Karaoke Forums

      Well, I've read with intrigue and professional interests concerning all the new and updated "add-ons", "upgrades", etc., etc., that are available to, and have been purchased by so many of the KJ/DJ's that frequent this forum. What I HAVEN'T heard about  :(  is how many of us still use "vintage" equipment, and what do YOU, in your own opinion, consider to be...."vintage"? I may be opening up a "new can of worms" but, being a "VINTAGE" DJ/KJ, ( 20 years, last 4 KJ) I'm a VERY firm believer in the K.I.S.S. methodology, and, " if it ain't broke, we can't fix it" ideology.
       So.....what I'm asking is.....do any of you still use ANY of the old stuff, and what, and why??!!
       Granted, modern technology has made our "jobs" easier, BUT.....ya just can't toss "DAD" into the rest home cause he's old and not looking so good. Lotsa performance miles AND reliability still left in the "old stuff" So....what kinda stuff are ya still hangin' on to.
       Oh ya,  LONMAN....I suspect this might be right up your alley. Am I right??

                            Looking forward to your responses,

                                            Donny "B"  :worship:

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It's a wonderful life!!

9 years in the business. I don't have any of the equipment I started out, it all has been replaced. I try and replace mixers every 2 years and amps every year. Pc's last 2 years. and wires I replace every spring. Nothing ever breaks if it is new. I like constant upgrades, my amps get more powerful every year along with my speakers.

My most vintage piece of equipment is a JVC triple tray that is about 4 years old, it is no longer in use and resides in my entertainment center. Since we put a PC in the entertainment center we never use anything, all music and karaoke is on hard drive.

Non electrical I have my SBK cases that I bought when I first started, that is all.
They are indestructable.

Lyquid, why on earth would you change out your equipment that often.  It seems like a waste of money to me.  We upgraded our mixer about 5 years ago and changed our amp/speakers about 3-4 years ago.  The old was a peavey mixer (about 10 years old) and a Yamaha 2500 amp and Yorkville Elite Micron 600s.  The new is Behringer MA2004 board and Yorkville NX520s.  Pro equipment should last at least a minimum of 5 years of daily use.

I use the old gear for double booked shows and it still sounds pretty good though there is some tweaking that needs to be done for the board (hoping to get something new later this year) something like when you have an older car.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

 Hi guys,
   Where I AM a novice poster, I'm NOT a novice DJ/KJ. I have to somewhat agree with Timberlea in regards to "expected" lifetime of equipment. Let's face it guys, warrantees are only as good as how long the company that makes them stays in business. There's been a lot of "fly by night" outfits that cashed in quick and got out even quicker. But c'mon guys, you have to admit that some of those "older/vintage" pieces, like Soundcraftsmen, Phase Linear, etc., etc., still are up to snuff with the power aspect. Yep, they're heavy...in weight AND reliability. I still have an old Numark mixer (1850) from my DJ days. Grabbed a Gemini 6500SE for my "mobile" rig, and to this day, still use a Gemini KM 707 for my KJ gigs. Now those are "vintage" by todays standards.....by far. But...they work flawlessly and, just like a car, have to have their "tune-ups" to keep them running. Actually, the newest piece of equipment is my Numark CDN25+G that I got about 2 weeks ago and "christened" it at an 8 hour gig last Saturday. It was a combination DJ/KJ event, and the Numark was awesome. Cosmetically pleasing, and VERY user friendly. Speakers??? Well believe it or not...I still use my "tried and true" SONICS!!!! Remember those? Can't kill them. And, I'll probably use them until they (or I) croak.
  So thanks for the responses, but my original inquiry has not yet been satisfied;
what stuff are you guys hanging on too,....and why!!!

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It's a wonderful life!!

I upgrade equipment often as possible for tax purposes. I depreciate equipment to 0 value in 2 years. Buying new equipment makes my profit lower on paper and I sell the old equipment to make up the cost of buying new gear.


Amps: 1 year life $440 each Crown XLS 602 $1.76 per gig

Speakers:  2 year life $1200 a pair $2.40 per gig

Computer: 2 year life $1200 - $2.40 per gig

Mixers: I used mackie ony but Now I use Yamaha $270 2 year life $0.54 per gig


So at a cost of $7.10 per gig why would I not upgrade my equipment as often as possible.

The Crown amps I generally get $300 for used Speakers generally 65% to 70% of original cost. Notebooks we have kept but buy new ones. Mixers I generally give to my friend as to me they are not worth anything.

Wouldn't you rather have new equipment all the time?

$7.10 a gig that's less than gas!

I am changing a few things as I am going to 3 systems now, but my accountant will crunch the numbers and make a suggestion what to upgrade and when.

Make alot of cents  I mean sense

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

Which makes perfectly sense. I do have question though. Are you maxing out your 401(k) and ROTH IRA contributions as well? At least you can have $14k as a tax deduction each year and save up for retirement. Are you married? Then you can double up on the 401(k). What about deductable health care seeing that you run your own business?

I choose not to use a traditional 401k I have had greater success with my own independant mutual funds. Health insurance, my wife still works and has very good heath insurance so for the time being we use hers, but if business grows to expected levels she will be running my office vs working her 9 to 5.

Donny, I'm a musician who loves tube technology,  LMAO  So you might've opened up a "can of worms" asking such a question; Still have an Altec Lansing VOT system in storage (1950's), my numerous amps are all tube; I go out deliberately searching for Vintage, and analog equip.. I won't get into it here in anymore depth, because it's of little interest to most here in this type venue. But even for PA, Few systems (again in my opinion) can touch the warmth (and of course cumbersome qualities) of the Altec Voice of The Theatre systems, or many of the older tube systems. Some say the difference is "subjective", naturally if it's "sound quality", it would be. Still, some have never even heard a well maintained vintage sound system to draw such a conclusion at all.

So yes..  In certain area's of audio IMO tube technology offered the listener the warmest sound, and if you ask certain old farts, we'll jokingly tell you that "State-of-the-Art" was back in the 1960's when McIntosh, Marantz and a few other names made equipment most couldn't afford to match sound on today in the audiophile areas..  Basically for PA, Allen & Heath can still be purchased today. They are among the "better" names out there.  They sound great too.. In the 70's when I was on the road, there wasn't as much contrast in sound quality between Allen & Heath, and other mixers of that time period..(this is my opinion only, don't want to get into a debate regarding old technology, I've been there and it's not a pretty thing)

I personally consider "Vintage" for anything Audio 1960's or earlier.  



See what you started ?    LOL

Well Steve, you hit the nail right on the head. Altecs.....wow...haven't even heard them OR seen them since I was in a band back in the sixties. ( Am I showing my age?) "Way back then" we used Vox "Super Beatle" amps, A Farfisa duo compact keyboard, EMC PA which I upgraded to a Kustom PA, ( had a Shure Vocalmaster as a backup) etc., etc., etc.. Yep, from an "old farts" point of view, you're point is well taken,.....and appreciated. Granted, "state of the art" by todays standard is probably more efficient from a financial point of view BUT, I've yet, like you said, to hear anything comparable to a well kept, "tuned-up" vintage system. So, thank you for that great response and you have a great day and a long and happy life.

                                                 Donny "B"

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It's a wonderful life!!

I don't replace equipment if it is working fine - no point.  I will replace for upgrading to better sound or if something is going bad (repairing a piece isn't an option) or also because of weight issues re amps (they do not need to be 1000 pounds anymore ).  I was laughing me (@$%&#!) off at the "Nothing ever breaks if it's new" comment though.  I've had stuff break down 5 minutes out of the box before (not to mention the DOA pieces that are opened new).  Anything CAN break at any time!!!  Newness does not mean squat here.
As far as my oldest pieces, I don't think I have anything older than 10-12 years old - some of which would blow any of the "new" gear away of today.  I have/use Symmetrix 501 compressors (manu'd 92), dbx 166 compressors (not the A or XL series manu'd 93) all replaced Alesis 3630 compressors - this would be a better sound replacement even though they are older units than the Alesis.  I have 2 Peavey SP4ti (bought in 92) & 3 SP5g (bought in 94) speakers that are still running strong (baskets & diaphragms do get replaced at least 1 per 2 years due to smoke).  Most of the rest of the equipment is around 5 years old or newer.

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 :biggrinthumb:

Well Lonman, I was wondering when (if) you'd put some MORE comments to this post. I had a feeling that, judging by what I've read in previous posts, that you probably had your fair share of vintage stuff. Like I said before, "if it ain't broke, we can't fix it" and it's nice to know that there are some people who believe and practice the ideology that NEW is NOT necessarily BETTER. I really enjoyed sticking this topic out there. Just wanted to see how many "die-hards" are left. As always, your comments were appreciated and......they make !!!! (why'd it take you so long ) Have a happy and healthy life.


                           Donny "B"

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It's a wonderful life!!

[quote="Donny B @ Thu Sep 29, 2005 12:37 pm(why'd it take you so long ) "][/quote]

I was out of town from the 20th-28th.  Playing catch up on the reading today.

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