Ingresar:     

Forum: General Discussion

Tópico: Karaoke & Singing with VDJ

Este tópico es antiguo y puede contener información incorrecta para la nueva versión.

Hi... I was wondering if someone else was using VDJ to Sing with and can share some ideas and whatever challenges you might be having... I am a VDJ Professional user... I am a DJ but also a professional singer.... I use a Denon MC6000 to dj.... I currently use CDG's inside a CD carousel for singing... doing it this way I can easily choose and change songs by dialing it up and hitting play... I can also control the volume of a song and also the key of any song with a quick push of a button.... everything is in a professional rack and rigght next to me when I'm singing.... it works fine.... the problem is that it's CD's and not digital... CDG's deteriorate after years of being in a carousel changer and and it's a pain lugging them around being extra careful with them in the carousel player

I was wondering if someone else also sings to karaoke tracks using VDJ (or maybe another program).... I know that I can use the Denon MC6000 but like I said, I do't want to be tied to the mixer as much as when I'm DJ'ing.... Singing is different than doing Karaoke because with Karaoke you can stand behind the DJ booth, load and work on the song all while another singer is already singing... I can't be singing and also tied to the mier like that..... What I like about using CDG's is that I don't have to spend a lot of time cueing up the next song or being hunched over a mixer ignoring the crowd... I want to spend most of the time singing instead of on the mixer.... I want it to be seamless... pick a song... play it... change a key if needed... all without bringing that much attention to it it... I can do that with CDG's but it's a hassle carrying CDG's in a carousel... I'm tired of that!....

Can anyone help me with this... now, I don't mind using VDJ, however, can it be used effectively without the Denon MC6000 mixer... I was thinking of possibly using just the laptop... run video into a TV for lyrics... and run audio into a Mackie mixer (because vocals sound better out of a professional vocal mixer than the MC6000 unfortunately... however, if I do that... would there be any challenges... any feedback would be appreciated....
 
Mensajes Tue 04 Mar 14 @ 1:08 pm
Just a quick note about seamless... Using CDG's is definitely not seamless. And every karaoke song has a blank lead in at the beginning and end. Then it has to load and unload the disc. I don't see seamless there. Using VDJ can be virtually seamless. You can create a play list and in the settings you can remove blank beginnings in the songs so they start immediately one after another. I don't play with the settings too much but I know they are there. It's that simple.

With a vga to composite(or other format) adaptor you can run the video to a tv and use the headphone out to connect to your Mackie. You don't need the Denon to be connected
 
funkmasterfrank wrote :
Just a quick note about seamless... Using CDG's is definitely not seamless. And every karaoke song has a blank lead in at the beginning and end. Then it has to load and unload the disc. I don't see seamless there. Using VDJ can be virtually seamless. You can create a play list and in the settings you can remove blank beginnings in the songs so they start immediately one after another. I don't play with the settings too much but I know they are there. It's that simple.

With a vga to composite(or other format) adaptor you can run the video to a tv and use the headphone out to connect to your Mackie. You don't need the Denon to be connected


Thanks for the info... I'll certainly try it that way... What I mean about being seamless is that all I do now with the CDG's is dial it up to CD#? and push play... I do that with one hand while interacting with the audience... I know that some songs have a delay... some 15 seconds or so... I use that time to talk a little with the audience... the song comes on and I sing to it... simple enough... I am a professional singer and do shows up to 2000 people... Cruise Ships to Atlantic City.... I also do restaurants and lounges where I do not have a "set list"... I sing a lot of requests.... if someone wants Michael Buble', his songs are on CDG #50... I just spin the dial to #50 and push play... I know just how long it will take for the song to come on... what I don't want to be doing is hovering over the laptop or mixer to search for a song... clicking a mouse or typing on a keyboard to get the song.... I hope I'm explaining myself well enough here.... I sing over 1000 songs... I believe there is a better way... however, I want to change not because of any problem I'm currently having handling the CDG's during a show.... it's more of a problem transporting it all or having a disc degenerate to a point of not playing or skipping during a song... that's embarrassing.... I want to go digital desperately....

There is also the question of changing the key of the song on the fly.... I have a Vocopro DTX5000G key changer in my rack now that will change the key of a song with the touch of one button.... not sure how easy that will be to do on VDJ on a laptop (the skin has it as a knob, not a button) so without the Denon Mixer, I will have to turn the knob with a mouse... not easy to do.... sort of roll it to the left or right to change the key.... is there a way to save the song with the key change in VDJ so I don't have to change the key while I'm "live.".... if not, that's OK... I currently use the Vocopro in my rack to easily change a key of a song I am about to sing... I can keep that piece of equipment in the rack and use that instead of VDJ....

I have no doubt that using VDJ to run a Karaoke show would make things easier because I am not performing at the same time... just loading the song, maybe changing a key and mixing for the singer.... I've run Karaoke shows before.... being the engineer and singer at the same time is a little trickier... I want it simple and you gave me some great idea's to work with... anything else would be appreciated.... I want to hear any and all suggestions....
 
Tomardo,

I use VDJ for backing tracks with my duo all the time aswell as DJing.

When we are playing live with the backing tracks (live guitar and vocals) we just use the internal soundcard in our laptop (I use a Denon MC3000 for DJing). We can set up a play list but even if we dont I can choose the tracks I want very quickly and easily and thats with a guitar round my neck.

We have changed the key of a few songs from the backing track and I either re pitch them in Soundforge or even just record them within VDJ with the key changed and use the adjusted recording in future when we get to a gig. (I do this bit at home) but if you dont want to do this then you can always allocate a keyboard shortcut to the key change knob.

Hope this helps.

John
xx
 
Currently I would say VDJ/Karaoke is not sophisticated enough for your needs, however I'm hoping for a vast improvement with the release of VDJ 8.

In the meantime I would take a look at Karma Karaoke for me it is one of the best on the market with all the bells and whistles a karaoke host needs.

Obviously there is going to be a lot of investment in time on your part in converting your files over to a digital format, if your budget allows you could actually go out and buy these all ready converted or use one of VDJ file down loaders until you have your new library set up, but remember these type of files are only "rented" and you will lose them all once you unsubscribe from the service, another point to make is you'll need to update your connection at least once a month to keep the license "live" on your machine. So if your away from a signal at any point when it is needed to be refreshed you won't have any songs to play.

You can pm me if you would like any help.
 
Graomi wrote :
Tomardo,

I use VDJ for backing tracks with my duo all the time aswell as DJing.

When we are playing live with the backing tracks (live guitar and vocals) we just use the internal soundcard in our laptop (I use a Denon MC3000 for DJing). We can set up a play list but even if we dont I can choose the tracks I want very quickly and easily and thats with a guitar round my neck.

We have changed the key of a few songs from the backing track and I either re pitch them in Soundforge or even just record them within VDJ with the key changed and use the adjusted recording in future when we get to a gig. (I do this bit at home) but if you dont want to do this then you can always allocate a keyboard shortcut to the key change knob.

Hope this helps.

John
xx


John... some great suggestions!... thank you.... I guess what I was trying to say all along is that I really want to use the laptop only without a mixer like the Denon mc6000.... and it looks like it can be done!... I can go from the Laptop directly into a Mackie Mixer and blend the song with my vocals from there (is that what you do).... do you use VDJ as your program or just use something like Windows Media Player to play the songs... I assume you don't need the lyrics to display.... I would because I do so many songs... VDJ and Windows media player (I think) will play videos with lyrics so I'm good there... I also like your idea about the keyboard shortcut for the key change knob... and if it doesn't work out, I have the key changer in my rack... You didn't say how many songs your duo plays... if it's 100 or so, it might be easier to maneuver from song to song (not much scrolling)... I have over 1000 songs and would have to do a lot of scrolling to get to some of the songs.... however, in VDJ you can set up different folders with different types of music, etc... I think I'm onto something here!.... any other suggestions would be appreciated!... by the way, do you use a mouse or the laptop scroll pad at gigs.... or do you think a laptop with a touchscreen is the way to go?
 
I use VDJ for karaoke. I have a denon mc6000 mk2 and an alesis mixer (for mics). I run the alesis into channel 4 using the alesis' rec outs. it works perfectly to add multiple mics.
 
Yes, we take a minijack to rca lead from the laptop to the mixer (we use a Yamaha 8 channel mixer) blend in 2 vocals, 1 guitar with the backing there.

yes we do only have about 80 songs in the set. however as you say you can organise your backing tracks into genre folders then when you are gigging, just use the search box to find the tracks you want or browse through the genre folders you have set up.

Good Luck!

John
http://www.echocyprus.org/
 
All great suggestions... thank you so much.... I have a question about what program to use to rip songs from my CDG's to my hard drive... I ripped all my regular CD's for DJ'ing with "Audio Grabber"... that worked great but it only rips MP3 and .wav files.... it does not rip MP3+G or Zip files... like I said, I have over 1000 songs that I sing (probably over 5000 in total)... can anyone suggest a program to rip CDG's to my hard drive in Zip or MP3+G's.... Tom

PS: I want to buy another computer... should I stick with Intel or would AMD work just as well...
 
MP3+G Toolz is what I use for ripping Karaoke discs.
Version 4 is the most recent I believe.
 
You will have to adjust, because you will not be able to have it all. I know you like to have quick access to your tracks, without having to look at the screen, but you have that now. However, you don't want to carry your disc anymore. There is always a trade off. Just think of what we did, before software. If you use Intel now, and it has been good for you, why would you change? I have never used AMD, but I have read enough about them to stick with Intel.
 
I would treat the AMD vs Intel in the same category as Ford vs Chevy. I have had both run just fine.
It gets down to build quality. I stay away from HP and go with Toshiba. I've seen a lot of failed mother boards from HP. I am not saying they are a bad company, it's just the amount of laptops I've seen with problems.

There are other vendors that have great machines as well. I currently have 4 Toshiba's that are still in use and working fine. 3 of them came with XP and are Pentium 4's.

Just look to see that the PC has all of the ports and features you want. Make sure the screen size and weight will work for you. Check all the hardware specs. And search for reviews, even reviews for previous models. See if there is a common failure or something with it.
 
Why would a professional entertainer be using karaoke tracks?! That's not very "professional" at all! I'm disgusted! I was a professional entertainer for 15 years and never once used karaoke. That's what's killing a once thriving community. Well done. Not.
 
The venue I work in has lots of bands, and most of them use either Karaoke or Midi for their backing tracks. I know it's lazy as hell but times move on.

The thing that pees me off is the amount they are paid for not even playing their own music.
 


(Los tópicos y foros antiguos son automáticamente cerrados)