KARAOKE CYCLOPAEDIA

Almost everyone loves to sing, whether or not they have the voice for it is considered insignificant. Also, the best man-made invention that allows people to satisfy their crooning desires is probably no other than the karaoke machine.

A Little Bit of History

The word karaoke, often mispronounced with a long e at the end instead of a short one, originated from a Japanese word meaning empty orchestra. A karaoke machine enables to a player sing a song without the accompaniment of any primary voice, and read the lyrics from a monitor. Initially afforded only by wealthy individuals and public venues such as restaurants and nightclubs, the karaoke machine gradually gained popularity, and its use soon spread to the United States and other European regions.

Types of Karaoke Machines

Karaoke Machines Using Cassette Tapes The earliest karaoke machine made use of cassette tapes and printed lyrics. Although this model is considered antiquated, some brand new models and lots of secondhand models are still sold in the market. It usually comes with a free microphone.

Standard Karaoke Machine There are two types of machines that are currently in use today - one that is coin-operated and the other, through the automated use of a remote control. Both, however, can be linked to a TV monitor and used with a microphone. Audio quality, pitch and tempo can be adjusted. Songs are digitally added to the karaoke machines database. Most standard karaoke machines are also able to provide users with ratings for the songs theyve sung.

Karaoke CDs

Instead of buying a karaoke machine, you can opt to purchase a karaoke CD. It can be played in your PC, VCD or DVD player and even your video game console. Although more compact, it doesnt provide ratings for players.

Microphone Based Karaoke Machines

A karaoke system is installed in the microphone and has only to be connected to the TV to work. Punch in the digits of your selected song through the keypad found on the surface of the microphone and sing away. Most models usually allow changing of chips for enjoyment of newer songs. Some are battery-operated as well.

What to Look for in a Karaoke Machine

Audio Quality Some karaoke machines have extremely powerful audio quality, powerful enough to make even the worse voices sound tolerable. Besides voice projection, make sure that the karaoke machine also allows the user to manage and modify audio quality through manual control of bass, pitch, tone and other sound elements.

Video Graphics

Can the background used on songs be changed? Are the graphics viewable for all ages?

Portability If you like traveling with your karaoke machine at all times, you might do better with a microphone based karaoke machine than all others.

Ratings

Several types of karaoke machines are not equipped with rating capabilities. Be prepared to pay for more if you wish to know whether your singing abilities are improving or not.

Song Database

Does the karaoke machine allow you to add more songs to the database, or at least change discs or chips so you can try out new ones?

Durability

This is tricky to determine although lower prices usually suggests inferior quality and durability; its better, however, to browse online for reviews on the karaoke machine youre planning to purchase.

Accessories for Your Karaoke Machine

There are several items you can purchase to improve the performance of your karaoke machine, keep it safer and generally have more fun with it!

Amplifiers Make the walls vibrate with the powerful resonance of your lovely voice when you connect amplifiers to your karaoke machine. Be careful however when buying amplifiers; if youre not an expert on sound quality, find one to help you determine the model that produces the best sounds for the price you can afford.

Connectors

Do you want to be able to use your karaoke machine through your desktop PC or laptop? Do you want to be able to sing while youre driving your car? Connectors will allow users to properly link their karaoke machines to the specified device.

Leather Bag and Other Safety Cases

Keep your karaoke machine safe from scratches and getting jarred by placing them inside leather bags or any other safety case sold in the market.

Karaoke is a form of entertainment where recorded music accompanies an amateur singer who sings along with the accompaniment on microphone. The music is of a well-known song in which the voice of the original singer is absent or reduced in volume. Lyrics are usually displayed on a monitor; sometimes including color changes synchronized with the music, on a music video is played to help with the sing-along.

Today, many karaoke singers seek the best karaoke machine models available for serious performers. The new karaoke machine for both personal and commercial use looks more like a DVD player. Several CD+G disks can be placed in multiple trays, eliminating the downtime between selections. An electronic key changer can raise or lower the original pitch by several keys in either direction.

Early Karaoke Machines

Early karaoke machines used cassette tapes but technological advances replaced this with CDs, VCDs, laserdiscs and, currently, DVDs. In addition, it is now common to use karaoke machines connected via fiber-optic links to provide instant high-quality music and video.

Basic Karaoke Machine

A basic karaoke machine consists of audio input, a means of altering the pitch of the music (not the singer) and an audio output. Some low-end machines attempt to provide vocal suppression so that regular songs can be fed into the machine to suppress the voice of the original singer, however this is not very effective.

Common Karaoke Machines

The most common karaoke machines are audio mixers with microphone-input built-in with CD+G, Video CD, Laser Disc, or DVD players. CD+G players use a special track called subcode to encode the lyrics and pictures displayed on the screen, while the other formats natively display both audio and video. Most karaoke machines have technology that electronically changes the pitch of music so that amateur singers can sing along to any music source by choosing a key that is appropriate for their vocal range, while maintaining the original tempo of the song.

Kamikaze Karaoke

A popular game using karaoke is to randomly type in a number and call up a song, which participants take a turn to try to sing as much as they can. In some machines, this game is pre-programmed and may be limited to a genre so that they cannot call up an obscure national anthem that none of them can sing. This game has come to be called “Kamikaze Karaoke” in some parts of the United States and Canada.

Karaoke on Mobile Phones

In 2003, several companies started offering a karaoke service on a mobile phone. This is still a budding service and it is unclear whether this service will take root even with all advances in technology. However, today there are some interesting efforts for Mobile Karaoke with an amazing usability and compatibility.

Karaoke VCD

The takeoff of Video CDs in Southeast Asia is partly due to the cheap but tolerable quality, and partly due to the popularity of karaoke. Many VCD players have built-in Karaoke function. If users disable the singer’s voice and leave the music alone, they can play karaoke. In the past, there were only pop-song karaoke VCDs. Nowadays, different types of karaoke VCD are available.

Alternative Playback Devices

As the technology behind karaoke improved, CDs with graphics capability (CD+G) replaced the earlier cassettes. The CD+G format of karaoke disc, which contains the lyrics on a specially encoded subcode track, has required special?and expensive?equipment to play it. Commercial players have come down in price, though, and some unexpected devices decode the graphics; in fact, karaoke machines, including video and sometimes recording capability, are often popular electronics items for sale in toy stores and electronics stores.

Microphone Based Karaoke Machines

In addition to CD+G and Software-based Karaoke, microphone-based Karaoke players enjoy popularity. Microphone-based Karaoke Players only need to be connected to a TV - and in some cases to a power outlet, in other cases they run on batteries. These devices often sport advanced features, such as pitch correction and special sound effects. Some companies offer Karaoke content for paid download to extend the song library in microphone-based Karaoke systems. CD+G and Microphone-based Karaoke systems are typically also used at home.

Features

Here are some basic features of karaoke machines. Remember that the more costly the machine, the more features it will have and the better the equipment and accessories will be:

Speakers

The small speakers of a boom box have been replaced with 50 amp speakers capable of handling even the loudest vocalists. You may think all speakers are the same as long as they produce good sound. Not necessarily! Both Hi-fi speakers and Karaoke speakers will sound good when you just play music. But with Karaoke, your vocals play the most important part. Most Hi-fi speakers are not designed for live vocal frequencies so the vocals sometimes sound distorted or muddy and surpressed when singing loud. Also, microphone feedback is the number one killer of Hi-fi tweeters.

Microphones

Microphones are often mixed into commercial-level soundboards for better sound balance and vocal quality. You can get either corded or wireless microphones. Wireless microphones of course give you more freedom to move around. You can get additional accessories such as microphone cables and stands at an additional cost.

Display

A small television monitor may also be included on higher-end models, or the karaoke machine may have external plugs leading to a standard television screen. The karaoke singer selects a track from the disk and the lyrics appear on the screen as a guide.

Price

Expect to pay about ?104.17 for a basic karaoke machine. A professional machine such as DJ’s use will coat anywhere from ?377.67 to ?2,967.70. A good pair of speakers will cost about ?156.56 and a microphone will run about ?104.18. A 200-disk organizer will cost about ?259.00 These are just basic estimates, it’s best to shop around for the best deals or for a sale.

By Christine D

At long last, technology and value have caught up to the home karaoke machine industry. You can now get a karaoke system that has it all - a host of the latest features, 53,000 inbuilt karaoke songs, quality, and value all rolled into a karaoke machine the size of a slim-line DVD player! Wow! What is this marvel? It’s called The SongStation Karaoke Machine.

The ultimate in convenience, the SongStation Karaoke Machine is also a DVD player, CD player, and karaoke player in one unit. A plug-n-play system, it hooks up to your home TV or entertainment system in five minutes flat.

And that’s just the beginning. When you step up to sing karaoke, this little wonder has the power to make you sound like a star! Now you’re probably saying, “Yeah, right, it has magic powers. Let’s see ‘em.” OK, let’s look at how it does it.

This karaoke system gives you the controls to alter the pitch, key, and tempo of each song to best complement your voice. Then you can set the echo to just the right amount of reverb to make you sound like a professional. Want to sing duets? The dual microphone inputs let each partner have their own microphone, each with its own separate controls for volume and pitch. It doesn’t matter if one of you sings loudly and the other one has a soft voice. Simply adjust your controls of your karaoke machine for a perfect harmony!

Want to host a karaoke contest at your next party? The Songstation Karaoke Machine also scores your contestants. The score is based on how well the singer controls his volume, pitch and intonation, tempo, and tone consistency. You can also use the scoring feature to improve your own performance, and watch your scores get higher and higher as you practice to perfection.

Speaking of having a party, you can pre-program your own selection of your favorite 99 songs, or set the karaoke machine to run the private compilation of 540 hit tunes. You can even set it to welcome your guests for you with a customized Welcome Message or greeting. How cool is that?

What if you want to learn a new song? This karaoke system also comes to your rescue with a Vocals On/Off control. You can play the vocals with the music until you have it down pat, and then turn the vocals back off to practice your karaoke.

The only negative is you don’t have a hard copy chord book but at this price, you can’t complain much!

Yes, this latest trend in home karaoke machines can certainly provide you with hours of nonstop fun and entertainment for your family and friends. You’ll be the host with the most. And you can turn on the smiles with just a click of your remote control.

Ease, convenience, fun, and great value. No wonder more people every day are discovering the joys of the SongStation Karaoke Machine. – 15174.