Karaoke Forums

One night only, a room of 100 people, mixed, fun crowd, Friday night and they just want to party to music (no karaoke)

Karaoke DJ (no karaoke) vs Real DJ

both have 10 years of local experience. Who you got? Who do you think will rock out the party?

One night only, rock your best party with just music and crowd.

I'm rollin with the KJ

Who do I think will rock the party - I think the DJ will since they have to work harder to get everyone going, reading the crowd, watching body language, knowing when to move on to the next song if the current one isn't moving people.
The KJ is a host only, they don't really do anything like a dj. Yes they can create an atmosphere by pumping people up for singer performances, encourage others no matter how good or bad. Singers themselves will play a huge factor on whether a party will 'rock' or not - ballad hell is never fun and somedays - you just can't sway people to change their songs to something more upbeat. That is not a rockin party.

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

7 out of 10 DJs won't make a good KJ (despite what they think). 7 out of 10 KJs won't make a good DJ (despite what they think).

They are different skills, and practice (and focus) makes perfect. You have a much better chance of the committed DJ doing a far better job than the committed KJ. That's the DJ's specialty, it's secondary to the KJ!

Would you rather hire a Ford mechanic or a Mercedes mechanic to work on your Mercedes? They both work on cars

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C Mc
KJ, FL

i personally think KJ DJs are better than DJs
but maybe location (area) plays a role too in this question...according to population?

in my scenario, i gave both the KJ and the DJ ten years of local working experience

true, in 10 years, an average DJ will see a lot of parties. but in 10 years, a KJ's experience will be more diverse. i like the KJ's chances of rockin a party.

the KJs on this board that have done 20 years or more, I'd take them anyday of the week over a DJ, even a DJ with 20 yrs experience.

I disagree. I've done both. A straight DJ is far going to outperform a kj trying to dj. KJ's do not typically have the same skills or mind set - sorry. Kj'ing is much easier than dj'ing - ask any kj that has dj'd what they prefer as far as ease. KJ's don't have to pick the music - the singers do that. Many karaoke places do not have dancing capability so a kj is not going to know how to read the crowds reactions to songs or when to change a song that isn't working.
Population has nothing to do with it, kj trying to dj vs a dj that knows what they are doing - the dj is going to win everytime!

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

From a venue owner's standpoint, I'd rather have the dj. They appeal to a much larger audience than a kj and that's why they usually get paid more money. As Lon said, it's much harder to successfully dj than it is to kj. While alot of the dj skills have gone digital and computerized, they still have to lock in the right song selection and know the vibe of the room, etc.
From a personal standpoint, I'd take the kj. I love to sing and I love to dance. If the kj is doing his job, we rock the house all night long!!

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Sound Choice and Chartbuster Certified

Add my vote for the DJ.

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Electro-Voice Evolve 50... Taking Sound To The Next Level.

I agree with Lonman that being a DJ is harder than being a KJ. I would rather KJ than DJ hense the fact that I don't offer DJ services and call my regular music (non Karaoke) filler rather than DJ music or dance breaks. Personally choose classic rock to play when I don't have singers.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

I've done both and DJ all the way for a party. I agree with Lonman. You control what you play, you set the mood and tempo. As a KJ, you are at the mercy of your singers' choice of music. There is no KJ that can make a party out of three slow songs in a row, sung poorly. Talk about emptying the building. I've had many people come up to me after a night of throwing down the dance party at the bar and saying, "you really rocked the place tonight", and if you've done it, you know what it feels like to be in the zone and nailing the music choices to keep the dance floor full. I've never, ever had someone come up to me and say, "you really ran a fair rotation and even the bad singers sounded great" just doesn't happen. It's like being the chef in the restaurant versus being the server.

kinda silly question if you've kj'd and dj'd.

a party of 100 isn't going to appreciate a badly sung song, a ballad, or an annoying singer who can't keep up with the words or music.

A dj can and does change on-the-fly after reading and rereading a crowd, keeping it upbeat, creating mixes, and taking requests while ALLOWED to fade out a song. Try THAT while someone is singing!

and the op said "Karaoke DJ (no karaoke)". So a kj trying to dj without karaoke tracks? Leave it up to the PRO to do his job and use his skillset! Dj'ing is WAY more complicated than Kjing by FAR!

I do both. I DJ parties, and get everyone dancing, or Rocking or whatever else they want to do. Plus I like to make people laugh. I am not a DJ in the classic sense with turn-tables and stuff. I have never actually tried that. That is a TRUE DJ. Mixing and all that. Maybe one day I will buy one of those DJ machines they have out and start messing with it.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

Depends on the bar crowd for me. I don't keep up with much music past the early 90's. But if the crowd likes stuff before that (which they usually did at my bar) then I was just fine spinning tunes the few times I did it. It is hard to do decent fades on a single machine without a DJ program. I would never make a good dance DJ and would never try to.
For weddings, I always required a song list. I would sit down and help them with it usually, and it could change a tad on the fly, but I would never go into a wedding blind. Every wedding I've done the list has been dramatically different. I've also done some sweet sixteen parties and require the same. A sixteen year old girl will not have any problems at all coming up with a playlist. And they have all been different lists as well.

Since I do both I must be the king of everything kj/dj.

But you can NOT compare the 2 since they are 2 entirely different skill sets.

Like someone eluded to....I would not take my car to a motorcycle mechanic, or vice versa, even though they probably could do some general work on the opposing vehicle.

Guess I am not really understanding why the OP asked the question, since the 2 can't be compared.

I call BS. True more people may pack the dance floor on dj nite, but I bet any venue owner would rather have people buying drinks, rather than dancing.

So a packed dance floor of 100 people, or 1 on stage and 99 around the bar buying drinks???

I'll say the 100 people dancing buy just as many drinks as the people sitting. I've had lots of people come in and sing karaoke and drink water, can't say I've ever notice people come in and dance and drink water.

Ya but think about it. Who is more likely to buy drinks - a group of people that have been sitting on their butts just listening to the music, or people who have been working up a sweat dancing?

There are some areas of the country that have rules and regulations regarding dancing. Permits can be required to allow for dancing, and certain codes have to be met for venues.

I have been in bars where if someone is so much as tapping their foot to music on a jukebox, the bar can be cited.

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-Chris

Just to clarify, this is typically a matter of the venue being required to pay different, higher insurance premiums if dancing is allowed, as obviously the probability of injury and liability goes up quite a bit. It's not like dancing is banned, Footloose style

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C Mc
KJ, FL

I have done both KJ/DJ and for me the DJ hat is easier to wear. To me you have total control as a DJ and you can tell very quickly if the crowd likes what you are doing, or not. When I did weddings it was always DJ I would not do karaoke for such events, people want to dance at weddings not hear Aunt Minnie sing "Always". When you are a KJ you are more of an air traffic controller, and you do not have the ability to turn on a dime if necessary. The hardest thing to do is to mix the two since by trying to please everyone, you end up pleasing none.