previous posts are CD based systems. The KJ has to schlep in a big box of karaoke CDs. These CDs must be organized nicely because the KJ must be able to locate the proper disk and load it every three minutes throughout the evening. If a singer changes his mind when they get to the stage, the KJ must be able to quickly respond with a different song.
Just like the mp3 file has freed us from the wretched, tyrannical CD, new formats have been created for karaoke CDs. And guess what? You can use your laptop to run a karaoke show. What you need is some karaoke tunes and a piece of software to play them. And of course, a laptop. I will talk about the karaoke tunes in the next post "Formats for karaoke tunes", but lemme just say a bit about the software to play karaoke songs.
A laptop with karaoke host software will encompass the music player and the lyrics generator components. The karaoke host software will play your karaoke tunes just like any mp3 player program. As it plays the songs, it will display the lyrics in a window, in sync with the music.
Here's the cool part. The window with the lyrics? You can move it around. Wait, I'm not done yet. Let's say you have a laptop that you can plug a second monitor into. This is true, by the way, of all laptop computers that were built after the war of 1812. Let's say you plug a second monitor into this laptop. And let's say that you tell Windows to extend your desktop to the second display. Ok, here is the really cool part. You can move that window with the lyrics out to that second computer monitor. The singer looks at the second monitor, and can read the lyrics without seeing that you are playing solitaire on the main monitor.
There will be more discussion about monitors and displaying the words in the post "Getting the word out". I don't know yet if I will mention playing solitaire during a show.
Here are a few examples of karaoke hosting programs: Compuhost, MTU hoster, RoxBox, Siglos, and Tricerasoft.
I am sure this list is not complete. In case you want to see some discussion about which is best, have a look at the karaoke forum.
Which one do I use? Well, I started years ago with the home version of Siglos, basically because it was cheap. I later graduated to the professional version of this package because I already knew how to use the home version.
Why did I go to the pro version? Well, naturally because I am a pro, but there are two features that are very useful for me, especially at my Monday night gig where I typically see a few hundred people every night. (Brief pause for the reader to say "wow". Thank you.)
The first great feature is that the software will automatically start a regular song when the karaoke song completes, and then will automatically fade this out when you start up the next karaoke song. Great stuff. Dead air during a karaoke show is, well, dead.
The second feature is that the software will keep track of people and songs for me. Someone hands me a slip or what to sing, and I enter their name and the song into the computer. When they come up five minutes later and ask when they sing, I can quickly check the computer and tell them that they are the sixth singer and they will sing at about 11:20. When they come up the second time, at 11:05, and tell me that they need to sing right now because they are more special than everyone else in line, then I can use the software to bump them back to singer #15.
In the clever diagram above, I drew the box around the karaoke tunes as well as the other two pieces. I debated with myself for some time about that. I hope that I didn't give the impression that laptop computers generally come with a huge collection of karaoke tunes. They don't, unless of course you are buying your laptop from a KJ who for some unfathomable reason has decided to get out of the business.
(A word of caution here. Some unscrupulous sorry excuse for a KJ may attempt to sell you a laptop onto which they have illegally copied 74,619 karaoke songs. All that for the low low price of only $2,000. Wow. Such a deal. Unless you are the sort of person who will buy TVs and stereo equipment and original Van Gogh paintings out of the back seat of a minivan, I would suggest that you steer clear of that deal.)
So, I don't mean to imply that karaoke tunes come bundled on the laptop. I merely meant to underscore an important point. Once you get your laptop all set up, all the karaoke tunes will be on your laptop. There is no need to cart your 500 CDs around with you. This convenience alone is a good reason to consider a laptop.
One might consider a different approach, for example Vocopro sells a Karaoke player component that encompasses the same pieces as the laptop. It will play karaoke CDs and it will display the lyrics. I see two disadvantages to this system, however. First, it does not allow you to store a zillion karaoke tunes - you need to schlep CDs, and find CDs, and feed them in one at a time. Second, the user interface is rudimentary. It is limited to selecting one of the tracks on the CD. Of course, the Vocopro system is cheaper than a laptop.
Now, on to the discussion about combinations of mixer, amp, and speakers...
Option 1: All separate components
One way to put together the mixer, amp, and speakers is to use all separate pieces. Here is one set of components. The prices I give here were pulled from the Musician's Friend website. As I said before, I welcome comments about the merits of various components.
Mixer - Mackie ProFX8 - $230
Amp - Crown XLS202D - $250
Yamaha S112V - $660 / pair
Again, I am not endorsing this equipment, but these components are all pretty decent quality. You could use these for a gig. Still, the tally comes up to over $1100. Can you get a better price? Can you get by with cheaper stuff? Maybe you could contact my friend Bob at Cascading Waters Audio for other recommendations.
Since the speakers are the most expensive part, you might consider going with a smaller speaker. As for me, one of my sets of speakers is an older version of the Yamaha speakers above. I bought them used. Go figger. I'm a cheapskate.
I don't always use that pair, though, since they are heavy and bulky. For a smaller gig, I use a smaller set of speakers, the Phonic SEM710, which go for about $100 each. They are certainly not as good a speaker as the 12" Yamaha, but for the price, I was impressed.
It all depends on the size of the gigs you will be running, and what kind of sound quality you are comfortable with. For more discussion on speakers, have a look at my post "getting those karaoke vibrations going". Discussion on amps? "Karaoke system amp" Mixers? "Mixing it up" If you would like to better understand the silly specs or want some guidance about how much power is needed, take a look at my post entitled "Watts and RMS and Ohms, oh my!"
Option 2: combined mixer and amp
When you combine a mixer and an amp, you call it a powered mixer. I have one and I like it. (I also have a separate amp and I have two regular mixers. Just bragging.) I like the powered amp because I don't need to carry around both a mixer and an amp. If you have these as separate pieces, you kinda need to have a DJ box to put them in as well. This box is another hundred bucks and a bunch more weight.
My own powered mixer is rather old. There isn't really an equivalent on the market anymore. I bought it used. Go figger. I'm a cheapskate. But, to give you an idea of what a powered mixer might look like, here is the Yamaha EMX212S.
This piece of equipment sells for $420. The specs are similar to the combination Crown amp and Mackie mixer that are listed above at a total of $480. Hmmm... similar functionality, and a slightly lower cost. All in one box. These are all good things.
Why go with separate components? Let's say you have a gig where you require more power? If you have components, then you would need to buy another amp and another set of speakers. If you bought a powered mixer, then you would buy another amp and another set of speakers. Then you would probably use this mixer, cuz it has (I believe) a line level output that you could send to the amp. Bringing this along for the ride means that you have the extra weight and space of the amp inside the mixer.
Ok, try this scenario. Let's say you want a fancier mixer? Well, then clearly it makes sense to have originally gone with the components so you can just swap this out.
Option 3: combined amp and speaker
Rather than put the amp in the mixer box, you could skin the cat by packaging an amp in each of the speakers. They call these powered speakers or active speakers (as opposed to passive speakers).
The Behringer B212D is one example of a powered speaker. They sell for $280 each.
Let's stop and figger here. Rather than going with the Crown amp at $250 and a pair of Phonic speakers at $100 each for a total of $450, you could go with a pair of Behringer powered speakers at $560. That sounds like a good deal.
But of course, you have the whole upgrade path/components thing. And then another issue. (Thanks Bradley, for pointing this out.)
If you have a pair of powered speakers out there, the powered speakers are probably "out there". That is, they are not right where you are sitting. If you need to adjust the volume of the speakers, you kinda have to walk over to each speaker and crank it up.
Why do I say that? Can't you just adjust the mixer to change the volume at the speakers? Yes, you certainly could. To do that, you would start with the volume at the speakers pretty close to maxed out. Then at the mixer, you would run the levels very low. That causes a problem, though, with noise. (Have a look at my post on "Tying it all together".) The signal coming out of the mixer is a very low level signal, so it is very sensitive to noise. When the speakers are high and the mixer is low, you will probably hear a 60 Hz hum. To get rid of this, you want the mixer all the way up.
Hence a conundrum. When I run with my powered speakers, I normally set them to about half-way at the start of the night (when the music is quietest) and then adjust them up when it gets crowded and my mixer starts getting close to maxing out.
I actually have a pair of the Behringer 212XL speakers, by the way. I like the sound quality, but for a larger venue, I have had these "bottom out". When you try to run them too hard, the woofer sounds like it is farting. Loudly. This, by the way, is not a good thing. Farting too loud can blow out your woofer. Talk to your doctor about that. I had to crank down the bass.
As far as powered speakers go, I would love to have a pair of JBL Eon 315 speakers at $500 each. I'm salivating. But then I also salivate when I think about Angelina Jolie. I may never have either one.
Here is another interesting option. Fender makes a portable system where all the pieces (mixer, amp, and speakers) fit together into one nice box. I said, "nice", but note that I did not say "cute". It weighs in at 44 lbs. If you are not comfortable lifting this much weight, then this might not be your system.
This system, the Passport 500 is 500 watts total and includes a pair of speakers with 10" woofers. In other words, the system is similar in specs to the other systems discussed here. This unit sells for about $1000. They also have a systems that are 300 watts and 150 watts.
I have actually used one of these models, I forget which one. My only beef with it was that the mixer does not provide a separate output for a monitor speaker. This is perhaps my own bias, but I feel a monitor speaker is essential if you want to get the best sound out of the singers. I will talk about monitor speakers in my section about speakers.
Another beef about this system is just my general disinclination toward buying everything in one box. It does make it hard to upgrade.
Summary
Let me summarize by recalling the costs of seven different combinations of mixer, amp, and speakers.
1a - Total cost $1140
Mackie ProFX8 $230
Crown XLS202D $250
Yamaha S112V X 2 $660
1b - Total cost $680
Mackie ProFX8 $230
Crown XLS202D $250
Phonic SEM710 X 2 $200
2a - Total cost $1080
Yamaha EMX212S $420
Yamaha S112V X 2 $660
2b - Total cost $620
Yamaha EMX212S $420
Phonic SEM710 X 2 $200
3a - Total cost $790
Mackie ProFX8 $230
Behringer B212D X 2 $560
3b - Total cost $1230
Mackie ProFX8 $230
JBL Eon 315 X 2 $1000
4 - Total cost $1000
Fender Passport 500 $1000
Let me stress a few things here. First, I have made comments about some of the equipment here, but I do not consider myself an expert. I have not worked with some of the equipment mentioned here, and I have not worked with enough different equipment to consider myself qualified to give advice on specific products.
The second thing I want to stress is that, while there are some differences in these seven options in terms of price, the big difference in price is not in how the components are packaged, but rather in the quality of the stuff in the package. I could make a case for going entirely with components, for using powered mixers, or for using powered speakers. I have all of them.
Copyright (c) 2010, John Seymour
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