Karaoke Forums

From your experience could I expect that a wireless mic might not live a full and happy life in the hands of a Karaoke singer? What is your personal choice, corded or wireless and perhaps why you went the route you did. Also do you use higher quality mics or perhaps some that might not hurt so bad if they get damaged. For example I have some Shure Beta's and some Sennheiser 945's that I use in a live band situation. Would something like the Behringers or even Samsons be adequate for Karaoke. Thank you in advance for any input.

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

In the past I have usually used WIRED but my reg Saturday gig was running out of a safe area for 3 wired mics ( being next to the pool table and all ).  Everyone was tripping and stepping on the cables etc.

Any way a few months ago I picked up a CHEAP dual wireless set up for $49.
Mics are made of plastic and it is only VHF.  ( gem sound is the MFG ).
These things are GREAT for this venue. NO interference and the place is not HUGE so the mics work from end to end of the bar.  My regulars LOVE the wireless and they sound VERY decent.   They both run off of one channel and I would reccomend to any one to TRY them out ( they were so cheap I just bought another unit for a back up).   NO THEY ARE NOT $600 Shures and wouldn't be good in a place with lots of radio interference or outside in a stadium setting but for ME they are a God send

I have had three wireless mics. I have one available, but always try to set up a stage with the pro Shure, Sennheiser, or Audix mics I have on a stand.

I now use a single Sennheiser Freeport, which sounds about the equivalent of their 812, maybe not quite as good as the 835. It is not real tough, but then I only do non-drunk karaoke and not often.

I had a pair of AS-990 (AudioStream) mics that had very good metal construction but lots of "pop" and handling noise. They were OK for what I call "couch mics", which you pass out to singers who wouldn't ever sing up front at a party but who might sing along from the couch. The pop was somewhat reduced with a foam windscreen, but I didn't like them for pro use.

As a singer, I hate it when the host only makes crappy mics available. If they want to have lousy wireless mics, fine, but make at least one decent wired mic available for singers who care! I simply don't attend shows that don't have decent mics.

I have one wired mic and two wireless mics (Audio Technica and Shure SM58).

I let people use the AT wireless, but not the Shure. If they are a little tipsy, then they get the wired mic.

You can pick up a reasonable ste of wireless mics for a $100 which may or may not last a lifetime, but while they last, you will have happy karaoke singers. As people trip and stand on your cables, they also will set you back a pretty penny to replace.

You can buy three great cables with lifetime warranties for under $100. The good ones take a lot of punishment indeed, otherwise they couldn't offer that deal.

Right!  I use lifetime warranty cords, they get replaced every 6-9 months.  Just bring them in to GC for a straight exchange!  Haven't paid for a new mic cord in almost 10 years.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

i use audio technica freeway series for wireless as well.  i use an sm58 for myself.  the audio technica's are good, but you must be careful with the connectins at the back of the receiver.  they are very delicate.  i've had to replace two units due to the connections.  the mic itself is very durable and will give you a good sound.

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All work and no play make Homer something something

I use the AKG Dual Presenter wireless system, and i also have a cheap $25.00 Fender wired mic plugged in at all times. If they're a little rocky walking up, they get the wired. If they even think about doing a floor show with the wireless, next rotation they get the wired as well. I do not allow a walk through the club with my microphones.  :no:

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Sweet Little Me In Karaokeland........

I was looking at the AKG WMS40 Dual Pro myself which is closely related to the Presenter I think. I believe they use the D880 head on them which isn't to bad at all. The only concern would be that the receiver is a fixed frequency, i'm not sure if that might mean problems up the road with all the UHF mics out these days. How has yours been working out for you? I'd be half tempted to go back to the old VHF style, there should be fewer around these days.

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

Hi LondonLive, you know i live way back up here in the woods. And i have never had a problem with outside interference of any kind, be it radio, cb, other wireless systems, taco bells drive up window..... And for the price, you can't beat them. A great quality set of mics, for a great price. If you are in a suburban setting, then i don't know. But i do like them, bang for the buck they're a good deal.

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Sweet Little Me In Karaokeland........

Really?  no audience performance with the wireless mic?  am i misunderstanding you or do you really not let the singer enter the audience?  why not?  the audience LOVES this for the most part.  i'm very interested in hearing your reason(s).  not saying they're wrong, i just don't see good reasons not too.

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All work and no play make Homer something something

I don't care if a singer wants to sing standing on his head, on one leg, laying down on stage, being carried on stage by the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders....he or she can entertain untill their little hearts content. But i am not going to let my wireless mic get passed around the tables, taken outside the building, droped, fought over, laid down on the dance floor while they dance during the instrumental part of the song. I have had to have my assistant search for to many mics. They take them out into the crowd with them, then after they are done singing, they don't bring them back. And no one seems to know where it went. No one at my club gets off on this, when they are standing there waiting for a mic. If they want to bring their own, they are welcomed to. Then i can simply turn it off after their done. But not with my mics. And it has been more of the gals doing this, then the guys believe it or not. ...."I want to sing the second verse.....no i want to...no i do"....next thing you know it's a tug of war with an AKG....

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Sweet Little Me In Karaokeland........

In almost all the place that I go to sing, the singers almost always sing from the floor... with cordless mic.
But..... but, the problem is that once in a while  the mic end up in the beer jug or walk out the door.

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

I quit using wireless mics for the 'out the door' reason - even if it's an isolated occurance, i'm not going to take the chance with an expensive cordless.  I used to let people roam the audience while singing, one particular night was busier than normal & I was trying to get the next singers cued up while people were at my booth turning in their slips - no one (including me) realized the guy walked out the door & into his car.  This was about 12 years ago.  Now we use only wired for the masses - SM58's.  Have 1 cordless for people that can't walk on stage or in wheelchairs & maybe contest finals.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

I agree with Lonman 100%...he's been there ....



Up here we don't allow it..that simple, if you want to send your mic's to a beer bath....have at it. Like i said, a customer is free to bring in their mics, CD+G's, jump up and down, impersonate elvis, bite off heads of chickens, swallow snakes......whatever....but you do it without my wireless {and of course...clean up the mess after yourself}  

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Sweet Little Me In Karaokeland........

That is the main reason why I hate cordless mic because people treat it as disposable. In the end we all sing with a real cheap $20 chinese cordless.

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

From what I've read it appears that wireless is not the way to go for the average situation. I will probably have one on hand for weddings and the likes but it appears that it need not be of the highest quality. I live near Kalamazoo which some of you may know is the home of ProCo so mic cables are not that hard to come by. As far as corded mics go, whats the cheapest I dare try and get away with? All your input has been very helpful so far... but I'm still listening. Thanks much

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

I've never had a problem with the wireless mics I use.

I used to use the AS890s, but didn't like the knobs that turned the volumes up and down on the receiver end. The manu fixed this with the as990s.

STILL use them to this day.

Also, for a single wireless mic, the AudioTechnica mics that Rat Shack sells for a hundred denero are pretty decent.

I do understand where other kjs that use the wireless shures and stuff talk about buying the more expensive and quality mics as they have lifetime warrenties. But since I was on a tighter budget, I went with something a little less stressful on my pocketbook!

I prefer the wireless over the wired mics any day!

An SM58; not because it is cheap but because it will out-perform and out-live most cheaper mic. The better singers know how to handle it and the it is immune to abused (all most).

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott