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I agree, that for the most part, some KJ's out there do lack mixing savvy. As a KJ if you want great sound, aside from your mixer and speakers, you need a graphic equalizer dedicated to your Main (audience) mix, and also a graphic equalizer dedicated to your monitor (singer) mix. I also recommend investing in a compressor (you can get these from behringer for around $100 or less.) A compressor will save your speakers from the great "rockers" out there who think it's cool to scream and hoot and holler over the mic at the end of the night.
I am a professional musician and a music education major and have performed with almost every national country artist out there. I have been a KJ/DJ for about 6 years. I think that some people are really stuck on having to have the best "Primo" equipment when they go to sing Karaoke. Really, unless you are a huge audio professional, the technology has come so far in the last few years, that even the super low end microphones of today sound pretty good. As a KJ that has to announce things all night, like who the next singer is, drink specials, etc., it is imperative that I have a microphone that works well throught the entire night. In my set up, I have two wireless sm-58's for the singers, and I use a sennheiser wireless in the back of the room for myself. The Sennheiser sounds way better to me than the wireless 58's, but the main reason I use it when I sing, is that it is already mixed to my voice so I can sing my song quickly without having to mix and sing at the same time as much. There are some places that have their own equipment and I end up using the same mic as the singers, and this makes it more difficult, as the mic level is changing from every song.
That is why mixing the sound for karaoke is so challenging, not only is the gain and volume and EQ different for every song, but also, you are changing singers for the entire night. As a KJ, I work hard and pride myself on trying to have the best sound possible, and am always purchasing new equipment to help me in that regard. I know where Mike D is coming from when he says that the "serious singer" is a pain in the ass. Not that we don't want people who are great singers to come to our shows. I think the truly great singers are the one's who get up and sing their song and perform, if they miss a note, so be it. I get tired of the people who get up and say,"this is my first time singing this", and I really get peeved at the people who constantly try to tell me what to do with the mix. I have one guy who must have a lot of hearing loss as he comes in and while he is singing, he basically wants all the high sounds cranked and no bass and no mid range....and I am not exaggerating....it sounds horrible....but if I don't do this he will ride me for the entire song. I think the main reason these "serious singers" ride the KJ about the mix or reverb is to try to cover for when they make a mistake....well....it's not star search so if you hit a wrong note so be it...live with it and don't blame the KJ.
Another thing that makes making a good mix really hard at Karaoke is when you get all these people coming to your DJ booth or wherever you are set up and they feel like they need to camp out there and tell you their life's story or complain about a bad singer, etc. Or they want to badger you about the rotation...or it's 15 minutes til closing time and they want to know why they can't get in the rotation that's been waiting all night and think that if they are a pain enough that you can get in "just one more song". Now...as the KJ.... instead of doing my job and mixing the music and the singer...I am attending to this person's need for attention, etc. Usually these people are the karaoke "stars" that have been travelling from bar to bar to sing and "tour" all night.
So my main thing about karaoke is if you are going to be a "KJ" get out and try to have the best sound that you can get. But, don't go out until you have all the necessary components in your system and a good knowledge of how it all works. Second, to all the singers out there, give the KJ a break on the mix and that, just try to go out and have fun...the KJ is definitely not going to their show to not sound good, but cut them a break as going out and blowing off some steam at a karaoke show is much cheaper than therapy.
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