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What System do you use for you Shows???

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Loneavenger

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So I was talking to some of my Karaoke regulars last night about how many different ways people set-up Karaoke and how different the equipment they use is. I'm curious what do you use for your Karaoke shows??

Most of the venues I do Karaoke at are pretty good sized Venues so at weekly gigs i set up a pair of the Tour X 15 inch tops and then 1 Tour X Dual 18" Subwoofer. I run these off an Amp Rack with 1 EV Q1212 and 1 EV Q99 amps and An EV DC ONE crossover. I use the Soundcraft EFX8 board and use the effects built into my board for the Reverb, Delay, Etc.....For Microphones we run 2 or 3 Wired Shure SM58's and For Monitors i use Flat Screen IBM monitors. Then, for the singers Music Monitor i have a 10" Community I set-up for them.
 
While I never talk about specifics of my systems ( by the plural I mean that I have different setups - size, power, etc.- for different types of venues. I am not a multi-rigger) because of the brand debates that normally ensue. I will say this much. I NEVER use bass bins for karaoke, because I believe they blur the sound too much ( This is my one and only OTHER debate with Thunder), and except at the very tiniest venues, I always use 3 ways ( Sorry, but I believe midrange {vocals} are best represented by them.)

I CAN mention mic brands, because I carry so many. A Senn, Shure SM and PG 58s and 48s, GTD Audio, EV2s, and some PylePro 8 channel steel drunk mics that actually sound ok- who knew?
 
I Personally am a fan of EV and RCF but i do a lot of live sound as well. For just Karaoke though i don't really judge any system based on what brand it is, only how it sounds. If you set up 2 small Kustom Speakers and they sound amazing in your venue then more power to you. I ALWAYS set-up subs when running Karaoke but that is also personal preference as well. You won't hear any argument from me on using 3 ways, i agree about the vocals and actually if you're running 3 ways that helps the argument to not bring along subs
 
We just started so we are at what I have seen termed "moderate entry level" which is still remarkably better than the local one speaker shows.

We have 2 Yamaha Club speakers which we rarely use as we are plugged into the house system which has 2 Fane speakers. But we have brought out the Yamahas for kid shows and one outdoor show. Got good comments on their clarity at our last outdoor show.

We have a Yamaha P5000S amp and Yamaha MG124cx mixer.

Players are an old Pioneer and the one Sound Choice sells with a combo A/B switch/RF modulator to switch between them.

We have a Kustom for a monitor but don't like the sound and have rarely had to use it as the speakers are facing the singer at our current venue plus the stage is a postage stamp. We don't have to bring video monitors as we plug into the 3 at the venue. But for the kid shows we still use an old TV.

We have bumper music via either my boyfriend's laptop or an IPOD.

Our mics are an Audix OM2 but someone just sent us an AKG D5 to try and people like it better. Roaming mics are the dreaded Nady Dou. I keep saying we will use them until they self-destruct and replace them but they are on year 2 and drop #11. One is better than the other so the weaker one is the announcing mic.

We also have a spot on the stage and some lasers on the dance floor. The skull shaped disco ball comes out at Halloween. Someone is sending us a gift of some LED Pars to try but they haven't arrived yet.

Final essential equipment is an assortment of inflatable insturments, wigs, hats, glasses and props for those who are inspired to use them.
 
Depending on the size of the venue I may setup my big rig including 2x15" tops and 2x18" subs and 1 or 2 ZXA1's for vocal monitors... or some smaller combination.
 
I like that set-up Staley, the idea of having requests print out right beside me is VERY cool :smilepill:
 
Loneavenger said:
I like that set-up Staley, the idea of having requests print out right beside me is VERY cool :smilepill:
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We don't even do that anymore... it just pops up on the computer screen. No ticket printer to carry or refill.
 
c. staley said:
We don't even do that anymore... it just pops up on the computer screen. No ticket printer to carry or refill.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that makes even more sense, and that would also be nice, opposed to grabbing slips that drunk people can barely write legibly on sometimes. I still think the thought of a printer automatically printing the request out is pretty cool though:smilepill:
 
JoeChartreuse said:
I will say this much. I NEVER use bass bins for karaoke, because I believe they blur the sound too much.
Click to expand...

I have to disagree 100%. The best thing I ever did for my audio was to get a Subwoofer and Driverack. I am really impressed with the difference it makes. Of course, you have to use it correctly. Just having a sub does NOT mean you crank it up and give everyone a heart attack, but it's amazing how it fills in the bottom end.

Last week I had someone ask "is that thing even one?". I hit the mute on my Driverack for the sub-channel and it was incredibly obvious that it was. The expression on their face said it all! If they were a cartoon, a light bulb would have popped on over their head. :laughpill:
 
Bazza said:
I have to disagree 100%. The best thing I ever did for my audio was to get a Subwoofer and Driverack. I am really impressed with the difference it makes. Of course, you have to use it correctly. Just having a sub does NOT mean you crank it up and give everyone a heart attack, but it's amazing how it fills in the bottom end.
Click to expand...

And if you dont have super powerfull tops, adding a sub frees up power in those tops...

Not sure if a sub helps tops sound better in the mid ranges, but they do help with SPL.
 
I have to agree with Joe C. To often I hear other KJ's running WAY too much bass because they like the "thump" and that's not the purpose here. The purpose (IMHO) is to simply "round out" the sound... and it must be done gently.

You can use 'em... but you'd best use them sparingly... very sparingly.
 
i use 3 sennheiser evolution wirelesses, yamaha MG1066cx mixer, bbe, x2 wireless transmitter to the reciever on my Bose L1 model II dual subs. clean, simple. the x2 goes full range 20 - 20k all digital with no companding, and no wires to run. i run my video with the x10 video sender so no video cables to run either.
 
Laptop with LogiTech. The on-board speakers weren't powerful enough!






Seriously, we DJ and run sound for small festivals mainly. Haven't quite gotten into the karaoke market yet.

EV SxA-250 with SxA-180 subs
Behringer B212A or B212D (newer) for monitors
Sennheiser e835 mics
EWI Snakes (in the spring)
Quantum mic & patch cables
Mackie 1642vlz-Pro (to be replaced with Mackie Onyx 1640)
Lexicon MPX550
DBX260 compressor/limiter
Furman Power conditioner for electronics
APC battery back up UPS
Rackmount computer
 
Thunder said:
Rattle the windows, baby rattle the windows!
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I think that's the difference between us and June, make it thumpin' and get the party pumpin'. With the college crowds that we get it makes sense to have the bass. When the bars get packed, you need some oomph to push the sound through the people.
 
Thanks Loneavenger!

We're getting the EWI with the EDAC splitter connection at the stage box and having it shipped to Carl Ondraka in Ohio. We're going to disconnect the 4 Returns from the EDAC so that it can only be used for mains, subs and front fill. He's going to cut about 6 feet off the fantail end and put male and female EDAC connectors with a Raxxess blank panel system. Drop the box at the stage and walk it to FOH.

Power in/out and a few other connectors will use the rest of the blanks.

By the end of next year, we'll have the connection from the stage box to the Monitor rack and split it to 2-3 more EDAC stage snakes. The returns on those snakes will have the monitor mixes going out.
 
well letsee its been a while since I've had to set up.


I used a pair of generic 3-way speakers powerd by a QSC amp
a 10" subwoofer with an active cross over
My laptop and my cdg player hooked up to an AV switch.

and I hooked up all the microphones and music thru a behringer mixer, but before I lost my gig I wanted to get a new board because the main outputs are fried

i had a wireless RE2 microphone, but i left that at a bar by accident and it was gone the next day *pout*

-James
 
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