Karaoke Players

I just thought I’d list some of the different brands of karaoke players out there and what you might expect from each of them. Just a disclaimer, any links in this post are links to amazon.com.

One of the bigger players out there is Singing Machine. They are a well known brand and have a wide variety of models to choose from. While there is the occasional quality complaint, on the whole they are a good system for home use. One of the most popular models is the STVG-999 Pedestal Karaoke system. It has 2 tower speakers, 2 microphones, a built in monitor and a camera that will display your picture on the monitor (or a TV, if you hook it up to one). You can click here to find Singing Machine karaoke machines on Amazon.com.

Another popular brand is Memorex. One of their best selling models is the MKS-SS1 (I mentioned this one in another post). Because of its high quality and low price, this one has been a big favorite. While they do have other machines available, they do not have nearly the selection of Singing Machine. However, they are good quality machines and it is hard to go wrong with them if you are just looking for a fun home system.

If you are looking for something a little more professional, you may want to take a look at a VovoPro system. They are a little more expensive, but they are worth the money. For a home system they are hard to beat. However, with the size and the price tag, these may not be the best option for the casual Karaoke singer. Click here to check one out at Amazon.com.

Karaoke Party Ideas

I like to be as social as I can, but sometimes it’s hard to keep everyone busy at a party or social gathering. I’ve found that this just isn’t a problem if you have a good karaoke machine available. A karaoke party can be a blast, and everyone will love it, even if they think they won’t (read my first post).

Here are some great karaoke party ideas to get you started:

Create a songbook of all the available songs (if you don’t have one already). Make more than one.

Use note cards or a whiteboard so that guests can write down their name and the song they want to sign. Play the songs in order so that nobody has to wait too long and everybody gets a chance to sing.

Keep the food simple. Chips and dip, cheese and crackers, deli meats and fruits are all easy to eat and let people focus on the performers.

Give out prizes – pick some categories like best impersonation, craziest song choice and most enthusiastic. Have guests vote on their favorites.

A little planning can go a long way to making a good party great, so put some thought into it, make up some nice invitations and go all out! Your friends will be talking about it for a long time to come.

Portable Karaoke Machine

A friend of mine recently asked me if I knew of a good portable karaoke machine. I immediately thought of a tiny little system I’d seen someone using that was a base with 2 microphones and plugged into a TV. I went to work doing some research, and I think I found the perfect portable karaoke machine. It doesn’t have as many features as other, bigger machines, and the sound is only as good as the system it is plugged into, but as long as there is a TV where you are going, it is super easy to set up.

My friend agrees that it is a great system. In fact, he went out and bought it and he loves it. It is the Magic Sing ET-18000. When it’s all packed up, it’s no bigger than a lunch bag, and while it is a little pricey (a tad shy of $300), it comes with 2000 songs and the ability to expand to even more. And all you have to do is plug it into your TV. The microphones are wireless, which is great for parties because then people aren’t tripping over cords all day.

It has some neat little features like scoring, effects and games. You can pick songs right from the microphones, just punch in the number and press play. You can adjust pitch and tempo for that “chipmunk” sound. All in all, my friend has no complaints, and this really is a great little portable karaoke machine. Check it out at Amazon.

Kids Karaoke Machine

I’ve been looking around for awhile for a kid’s karaoke machine, but I don’t really want to spend an arm and a leg for it. I’ve found a lot of good machines out there, but many are very expensive. Another thing I’ve found with most karaoke machines is that you need to buy music separately for them, and this can also get expensive pretty quick. I just need something simple that’s not a toy.

I think I may have found the perfect machine for my needs. I’ve read a lot about it lately and it seems to solve all of these problems for me. It is the Memorex MKS-SS1 SingStand Home Karaoke System.

At less than $50, I haven’t been able to find a cheaper system out there that’s not a toy. You can hook up any MP3 player to it and play your own songs, so there’s no need to purchase an entire library of songs. There is a button to remove the vocals, and while it’s a little distorted, it seems to work quite well.

It comes with one microphone, but you can add another, as well as an electric guitar. The speakers are built into the base and the sound is quite good. You can have a whole party with just this little system.

One drawback is that it doesn’t have a lyrics display, so you’ll have to print the lyrics out on your own. Still, you save a lot of money not having to buy the cds separately, so this is something most people are willing to live with.

The kids will love this simple system, and for the price, it’s hard to beat. Click below to check it out on Amazon.

Karaoke Singing Machine

One of my favorite party memories was when a friend of mine rented a karaoke singing machine for his birthday party. At first, I thought it was be a lame idea, but I soon found out different!

I’ve only ever seen karaoke in bars before, and the first thing I noticed was that, hey, my friend’s house wasn’t a crowded, smoky karaoke bar. That sure changed things a lot! So, warmed up a little, I sat down to take a look at the song list.

This was a rental unit, so they had every song imaginable, and I think we sang them all! We had a blast! We ate food and sang songs for hours, and the next thing I knew, it was time to go.

That was years ago, but I still remember how much fun we had. Today, you can buy karaoke singing machines that you can keep at home or take to parties with ease. Many a family has spent an enjoyable evening impersonating rock stars and divas.

Here’s to your home concert success!