HELP! Requirements to be a KJ?

[Mikelly]

Hi There,
Greetings from "Down Under" (Australia), But "Way Ahead"! I mean way ahead in time,coz surely we here in Australia are not ahead in anything to be new released!
I would like to ask for help, I'm a newbie to this forum, i purchased an external plexwriter, microstudio, + hoster program just over a year ago, truly happy with them-Great program MTU !
Getting to the point- I have at home a setup consisting of a MACKIE 808M PPM (professional powered mixer series) FR= Fast recovery series 2x 600 watt -it,s got the EMAC custom 32-bit precision digital stereo effects processing built in -beautiful piece of equipment! with 2 MACKIE Speakers 12" on tall stands,C300 (RMS is 300,)( Music 500,)( PEAK 750 each,) Impedance 8ohms.
I Have a Music Maestro set of Discs Cdg,(497 songs on 27 discs) But there all Elvis- Please don't hold that against me!
I also have about 300+ various other songs- I have just been singing at home with friends, sometimes going out to karaoke clubs but have been to nervous to get up to sing-(I gotta break this coz i really love karaoke!)
Questions;
1/ How do all these Kj's manage to have tens of thousands of songs ?-are they all what i use (CDG's ) at approx $50 per cd- that Equates to heapsss of money!
2/ How many songs should one have before they take it public?
3/ Is my system capable of public shows? although i would still need to buy tv monitors + other gear that i can't think of immediately,maybe even a laptop computer as i'm currently running everything thru my desktop computer.
4/ I sing always in tune - but how good of a singer should you be to be a KJ?
I better quit this posting now-or it's gonna take you great people days to read my message.- I realize things can be different when your in a totally different country but the basics of everything are all the same!

Thankyou MTU once again, & Thankyou to all those that take the time to read my 1st letter on the forum!
I will be more than greatfull for any replies!

Quote! Remember we're "Down Under" and "Way Ahead" (in time!)


Take Care/Be Happy

Mike
Adelaide, South Australia.

[bobcox- with the Lord]

Hi' There, You Have the equipment to go out and do shows, you will need a laptop for hoster , i have 32000 songs in mine all from cdgs and 10,000 songs for dj the bigger your selection the better. we did our first show with 3000 titles, that was a lot back then, 7 yrs ago. i see kjs working with as little as 800 songs in their books. just make sure you have a good selection and mix of songs. and keep it up to date. good selection is a must to get the $$$. but it is you and how you deal with people that makes a good KJ. look around on the net for deals on cdgs. karaokecdgs.com good luck Bob

[djmadmaxx]

It's not really about "how many songs" it's about "what" songs you have. Just try to build a solid foundation of popular songs and just add on when you can. Sound Choice and chartbuster have good start up sets that have the best selections.

Your mackie system will be sufficient for a small/medium show. I use mackie mixers myself. Adding a subwoofer would really help things out.

[Karaoke John]

Dear Down Under:
Sounds Like you have good Sound Equipment Mackie is great stuff. I would suggest having a couple of floor/stage monitors for the singer. I personally don't use a subwoofer for Karaoke I guess if you are DJing (I'm Not) You might want to go that route.
My singers want to hear themselves on stage and when you are standing behind the Mains it is sometimes hard to hear yourself. Also having a two television or video monitors 1 for singer and 1 for audience makes it more fun for all.
You can get all kinds of deals on the internet on disks. I just bought a bunch of Disks DK brand from Karaoke.Com for $7.49 a disk.
I started with the standards Like Beatles, Beach boys, Country old and New, Pop, Frank Sinatra you get the picture and build it from there, I only have about 4000 titles but singers can always find a song to sing in my selection. I also update when singers ask for certain songs. I have also found that many people who have never sang Karaoke ask for songs that are way to hard for them the first time. Many Karaoke versions are not like the original It isn't exactly like singing to the Radio.
You don't have to be a great singer. I find if I sing the first song it is a Ice breaker and it helps to be on key even though i usually sing a full step down so I dont strain. Practice makes perfect My family thinks I'm nuts I save the singers slips and run Mock shows to practice getting rotations down and make it run more fluid. So my daughters freinds come down and join me in the fun and sing the songs. Drives her crazy that her freinds want to come over when I'm practicing my singing and shows. Anyway If you are really going to do it and take the plunge just be prepared and also don't get offended when your family does a Karaoke intervention on you and sends you to Karaoke Anonomous Or K.A for short.
John

[Mikelly]

Hi Ya'll

Thankyou to Karaokejohn, Djmadmaxx, & Bobcox for your replies they were much appreciated, hope my 1st forum post was'nt too long winded for you!
If anyone else would like to still add -please do!

Thankyou,

Will be back with more soon- until then

Take Care/Be Happy & Enjoy!!

Mike.
Adelaide, South Australia