Suggestions for starters
Disks -
I agree, with danny_g, chartbusters is a good start. Karaoke.com routinely sells older country and pop hits monthly at good discounts... great fill-ins for little bucks...check them out. A some people bad-mouth the SAV series, but I have them all and rate them as an excellent buy. All songs are very usable, and the price can be very attractive.
Equipment
Danny_g gave good equipment suggestions. A good amp and speakers is so important. Be sure that your speakers can handle the amp, and that your amp isn't working too hard... avoids distortion, and keeps the sound clear.
I use a 12 channel Mackie with built in effects, with a Mackie 800w amp. and have a soft spot in my head for Cerwin-vega speakers, although they are a bit big and heavy. The 12 channels are handy, but is overkill if all you do is Karaoke giggs. I plan on going to a 1400w amp and 4 speakers for larger gigs
For starting-
I strongly recommend a little unit called a Pro-2. It offers 2 stereo inputs, 2 or 3 mic inputs. Each Mic input has separate tone and volume controls. Echo is build in, and adjustable. It also has tone and volume controls for the music inputs. It's easy to use, and usually can be found for between $100 and $150. I have two of them in systems that I use for smaller gigs... Ok for a small to medium tavern/restaurant where you don't want to blast too much. You can get started without spending a fortune.
Once started -
I suggest putting a few limiter/compressors into the system. They can work wonders. You can get a good one for $100 bucks. The limiters can even out the loud singer and the soft singer, and stabilize the CD level... not all Cd's are created equal. some are so low you have to really crank, and some are so hot that they can make people jump when they come on if you don't watch it. Limiters will help bring up soft singers, and reduce the loud singers so you never get clipping (distortion).
didn't mean to write a book, but sound and singing is my passion.
take care,
Papa Ray,
Tunes For your Times Karaoke
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Papa Ray,
Tunes For Your Times
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