Karaoke Forums

I hope I'm not tiring you guys with all my questions... But I like to pick your brain... I'm using a little guitar practice amp... it does a decent job... I'm wondering what, if any monitors do you guys use?

Thanks,

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Frank
Pelican in Flight KJ/DJ
Miami, Florida

I run 2 Peavey 2 way wedges on the front corners of the stage with it's own amp, eq & individual mix.

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

I use the jbl powered 10" cabinets they works great for monitors and you can even use them for mains at the smaller gigs. I keep 4 of them around best damn little speaker ever made.

I currently using a Fender PD-250 for my monitors. I have it left over from when I started w/ a VERY small venue and it works wonderfully for this. I'll likely move to a 10" or 12" powered speaker (JBL or Mackie) for this in the future though to cut down on the space and make it easier to set up.

I picked up a Roland Cube60 at a yard sale for next to nothing, cut the back a bit so it would be a wedge, and viola! there's my monitor.

I don't use one... the venue I do is small enough where you can hear yourself just fine

lonman don't you use the cfx12, I use the aux send to a seperate amp for the monitors, I guess it would have the same eq settings as the mains would'nt it....

I use a Fender 1270P powered monitor and am very pleased with it. Small, lightweight, nice sound.

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Sounds Great! Entertainment
Bartlett, Illinois

No, since the Aux 1 & 2 sends are pre-fader, they don't get any of the channel eq's & the built in 9 band is for the main outs only, which you really don't want the monitors to have the same eq'ing anyway. It would need it's own eq in order to eq the monitors - which is good to do for stage feedback control & stage tonal shaping.

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

Don't use any. You don't need them if you place your speakers properly. Places we play at have a seating capacity from 250-500. Also with monitors you have to worry about the idiot who points their mics at them.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

That is the biggest load of BS I have ever heard. Do you think that monitors are being used by the mucisians because their sound engineers do not know how to position the speakers? C'mon timberlea say you didn't mean what you wrote.

A professional musician in a band and a karaoke singer are two different creatures. Apples and oranges. I've yet to see an electric guitar make sound without an amp etc. They need the monitors to hear their instruments and their collegues instruments, plus they know better than aim their mics at the monitors.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

Now we agree on something!

What the heck are you trying to do, get crazy?

You fool!

That's not possible unless you have a complex trinometer with a scheduling duration calculator.

A professional singer is a professional singer whether they're at karaoke or with a band. The main difference with karaoke is that you often have singers that aren't professionals and don't know what monitors are for or how to use them to adjust the performance.

I've had singers request I turn up the monitors because they couldn't hear them over the crowd/mains. I have monitors but turn them down for people that obviously won't benefit for monitors but turn them up when they're asked for. Admittedly, in extremely small venues just finding a place to put the monitors can be an issue but in a larger venue it can be a real pain not having them since it takes so long for the sound to come back to you from the mains by the time you make any adjustments it's likely too late.

Not necessary? Perhaps if the bulk or your singers are hammered but those that are more knowledgeable will appreciate the monitors.

As for feedback, putting a feedback eliminator in and eq'ing the monitors seperately will help to prevent feedback problems for those that 'accidentally' point the mic towards the monitors (or don't know any better).

I confess - I use a pretty crappy setup for monitor speakers that I got off of eBay. A no name crappy amp and two no name crappy speakers. For the professional singer, nope it's not good enough. For the drunk baffoon with microphone they are more than perfect. Plan to invest in a better system down the line - but for $300 they are an OUTSTANDING setup.

Agreed that in small venues, setting them up is difficult, and in a couple of places I've sung, not needed. If the room has any size, I see them as a REQUIREMENT.

Oh ya, one other thing about professional singers - they don't tend to trip over their mointor speakers when moving around on the stage (surprised no one brought that one up).

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Despite the internet rumor, Karaoke is not Japanese for "drunk buffoon with microphone."  However, "rotation," is Japanese for wait your damn turn!

It's this mentallity that keeps karaoke in the standards as they are. Sure I get my share of drunk singers per night, but I tell you what, over the years of upgrading & getting better sounding equipment, I have also gained a better class of singer as well. People that don't care what they sound like will go to any system. People that like good sound will follow. My drunk to good ratio is probably 20/80% these days.

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

you know, I didn't want to go there, but glad someone else thought what I was thinking.

If you raise your expectations, and your standards, then your singers will also become of a better "class".

What I mean is, check out Lonman's setup at his club. He's got a fantastic looking singing stage. Great curtains, and you really feel you're the star.

Places like that will NOT attract Drunken buffoons, or won't for long. Also the venue keeps the people from BECOMING drunken buffoons, as they'll cut you off if you get too crazy.

also, you are the host. You have the right to refuse service. If someone is so drunk they can't walk, they sure as hell aren't handling my expensive microphones!

Don't get me wrong, I've had some people that were pretty drunk. Why? Largely because of the lax enforcement of the liqour laws near where I work in the summer.

Here in Alaska, you can't buy any more drinks if you're drunk, you can't enter a bar if you're already drunk, and you can't stay at a bar if you're drunk. Cuts WAY down on the amount of crap you have to put up with.

I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend. I take my trade very seriously and if I had the $1,500 to shell out on a pair of high quality powered monitor speakers with RMS to spare I would. But I don't. The no name setup I have is fine for Karaoke. If Maroon 5 showed up where I KJ or at a party I was hired for, I don't think Adam Levine would be very happy with my setup. If I was competing against Petrosa's or Bada, I would have a better setup.

When you're doing a lot of corporate events, private parties, and the regular club gig has their own sound system, well for me, I could set the bar lower. My monitors aren't bad - and if someone was starting out and didn't have huge money to shell out I would strongly advise put every cent you can spare into your mains and your main amp, and an EQ. Get these monitors, they'll more than cover you, but roadmap to replace one day.

I take my trade seriously and I surely appreciate the singer that tries and could tell Simon from American Idol where to stick it, versus the slob who makes my blood pressure go to 300 over 200 because they're twirling my cordless microphone around, hanging off of my portable monitor stand, and tripping over the wiring.

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Despite the internet rumor, Karaoke is not Japanese for "drunk buffoon with microphone."  However, "rotation," is Japanese for wait your damn turn!