Disc Mfg And Series - Rate Them!

[jumpmaster]

Danny_G and Kwoozen gave me an idea. I thought it might be helpful to have a thread which is dedicated solely to discs and their quality so that others may acquire or avoid them, based on the input here.

I would appreciate it if you would list any discs you consider particularly good....or particularly bad.

Thanks

[danny_g]

Good Discs
Chart Busters
Sound Choice
Pop Hits Monthly, Rock & Nashville (Stellar Records)
Priddis
DK
Radio Starz
Ameri-Sing
Pioneer- If you can get them
KJTOOLS- made by Nutech
Star Disc (MTU rated based on massive user feedback)

Hit or Miss
Legends
Tip Top
Pocket Songs
Backstage
Sweet Georgia Brown (many users consider this the worst music)

Bad
Nikkodo (discontinued/out of business. Their timing was modified from the CDG standard creating problems)
Music Maestro
SunFly
Nutech- sound quality only. CHoice of music is good.
Top Tunes

[jumpmaster]

Yea, I agree with Danny_G. Also, I feel that Chartbusters are a good choice.

Sound Choice seems to always have a great sound, they are a bit pricey though. I don't concentrate on them, but try to find another brand where I can get a good review and good price, then buy that.

In the Inexpensive Category, I like Priddis tracks (often free with cdg player purchases)

I also like the Sweet Georgia Brown for the price. I think I would put them in the hit or miss category, but for the price I'd buy them again.

The Legends and Backstage are hit or miss, but there are a few of these I consider important to have. For example the Legends CCR is a great disc as is the Backstage Eagles disc.

Star Disc is hit or miss also, but I find most of them pretty good. Admin note: Massive user feedback to us indicates Star Disc may have the best quality audio around. They pay major recording studios for their music. Their lyric synchronization has been indicated to us as superior.

Top Tunes are bad in my opinion. The fun pack christmas is an example of top tunes misses. Most of the songs make you scratch your head as to what the heck is playing and if not for the screen display, you might never know what they were attempting!

Other than that, stick to Danny_G's list, and you won't go wrong.

[danny_g]

I would buy the Legends Eagles stuff before even considering Backstage. The original Backstage discs are no buy list as most of them are worthless in quality. The new ones like Madonna I might consider as they have changed how the graphics look- more like the KJtools and the last three discs that Nutech put out when they took over the SAV country set.

[George]

Two major brands I haven't seen mentioned are Chartbuster and Pocket Songs. Just wondering where you guys would rate them.

Take care,

George

[danny_g]

Chartbuster should have been listed under good discs.

Pocket Songs is a step below

[Lauraine Graham- with the Lord]

What a pity DK Karaoke went out of business. Their backing was usually superb (although in a few cases the guide was a little too prominent for my taste) and their graphics were very clear. Some of their discs are still available, but they are hard to find.

Sunfly make me very cross! They usually provide a truly excellent sound track, but then spoil this otherwise praiseworthy production with wrong lyrics for which one frequently has to wait. It's so sloppy, as if they have spent all their care on providing the music and the lyrics don't matter. Well I think they do. Someone has spent a lot of time (and probably sacrificed a great deal of hair) getting them right. A song is just a tune without the words.

Essential Karaoke is quite impressive these days, and very reasonably priced. They have improved enormously in the last couple of years. The tracks are excellent, usually, and the graphics are bold and clear.

I have to agree that Legend is a disappointment. Part of the Sunfly group, they share their lack of care in reproducing the correct lyrics, but their sound track is not of the same high standard as Sunfly.

Priddis is excellent, and it was from them that I bought my first compilation. I was also able to choose multiplex or not. The tracks are good and the lyrics graphic quite acceptable.

I hope my fellow members out there in the world won't think that I must be an MTU mole, but again I just have to praise this company. I have a substantial collection of discs, but NOT ANY of the companies display the lyrics as clearly, or in such good time as KHP. As often as not these days I will use the track from the disc I have bought and re-do the graphic. Although I was a professional singer at one time my husband has only been singing a few years (he's very shy). He, along with many, many people NEED the lyric there ready to sing; it unnerves him when he has to wait for it and he misses his cue. Well done MTU. Yet another point in your favour.

[DJNickieK]

Here's my rating for disk maufacture's:

1. soundchoice & dk karoeoke both at the top
2. legends (more so for the hard to find selections than the music
3. pioneer
4. all hits
5. music maestro and sunfly

reason for this is when I started out 13 years ago all we had was
dk discs 1-40, and only having those disks became the standard to go by. That was pretty much all I used, and as the new catalogs came out I always bought the new dk discs. Then someone brought in pioneer and I thought that was great for the variety of songs. Then I found soundchoice disks and I was just blown away with the muical selections (espec the rock discs like the eagles disc or the stuff from pink floyd and pearl jam) - always right on the money. From there it was pick and choose based on hard to find stuff like the Bob segar Compilation from all hits or the tom jones disk from sunfly.

I think the biggest factor when it call comes down to it is this.

Does the quality of the disk justify how much it costs to buy???

I'll pay the price as long as the quality is there. Even on the hard to find stuff that some companies won't do because of copyright restitctions - if its made overseas (ie: Legends) i'll still buy it if its a song not available on any other format and the music is of a fair quality. At least this way I'm offering the most variety and diversity of music to the customers that come to shows and hire us for parties again and again. They look at the selections available and go wow!! That makes it all the more worth it.

[SteveWalker]

Originally posted by jumpmaster
Yea, I agree with Danny_G. Also, I feel that Chartbusters are a good choice.

Sound Choice seems to always have a great sound, they are a bit pricey though. I don't concentrate on them, but try to find another brand where I can get a good review and good price, then buy that.

In the Inexpensive Category, I like Priddis tracks (often free with cdg player purchases)

I also like the Sweet Georgia Brown for the price. I think I would put them in the hit or miss category, but for the price I'd buy them again.

The Legends and Backstage are hit or miss, but there are a few of these I consider important to have. For example the Legends CCR is a great disc as is the Backstage Eagles disc.

Star Disc is hit or miss also, but I find most of them pretty good. Admin note: Massive user feedback to us indicates Star Disc may have the best quality audio around. They pay major recording studios for their music. Their lyric synchronization has been indicated to us as superior.

Top Tunes are bad in my opinion. The fun pack christmas is an example of top tunes misses. Most of the songs make you scratch your head as to what the heck is playing and if not for the screen display, you might never know what they were attempting!

Other than that, stick to Danny_G's list, and you won't go wrong.

The most consistent and best quality CDG's come from Pioneer and Sound Choice. Pioneer does well with all types of music from traditional to hard rock although Sound Choice guitar work is overall a better source for rock music. I purchased the entire set of Pioneer CDG's in 1995 and a couple years later, Pioneer replaced many songs on these CDG's with other titles claiming a copyright problem. I have most of the other manufacturers that you mention and suggest new users to use Danny_G's list. I'm curious, does MTU make or sell Star Disc CDG's???

No, This has been the feedback hosts singers have reported to us for years. StarDisc does use Karaoke Pro for their synchronization, so their "CDG production tool" is capable of perfect sync (the user can still mess it up ). Ches Dauphine (StarDisc owner) has told us they buy their music from professional recording studios with professional gear. Does that mean they have the best music??? What I have reported is feedback from multiple users by phone and emails.

[danny_g]

I like Pioneer's recreations for the most part but They need to list their artists as which rendention they actually use- Take "you've got a friend" for example- It is Carole King's version not James Taylor but every song list program I've come across and even Pioneer themselves list it as James Taylor's. Sound Choice is usually closer to the the atrist version that they list it as in their opening Graphics.

[TraxMasterDJRob]

SC good
SD ok
DK Never! I can't believe all the people talking about DK. Jeez, I thought you wanted quality. DK SUCKS

SGB iffy at best
MM SUCKS
CB ok
Best choice for Starting out is Sound Choice Foundation 1 & 2, then any SC cd-g spotlighting your favorite singers.
Just My Opinion-Don't get mad DK Lovers, it's all about the Biz.
Later

[danny_g]

sorry, for the cost of just the FOundation 1 I can get a better choice and range of songs with Chartbuster Essentials 1 and 2. Same number as both Foundations + better choice of songs+ decent quality as well+ less money that both foundations you do the math. I would go with the Chartbuster set and build with discs from Pop hits, Chartbuster, Legends(where they have songs that the previously mentioned ones don't have) and Sound Choice (again only if SC is the only one to have a song you feel you need).

[TraxMasterDJRob]

Yeah, CB is ok, for the price. But Sound Choice is worth the extra $$. You know the saying "You get what you pay for"

[George]

Right, you do get just what you pay for with Sound Choice including discs that can't be backed up, and are so cheaply manufactured the paint wears off the label side making them inoperable, with refusal to replace or offer replacements at a reduced price. Take a close look at some of the posts in the other forums regarding the horror tales your brother KJ's have have to tell regarding Sound Choice, and then rate them !

[danny_g]

Originally posted by TraxMasterDJRob
Yeah, CB is ok, for the price. But Sound Choice is worth the extra $$. You know the saying "You get what you pay for"

If you look at my post you would have seen I put quality as reason to go with Chartbuster. And CHartbuster and Pocket songs are the only ones replacing damaged discs at cost of shipping and handling. So if you want to pay for a disc that in x amount of years will be useless to you forcing you to pay full price to replace it because you can't back it up. Go ahead. I gues you have money to burn. I for one would have to have a very strong reason to even consider buying SOund Choice (I.E. they are the only ones who have come out with a particular new song that no has- and I am willing to wait four months to make sure it's worth it before I buy it and even then I have to see it in action at another bar to decide whether it is worth getting.)
Any customer that comes in and says I have to get the SOund choice version can buy it themselves and bring it with them as far as I am concerned. There are better versions of certain songs that Sound Choice has on other manufacturers anyway. Down With the sickness by Disturbed is one that I'm glad I don't have the Sound Choice as it leaves out most of the song. Yesterday by the bealtles is another I'd rather have a different version- The Music starts playing in the second part of the first verse in a karaoke player. I know I have the version and have tried it in a Pioneer 760, v-10, and a JVC single tray. All three plays the audio as if it is stuck in left position even though I have specifically hit the multi-plex button to the off position- The position that should be playing Stereo. These Karaoke Players with Multi-plex functions do not use true stereo when the Multi-plex is off.
ANother example of a better verison of songs made by some other than SOund CHoice is Shameless by Garth Brooks, The SOund choice version cuts out the ending while the Radio Starz and the Chartbuster versions both give you the full song. So I have taken the standing that I am willing to be behind everyone else in getting songs jsut so I can get the best version available. If it is SOund Choice okay but it better have other songs that I need on my system or I'll just go Pop HIts instead.

[SteveWalker]

Originally posted by TraxMasterDJRob
Yeah, CB is ok, for the price. But Sound Choice is worth the extra $$. You know the saying "You get what you pay for"

Come on, let's be honest. Sound Choice is the best and the difference in price is worth it!

[SteveWalker]

Originally posted by George
Right, you do get just what you pay for with Sound Choice including discs that can't be backed up, and are so cheaply manufactured the paint wears off the label side making them inoperable, with refusal to replace or offer replacements at a reduced price. Take a close look at some of the posts in the other forums regarding the horror tales your brother KJ's have have to tell regarding Sound Choice, and then rate them !

No-one has ever told me of this problem with Sound Choice CDG's. Half of my CDG's are Sound Choice and I have never seen this amazing phnomenom take place. I personally would be very concerned about this problem as it would damage my equipment. Yet, no-one has informed of this problem in real life. Must be the weather where you are or could be in the "X-Files".

[George]

Take the time to research the other forums on this problem.

George

[George]

Originally posted by SteveWalker


Come on, let's be honest. Sound Choice is the best and the difference in price is worth it!

Don't recall anyone critizing the quality of the arrangements SC puts on their reportedly poorly manufactured discs.

George

[danny_g]

All manufacturers have their faults-- Sound Choice included, especially in the lyrics area but that really isn't as important as making songs that sound good and are functional on every player- Sound Choice included. That Said-The only things I have against Sound Choice is some of their choices of versions, the edits they have done on certain songs, and trying to record the Beatles songs exactly in the method that the Beatles were recorded knowing that Karaoke Players will only play the left side of the instrumentation on one single song of the beatles- yesterday. The music does not come in until after the first verse is already halfway through playing. The only way I have been able to get full audio out of that version of Yesterday has been to go to a regular cd player with a digital out connected to my CDG decoder. Of course that means three of my CDG's that I own will play the lead vocals behind the person singing it as I don't have a multiplex button on my mixer/ Amp. As far as AUdio quality I have no problem with Sound CHoice - They are the best in that regard.