Karaoke Forums

Hello from Australia,

I'm a karaoke lover, I sing almost 2-3 times /week with friends and family at home for 3-4 hours straight. I'm very into pro sound system stuff and had childhood dream of becoming a prosound guy, things didn't turn out but prosound and karaoke have always been my most expensive hobbies (according to my wife ) .

I've been progressively investing on my gears for the last few years and now have put together a quite decent system which I'm very proud of.Now and then I volunteer to host karaoke parties for friends and family for certain occasions such as Kids birthday , Baptism , Weddings...(the most attended so far is up to 300 people at a large Wedding reception 100m2)

With the current knowledge level (amateur only) and gears I'm currently own I then decided to start my part time business in hosting karaoke for parties (wife said I cant keep spending on expensive equipment and not earning a dime from it) . So after spending some money on local ads and through words of mouth I got 2 weddings under my belt for next month at the same venue (just out of coincidence ) .

I mean it's obviously not my first time running karaoke host or setting up system for wedding but I'm now under pressure of "getting paid to do it" and I better do it professionally otherwise Previously I've done pretty good jobs and was quite casual without planning much, I just rocked up earlier set things up and go. Now as things get a bit formal I'm kinda nervous .Can you please give me some advise of things that I need to prepare or any tips for a first timer , appreciate all ideas.

Kevin

Probably the biggest concern, is having a piece of equipment fail. Especially at an important event like a wedding. If you are using state of the art equipment, it's rare but things do happen. Remember, computers can crash, speakers can blow, amps can fail, etc.

Do you have a back up laptop? An extra amp? A second set of speakers?

The thing is, be prepared. Sometimes, you just never know. Doing karaoke at a bar is a lot different than a once in a lifetime event like a wedding. That's why you'll always see wedding photographers with multiple back-up cameras and equipment, "just in case".

I have done weddings in the past but now stick with DJ/karaoke because they are too nerve racking. It's all on you. If something goes wrong, you just ruined their special day. If something goes wrong in a bar, aside from some disappointment by the singers and some embarrassment on your part, nobody's day is going to get ruined. Big difference.

If you're uncomfortable with this, I would recommend leaving the weddings to the pro's who have much more experience and expertise.

Good luck.

By the way, can you list the equipment you will be using?

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

"equipment failed" <--------wow this is so true to take note!

No, deal is made I will do my best to make sure people is gonna have a great time.Thanks for the suggestion on having multiple back up equipment that will definitely on my "must do " list.

For equipment I'm going to use all active speakers so their wont be any amp to carry around :

2 x RCF ART 15" (MAIN)
2 X ALTO TS15 (used as monitor as well as back up if mains go wrong)
1 X MACKIE THUMP 18S SUBWOOFER
1 X MACKIE DL1608 MIXER (main )
1 x Yamaha mg10(back up)
4 wired mics + 1 wireless (they can't fail altogether at the same time I guess)
1 main laptop and a back up one

I will be borrowing my brother's van so may be I leave all back-up stuff in there instead of taking everything in due to the reception is upstairs , hope I don't need to use them but just in case.

Any other idea of what other things need to be considered?
Thanks very much for helping.

Since the very good point has already been made about being prepared from a technical standpoint, I'll offer this bit of advice as it pertains to weddings: prepare yourself to emcee a wedding. Practice. It seems silly to practice, but practice. Sometime before any wedding that I do, I take an entire night to go over the wedding worksheet the client has filled out and put every song in order, listening to every song front to back to make sure it's the right version, it's not a mis-labeled file, it doesn't skip, etc. Practice names, patter, everything. It's a wedding; that's a big deal, and you only get one shot. My wife is a wedding photographer. We've had overlap on many weddings, and directly before we work, she's the picture of confidence and I'm a nervous wreck, which is the direct antithesis of our usual dynamic. She knows she has to get her shots, yes, but imperfections can be sanded down in post-production; I'm entirely live and I only have one chance to get it right and I take it seriously.

That being said, you can only prepare yourself for so much! I've had some interesting hiccups occur at weddings, and I've learned from each one. If you bounce back from a gaffe smoothly, it'll be ultimately endearing, so don't get too deep into your own head when things don't go as perfectly as you want. Two years ago, I did a wedding where I was announcing the wedding party and introduced the Maid of Honor as the Best Man in front of 250 wedding guests and an expensive, accomplished videographer. My heart dropped and I was mortified, but I caught myself, cocked my head to the side, raised an eyebrow, paused, and briefly dropped my big "wedding emcee" voice to say "let's go ahead and try that again". Redid the introduction smoothly, and on with the show.

Later I caught up with bride & groom for a post-ceremony drink. I brought up the incident and they laughed, saying they loved how casually I played it off. We threw a few back in the hotel bar that night, and began a friendship that lasts to this day. Every time Stephanie shows up to one of their parties, the wife says "and you remember my Best Man, right, Drew?" Which is such a little trivial story, but being adaptable is what really makes you a professional. And if you don't get at least a little bit nervous before you do a wedding, you don't care enough.

One final note: in my experience, you have to have the patience of a saint to deal with wedding guests. People will come up to you, totally three-sheets after a few hours of open bar, and make the day about them. I can't describe to you how many people have asked me to play their wedding song at somebody else's wedding, or how many people have attempted to overestimate their importance to the union at hand ("no, seriously, I like basically RAISED the bride as my own, so I'm kind of entitled to hear this Bob Seger song in the middle of this dance set"), or how many people fly off the handle when I tell them that playing what the bride and groom want to hear is, shockingly, more important to me than playing their request.

Weddings can turn people into animals. Be prepared for that.

My advice to you is to have a singer rotation plan ready and try not to deviate from it. There are many different ways to handle singer rotation. Whatever method you choose, be ready to verbally give reasons why you do it that way in case someone challenges your method. You can't make everyone happy. There will always be that person who just wants to complain... about anything.

Good luck! I wish you the best with everything!

I hate to dispute this point, especially since I have NEVER hosted Karaoke for a Wedding Party, BUT, I would say that it's safe to say, like a private Party, Rotation goes out the window when it comes to doing these functions. Make sure you have at least 4 or 5 mics hooked up, because you are probably going to get groups (probably the same groups) of people coming up to sing for every single song. Just try to go with whatever the flow dictates.

I must concur!!

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

I also have to echo cueball's suggestions. If you are going to do primarily weddings, always remember the people who hired you might want to call the shots on how or who does most of the singing. After all, it is "their" special day, and it is your job as a professional host to cater to their needs and wishes wherever and whenever possible. The rest of the guests are secondary to the bride/groom.

I've done 3 Karaoke weddings. 2 straight, 1 gay. Most weddings I've done were DJ (50 or more). Almost all go the same way! Be loose be flexible and most imported be fun and have fun. If you are, so will most everyone in the room! AND don't drink (drink water of course) till the party is over.

I second the multiple mics.
An inexpensive 4 channel wireless setup and for safety to your ears and the gear, A 4 channel single space compressor. Behringer and dbx make decent usable ones on the cheap. Compression and limiting on the mics is much more important than the track.
Take a touch of the mids out of the track (at the mixer) to help singers cut through rather
than trying to place them on-top of the backing track. (Especially sunfly trax)
The rotation rules go out the window on private parties, especially kids Parties.

ART15... OOOOOUUUUUCCCCHHH!!!!
I had a bunch of Art15 and 12 for pro sound use... They are rather heavy (understatement) to be lifting up onto stands. While I absolutely adore them soundwise you should consider the following unless they were recently re-issued NEW in the last two years and I am unaware of this.

The tilt back cabs work very well as monitors and they are HEAVY as hell.
The speaker components have not been made in many years and repairing one
will never sound the same.
The amp modules are rather difficult to fix reliabily.
I would use them as the monitors and toss the Altos on stands if lighter.
I do still have one Art12 for personal monitor use (Fixed 4 times in 10 years).

As far as an external amp is concerned... you are not saving any weight, only cables.
I set my crown on top of the Alto15 or FBT18, loop through the sub w short XLR cables, run one short 12 ga up a speaker stand next to it and one long around the stage.
I use NEO driver 15 cabs I can lift with one finger...really. Easier on the back, and anyone can catch the falling stand/speaker should a drunk slam into it or the wind take it over. (you should use a safety line when possible)
The heavy self powered will snap off the stand if stand is caught, and or send a rather heavy cab into somebody breaking something on their body. USE STEEL stands.
Additionally by using an external amp on the tops you can "fudge" settings to get a little more out of the system as you get more familiar with the components.
Singers HATE it when you push music hard enough to hit the built in amp limiters so that the music drops when they belt. I strongly urge light weight passive tops and ext amps.
PLUS.. if an amp blows in a speaker, you are done....If an External amp fails, spares are EASY to buy these days used and it's a 5 min Swap without running around rebalancing.
Another BIG argument for an external amp:
You realize the gig is too big for two cabs.... now you have to rent/get two more matching powered cabs...OR... simply plug two more in.
If you start with a 100w amp and one speaker and you want 3db louder (not very noticeable), you have to double the amp power 3x. 100-200-400-800w. OR... wait for it,
I said wait for it.... Simply plug in another speaker next to the first and bam.. 3 more db on the same amp!!. Plus less wear on both speakers and less distortion, and
the system will sound "Bigger".

Get a roll around plastic toolbox or tool tote with the extending handle for your main speaker/power/audio cables. Toss in a couple extra of each. Leave it alone for gigs if possible (Grab and Go). Keep the mics, vga converters, other transmitters etc with the mixer rack. ( I keep 4wl n 2 wired plus batts and clips in a rack drawer under the mixer).
Have a second tote of some kind for lighting.
For stands, GOLF club flight containers work awesome and can hold 4 stands and a couple mic stands. The black ones that look like they could hold a rocket launcher. Once again a "Grab and Go" setup.
For a 30" main graphics monitor, I use a guitar amp stand. I added a single bar across the
back of the TV to "Catch" the supports on the stand. provides a tilted low profile setup that a floor monitor (Or the Art12) nestles nicely under.

Good luck and Have fun.

PS. Monitor lifesaving tip...If you use a not so expensive floor monitor... save headache by spraying the 12" or 15" speaker directly with Scotchguard Orange top. DO not do this to the ART!!!!!!. Spilled drinks can be poured right out of the speaker and the night will go on.
I've done shows in the rain with 9 monitors on stage and they survived for years after.
A certain big name speaker manu does this as a "weatherizing" option for $$$.
Wet speakers disintegrate very rapidly.

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Purple Frog Karaoke Cuz we all feel odd and love to "croak"

I am very loose with the rules at private parties as well. I rarely charge anything for them anyway. If someone does pay, they get what they want.

I have dj'ed more wedding receptions than I care to remember, but I have never done karaoke at a wedding reception. As a professional, I always have a plan of action, and yes that does include a rotation method. That's all I was suggesting to the OP.

If the rotation does happen to go out the window, so be it. Of course you must be flexible and adapt to situations on the spot. That's a given to me, however; I always have a plan of action first and that includes a rotation method.

Since the OP is new to hosting professionally, this is something he may not have ever thought about. He may also want to branch out and get a regular karaoke gig in the future as well. Knowing how to run a well organized rotation list will benefit him greatly, if he should ever decide to go that route.

I charge more for private parties than I do for my weekly gigs.

Most of my parties are more like a bunch of my friends getting together. I just happen to take my stuff to someone else's house. 9 out of 10 I just have people over to my house.

Every now and then an "outsider" will ask me to do a party. Then I charge.