Excuse to sing "November Rain" needed
June 22, 2010 9:25 AM Subscribe
At-home karaoke party in Albany, NY: Is there a convenient, reasonably inexpensive way for us (me and my co-workers) to get a karaoke machine set up for a one-time, casual, outdoor get-together?
My co-workers and I like going to karaoke bars together, so now we'd like to incorporate karaoke into a barbeque that our boss is hosting in his backyard next week. None of us has dealt with a karaoke machine before, so we don't really know what we're doing. I sort of assume this would be outdoors to go with the BBQ, but indoors is also an option.
Though we're mainly looking to rent a machine since we only need it for one night, I've also considered going on Amazon, buying a karaoke machine in the cheap range (less than $100), and having us split the costs and let anyone who wants it keep it. But many of these have very negative customer reviews, which is not surprising to me since there are so many ways a karaoke machine could go wrong (including not having music included, or having a poor selection of music). So, I am willing to get something from Amazon, but I'm also wary of relying on that.
Any suggestions?
(I found Albany Theatre Supply, which claims to offer karaoke, but their website doesn't really work. In particular, the "karaoke" link goes nowhere. I sent them an email inquiry several days ago but they never responded.)
My co-workers and I like going to karaoke bars together, so now we'd like to incorporate karaoke into a barbeque that our boss is hosting in his backyard next week. None of us has dealt with a karaoke machine before, so we don't really know what we're doing. I sort of assume this would be outdoors to go with the BBQ, but indoors is also an option.
Though we're mainly looking to rent a machine since we only need it for one night, I've also considered going on Amazon, buying a karaoke machine in the cheap range (less than $100), and having us split the costs and let anyone who wants it keep it. But many of these have very negative customer reviews, which is not surprising to me since there are so many ways a karaoke machine could go wrong (including not having music included, or having a poor selection of music). So, I am willing to get something from Amazon, but I'm also wary of relying on that.
Any suggestions?
(I found Albany Theatre Supply, which claims to offer karaoke, but their website doesn't really work. In particular, the "karaoke" link goes nowhere. I sent them an email inquiry several days ago but they never responded.)
Maybe a video game XBox/PS3 version will work? Someone probably has a system and buying the game/mic shouldn't be too expensive. I'm not sure how good the games are, but it's another option!
posted by Swisstine at 10:17 AM on June 22, 2010
posted by Swisstine at 10:17 AM on June 22, 2010
It's a bit kludgy, but you can do this for free with YouTube. Put together a playlist and connect your laptop to your stereo and TV.
posted by AmitinLA at 10:34 AM on June 22, 2010
posted by AmitinLA at 10:34 AM on June 22, 2010
Response by poster: It's a bit kludgy, but you can do this for free with YouTube. Put together a playlist and connect your laptop to your stereo and TV.
Well, we need special instrumental versions of the songs. Also, the singer will need a microphone.
posted by Jaltcoh at 10:37 AM on June 22, 2010
Well, we need special instrumental versions of the songs. Also, the singer will need a microphone.
posted by Jaltcoh at 10:37 AM on June 22, 2010
The link was to the instrumental version of the song with lyrics. A mic is pretty easy to hook up to a stereo or a cheap Radio Shack mixer.
posted by AmitinLA at 10:39 AM on June 22, 2010
posted by AmitinLA at 10:39 AM on June 22, 2010
Response by poster: The link was to the instrumental version of the song with lyrics.
Ah, thanks (I wasn't able to check it before I commented). It's still an open question how easy it is to find such tracks for lots of other songs people might want to sing.
posted by Jaltcoh at 11:29 AM on June 22, 2010
Ah, thanks (I wasn't able to check it before I commented). It's still an open question how easy it is to find such tracks for lots of other songs people might want to sing.
posted by Jaltcoh at 11:29 AM on June 22, 2010
Response by poster: Hm, we're pretty much looking for a karaoke machine. If it's not a single, unified machine, it just seems like there'd be too much of a hassle to try to amplify everything -- both the accompaniment and the voice.
posted by Jaltcoh at 1:15 PM on June 22, 2010
posted by Jaltcoh at 1:15 PM on June 22, 2010
Pretty much any medium-to-large party rental outfit will have machines available. Google turned up Albany Party Warehouse, Bouncealot, and Giuliano's Party Rental.
If you decide to go DIY, you might also check out the open source PyKaraoke. As mentioned above, any RadioShack will have cheap microphones and mixers.
posted by eamondaly at 12:05 AM on June 23, 2010
If you decide to go DIY, you might also check out the open source PyKaraoke. As mentioned above, any RadioShack will have cheap microphones and mixers.
posted by eamondaly at 12:05 AM on June 23, 2010
Response by poster: We ended up not doing karaoke and having live performances instead.
posted by Jaltcoh at 6:51 AM on July 8, 2010
posted by Jaltcoh at 6:51 AM on July 8, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by yerfatma at 9:36 AM on June 22, 2010