Running dual sound cards

I discovered something useful. You can run two sound output devices from a single computer. Lemme 'splain why that might be useful for a KJ. Or for a DJ, for that matter.

When running karaoke, it is really good to fill the dead air between songs with background music. Most of the sophisticated karaoke hosting programs support this feature. But to my knowledge, none of them really support it well.

They all give you some means to add in a bunch of songs that will be brought up when a singer finishes, and that will fade out before the next singer starts. They also have the option of starting each time with a different song which is kinda nice.

As fabulous as this feature is, they don't offer the kind of playlist tools that you get with a normal mp3 player program. For example, they don't allow you to import playlist from another program. They don't allow you to search mp3s from within their program. They don't allow you to randomize the playlist. For me, these would be great features, but I realize that the folks doing KJ programs have a pretty limited market, so they can't have a really huge budget for progammers. We have to accept what we can get.

But I still want the feature.

My first approach was to bring along my iPod. I would plug it into the second stereo input from my mixer, and just leave the iPod playing all night. In between singers, I need to remember to fade out and fade in. Ehhh... I got used to it. The dead air reminded me if I happened to forget to start the music up.

But this meant that I need to bring my iPod, and that I had to plan ahead with the proper playlists on the iPod. It made it a bit awkward to add songs on the fly --- if I got a request, or if I thought there was a great song to slip in.

Then I discovered something kinda neat. You can get two sound cards to work at the same time on your computer.

I started by adding a USB sound card to my laptop. I bought this one from my good friends at TigerDirect. As I write this, the price is $25.

Sabrent USB SND8. I suspect that there are numerous similar devices that will allow the same functionality.

When you plug this into your USB port it becomes the default sound device. When you start a program that plays music (like your karaoke hosting program), the music will be fed out this device. So, a cable from this USB device will go into your mixer as the karaoke channel.

The laptop's normal sound output (the headphone output) can still be selected by other programs, though, provided they have the smarts to allow you to select an output device. Winamp is one music player that can do this. And the basic price for Winamp is very reasonable. It's free. (If you plan on doing any ripping or burning of regular CDs, then pay the $20 for the Pro version.)

Here is how to configure Winamp to avoid the default sound output device (which will be the USB device whenever it is plugged in) and switch over to the normal laptop device:

If music is playing, stop it.
Click on "Options" in the WINAMP box. Select "Preferences".
On the left hand side, scroll down under the heading "Plug-ins" and select "Output".
On the right hand side, select "Nullsoft DirectSound Output".
This will bring up a box. Select the "Device" tab (it will probably already be selected. At the top, just to the left of "Refresh", there is a pull down menu. Click the little triangle at the right of this box to see the options.

One option will be "Primary Sound Driver". This is whatever default device you have. As I said, when then USB device is plugged in, this will be the default.

A second option will have the word USB in it. On my computer, this says "Speakers (3- USB Multi-Channel Audio Device". This would allow Winamp to play sound through the USB device. This is not what we want, since the karaoke program will default to this.

A third option for output will be the native sound output device for your computer. On mine, it says "Speakers / Headphones (IDT High Definition Audio Codec".  This is the one you want. Select this one, and the music that Winamp plays will be sent to the normal headphone jack of your computer. Connect this to a second channel on your mixer, and now you can use the mixer to select between Winamp and your karaoke host program.

I don't know what other programs will allow you to select the sound output device. There may be karaoke hosting program that would allow you to select, there may be other sound players.

If you are a DJ, and are switching over to a laptop library, you could use this same sort of setup. You could use one music player (iTunes or whatever you want) to feed the club music and the other music player (Winamp?) to run your headphones. This way, you can preview the music before starting it with the first player. Yeah... not quite all the functionality of full scale DJ software... but it's a cheap start.

I hope this was useful.  :)

John the Revelator

How can a KJ help bad singers?

"I am a Karaoke DJ, what is the best advise I can give to my bad singers?

Only serious comments please. Please give me a list of tips that the karaoke singers can read and maybe try help their hobby. My karaoke is all about fun, but some regulars that come sing get despised by the crowd because they sing so bad. I don't want them to stop singing, although would like to give them some tips."

I caught this question on Yahoo answers. Here was my suggestion:

1. First off, whatever you do, keep it positive. Everyone is there to have a good time. If it's a downer, they won't be back.

2. You have to resign yourself to the fact that you are not their vocal coach. You can't do much to make them a better singer.

3. You can sway the response of the crowd so they don't dwell on how lousy the singer was. Keep things positive. If you keep the party going, then these regulars will not be despised. If the song rocks, get the crowd singing along. I use a second computer screen pointed to the crowd to encourage this. Stand up and make the universal symbol for "everybody clap along". BTW, I will not tolerate the crowd booing. Ever. If someone starts that, I will completely stop the music. Keep it positive.

4. If you don't have a monitor speaker on the floor pointing at the singer, then get one. Even a good singer can sound bad if they can't hear their own voice. If someone is fumbling, then crank up their vocal in the monitor speaker. Often this gets someone to hold pitch better. Also, it might get them to sing more quietly.

5. Turn up the backup music to the house speakers but bring down the vocals on the house speakers. (You can do 4 & 5 if you have an adequate mixer.)

6. One sound problem that I see frequently is people grabbing the mic by the ball. If they wrap their hand all around the ball, then their voice will sound muffled, and you will also get feedback. This is one piece of constructive criticism that you can give without offending anyone - how to hold the mic, (Did I mention to keep it positive?)

7. Speaking of mics, make sure you have a good mic. I use Shure SM58s.

8. If someone is not such a good singer, gently suggest that they bring someone else up on stage. "Hey... I bet you and Shirley would be great on that song." But keep it positive, and make sure the singer always has the right to decide who joins them on stage.

9. Sing along behind them. Don't use your mic... that would be rude unless you know they are ok with it. But if you sing so they can hear you but the crowd can't, then they might start catching the right notes.

Good luck with this!
John the Revelator 
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