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How To: Karaoke At Home

I friggen love karaoke. While I am happy to do it at a bar in front of people, I much more prefer the Japanese style of renting a room and going crazy with your friends. It is surprisingly easy to emulate a karaoke room at your home and you probably have a majority of the equipment needed. I will outline how to set it up, provide the cheapest options as well as some upgrades, as well as some fun extras.

What You Need

  • A Computer with internet, an HDMI output, and a headphone output.
  • A TV with HDMI input
  • An HDMI Cable
  • An audio mixer with at least 1 XLR input, 1 aux input (red + white), a stereo output (can be MAIN LR or headphone out)
  • A PA speaker.
  • At least one microphone
  • At least 2 XLR cables
  • At least one 1/8th inch audio cable, or 1/8th inch to RCA cable
  • Willingness to use YouTube (or at least an invidous instance)

Item Recommendations

Computer & TV

I assume you already have a laptop and a TV. If you do not then I recommend a Thinkpad T4## series laptop and the cheapest, medium sized flat screen TV you can find at your local grocery store or on the internet.

Make sure your laptop has an HDMI out and it can connect directly to the TV. If you do not have an HDMI output, idk what to tell ya. I’m sure there is some weird work around with dongles, but if you bought some monstrosity like that, you gotta figure it out!

You also need an HDMI cable to connect the computer to the TV. Just get a cheap one. Amaz*n has them for like 5 dolla.

Audio Mixer

Okay maybe you do not have an audio mixer lying around, but there are a bunch that are reasonably priced online (or on craigslist/fb marketplace). Ideally you want a mixer with 2 XLR inputs, 1 aux input, a send and return loop (more on that later) and XLR or 1/4 inch outputs.

The Behringer Xenyx FX has an effect unit built in so you can get reverb on the vocals which will really enhance the experience. If you decide to go with the cheap option, you can still get reverb, but you will need to buy a cheap reverb guitar pedal. Because they usually cost ~$30, you are going to break even anyway. Just get the Xenyx FX.

PA Speaker

You need something to actually produce the sound. I dont know how media centers work, or what a sound bar actually does, so maybe you can skip this if you have a sound bar or something.

You can get one of those big speakers that light up and people cart around New York blasting music and assaulting your ears with. They are called Portable Party Speakers. But they are generally poor quality and lack sufficient inputs.

While this Behringer Powered Speaker doesn’t have lights, it is going to be more than sufficient. You do not need a stand or anything. You only need 1 for now. If you wanna «splurge» and get 2, go ahead, it is double the fun anyway. It is $239.

Microphones

The Behringer XM8500 is the best bang for your buck micrphone. At $20 you can easily buy 3 and be like “whatever, now I have three microphones”. You do not want to get nice microphones for this. If you are having family and friends over, these will take a beating and in the off chance it does break, you wont care.

They sound pretty good too. I would gig with one, or record a demo or something. Who am I kidding, I would record a full album with the thing, it is literally a knock-off Schure SM-58 which is the gold standard IMO.

XLR Cables

People act like cables are important. It is snake oil, just get 4 cheap 25ft XLR cables. go to the dreaded Amaz*n and get em. it will be like ~$40.

Computer -> Mixer Cable

Okay this is where it gets questionable. You have a few options:

  1. go from your headphone output on your computer with an 1/8th inch to a 1/4 inch TRS cable into one of the inputs on the mixer.
  2. Get a 1/8th inch to red/white rca cable to go from computer to mixer
  3. If your mixer has a 1/8th inch in, you can just use a regular aux cable.

There is not really any difference. If you go with the recommended Xenyx FX mixer, I would get 1/8th inch to RCA. That is gonna run you ~$8 on Amaz*n.

OVERALL COST

  • Xenyx FX: $140
  • PA Speaker: $240
  • 2 Microphones: $40
  • Cables: ~$50 TOTAL: $470

Okay it sounds like a lot of money. But the Computer -> Mixer -> PA Speaker turns you into a DJ at any party. It is not some dinky bluetooth speaker. If you go on craigslist I bet you can do it for under $300.

SETUP

I think this is pretty self explanatory.

Ready to ROCK!

Okay you have everything connected, your computer screen is showing on your TV. You mirrored the laptop screen and the TV, so you don’t have to manipulate the mouse while looking at the TV (unless you are into that kind of thing). It is time to start singing!

  1. Turn your PA speakers on.
  2. Turn the faders all the way down on the microphone inputs and slowly bring them up while talking into the mic, get a good volume level. If you need to, adjust the gain knob to add more volume. Ideally the gain is set so the faders, or knobs, are at 0.
  3. With your aux volume all the way down, go watch a video on youtube. Slowly raise the aux volume until it is similar to or a bit quieter than your microphone volume
  4. Once your volume seems close to correct, you can now start looking for songs to sing by typing in your favorite songs into youtube and writing karaoke after it. How about “Dreams Fleetwood Mac Karaoke”. Youtube has karaoke for like every song, even in other languages. It is sick.

That’s it. You are already doing it!

Optimizations

  • Create a youtube playlist. Allow your guests to add songs to the youtube playlist in order so there is no lull in the music while people look for songs to sing. They should probably be able to do this from their phone if you make the playlist public
  • Bump up the reverb and delay so it feels like you are a true rock star.
  • Get maracas and tambourines so people who are not singing can feel involved.
  • Mess around with the EQ and volumes until you get the perfect sound.
  • Turn the lights low and get cool flashing LED lights or something.
  • Secretly record everyone singing and then send them mixtapes of the songs you sang together.
  • Don’t post videos on instagram of your friends singing, that is lame and you should be in the moment. when I say secretly record people I mean like into a DAW or something, just hit record and forget about it.
  • Practice singing alone and keep a list of the songs you like to sing. You will forget when the pressure is on to pick a song.
  • Most people are shy to start singing, so you gotta be the initiator. They will eventually get over it. Everyone always has a good time.
  • Don’t let non-singers talk shit about people who are singing. that makes me so annoyed. You cannot judge if you are not actually getting up and singing.

I feel I need to post a video of me doing karaoke now… Maybe I will.

BONUS: My favorite karaoke songs

  • Rick James: Give It To Me Baby
  • Fleetwood Mac: Dreams
  • Beatles: In My Life
  • Cursive: Art is Hard, From The Hips, The Recluse
  • The Smiths: There is a light that never goes out, Heaven knows I’m miserable now
  • Strokes: Reptilia
  • B-52s: Rock Lobster
  • Carly Simon: Your So Vain
  • Michael Jackson: Remember The Time
  • Cranberries: Zombie
  • Frank Zappa: Uncle Remus
  • Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody (I have not done this in so long)
  • 荒井由実：雨のステーション、あの日に帰りたい、雨の街に
  • Happy End: 風をあつめて
  • L’arc En Ciel: Lies & Truth, 4th avenue cafe, 風にきえないで
  • イモ欽トリオ：ハイスクールララバイ
  • ロマンポルシェ：男は橋を使わない
  • kirinji: エイリアンズ
  • kinki kids: 硝子の少年
  • 山下達郎：sparkle、いつか晴れた日に
  • lunasea: gravity, i’ll, dejavu
  • flumpool: 花になれ
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How To: Karaoke At Home

I friggen love karaoke. While I am happy to do it at a bar in front of people, I much more prefer the Japanese style of renting a room and going crazy with your friends. It is surprisingly easy to emulate a karaoke room at your home and you probably have a majority of the equipment needed. I will outline how to set it up, provide the cheapest options as well as some upgrades, as well as some fun extras.

What You Need

  • A Computer with internet, an HDMI output, and a headphone output.
  • A TV with HDMI input
  • An HDMI Cable
  • An audio mixer with at least 1 XLR input, 1 aux input (red + white), a stereo output (can be MAIN LR or headphone out)
  • A PA speaker.
  • At least one microphone
  • At least 2 XLR cables
  • At least one 1/8th inch audio cable, or 1/8th inch to RCA cable
  • Willingness to use YouTube (or at least an invidous instance)

Item Recommendations

Computer & TV

I assume you already have a laptop and a TV. If you do not then I recommend a Thinkpad T4## series laptop and the cheapest, medium sized flat screen TV you can find at your local grocery store or on the internet.

Make sure your laptop has an HDMI out and it can connect directly to the TV. If you do not have an HDMI output, idk what to tell ya. I’m sure there is some weird work around with dongles, but if you bought some monstrosity like that, you gotta figure it out!

You also need an HDMI cable to connect the computer to the TV. Just get a cheap one. Amaz*n has them for like 5 dolla.

Audio Mixer

Okay maybe you do not have an audio mixer lying around, but there are a bunch that are reasonably priced online (or on craigslist/fb marketplace). Ideally you want a mixer with 2 XLR inputs, 1 aux input, a send and return loop (more on that later) and XLR or 1/4 inch outputs.

The Behringer Xenyx FX has an effect unit built in so you can get reverb on the vocals which will really enhance the experience. If you decide to go with the cheap option, you can still get reverb, but you will need to buy a cheap reverb guitar pedal. Because they usually cost ~$30, you are going to break even anyway. Just get the Xenyx FX.

PA Speaker

You need something to actually produce the sound. I dont know how media centers work, or what a sound bar actually does, so maybe you can skip this if you have a sound bar or something.

You can get one of those big speakers that light up and people cart around New York blasting music and assaulting your ears with. They are called Portable Party Speakers. But they are generally poor quality and lack sufficient inputs.

While this Behringer Powered Speaker doesn’t have lights, it is going to be more than sufficient. You do not need a stand or anything. You only need 1 for now. If you wanna «splurge» and get 2, go ahead, it is double the fun anyway. It is $239.

Microphones

The Behringer XM8500 is the best bang for your buck micrphone. At $20 you can easily buy 3 and be like “whatever, now I have three microphones”. You do not want to get nice microphones for this. If you are having family and friends over, these will take a beating and in the off chance it does break, you wont care.

They sound pretty good too. I would gig with one, or record a demo or something. Who am I kidding, I would record a full album with the thing, it is literally a knock-off Schure SM-58 which is the gold standard IMO.

XLR Cables

People act like cables are important. It is snake oil, just get 4 cheap 25ft XLR cables. go to the dreaded Amaz*n and get em. it will be like ~$40.

Computer -> Mixer Cable

Okay this is where it gets questionable. You have a few options:

  1. go from your headphone output on your computer with an 1/8th inch to a 1/4 inch TRS cable into one of the inputs on the mixer.
  2. Get a 1/8th inch to red/white rca cable to go from computer to mixer
  3. If your mixer has a 1/8th inch in, you can just use a regular aux cable.

There is not really any difference. If you go with the recommended Xenyx FX mixer, I would get 1/8th inch to RCA. That is gonna run you ~$8 on Amaz*n.

OVERALL COST

  • Xenyx FX: $140
  • PA Speaker: $240
  • 2 Microphones: $40
  • Cables: ~$50 TOTAL: $470

Okay it sounds like a lot of money. But the Computer -> Mixer -> PA Speaker turns you into a DJ at any party. It is not some dinky bluetooth speaker. If you go on craigslist I bet you can do it for under $300.

SETUP

I think this is pretty self explanatory.

Ready to ROCK!

Okay you have everything connected, your computer screen is showing on your TV. You mirrored the laptop screen and the TV, so you don’t have to manipulate the mouse while looking at the TV (unless you are into that kind of thing). It is time to start singing!

  1. Turn your PA speakers on.
  2. Turn the faders all the way down on the microphone inputs and slowly bring them up while talking into the mic, get a good volume level. If you need to, adjust the gain knob to add more volume. Ideally the gain is set so the faders, or knobs, are at 0.
  3. With your aux volume all the way down, go watch a video on youtube. Slowly raise the aux volume until it is similar to or a bit quieter than your microphone volume
  4. Once your volume seems close to correct, you can now start looking for songs to sing by typing in your favorite songs into youtube and writing karaoke after it. How about “Dreams Fleetwood Mac Karaoke”. Youtube has karaoke for like every song, even in other languages. It is sick.

That’s it. You are already doing it!

Optimizations

  • Create a youtube playlist. Allow your guests to add songs to the youtube playlist in order so there is no lull in the music while people look for songs to sing. They should probably be able to do this from their phone if you make the playlist public
  • Bump up the reverb and delay so it feels like you are a true rock star.
  • Get maracas and tambourines so people who are not singing can feel involved.
  • Mess around with the EQ and volumes until you get the perfect sound.
  • Turn the lights low and get cool flashing LED lights or something.
  • Secretly record everyone singing and then send them mixtapes of the songs you sang together.
  • Don’t post videos on instagram of your friends singing, that is lame and you should be in the moment. when I say secretly record people I mean like into a DAW or something, just hit record and forget about it.
  • Practice singing alone and keep a list of the songs you like to sing. You will forget when the pressure is on to pick a song.
  • Most people are shy to start singing, so you gotta be the initiator. They will eventually get over it. Everyone always has a good time.
  • Don’t let non-singers talk shit about people who are singing. that makes me so annoyed. You cannot judge if you are not actually getting up and singing.

I feel I need to post a video of me doing karaoke now… Maybe I will.

BONUS: My favorite karaoke songs

  • Rick James: Give It To Me Baby
  • Fleetwood Mac: Dreams
  • Beatles: In My Life
  • Cursive: Art is Hard, From The Hips, The Recluse
  • The Smiths: There is a light that never goes out, Heaven knows I’m miserable now
  • Strokes: Reptilia
  • B-52s: Rock Lobster
  • Carly Simon: Your So Vain
  • Michael Jackson: Remember The Time
  • Cranberries: Zombie
  • Frank Zappa: Uncle Remus
  • Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody (I have not done this in so long)
  • 荒井由実：雨のステーション、あの日に帰りたい、雨の街に
  • Happy End: 風をあつめて
  • L’arc En Ciel: Lies & Truth, 4th avenue cafe, 風にきえないで
  • イモ欽トリオ：ハイスクールララバイ
  • ロマンポルシェ：男は橋を使わない
  • kirinji: エイリアンズ
  • kinki kids: 硝子の少年
  • 山下達郎：sparkle、いつか晴れた日に
  • lunasea: gravity, i’ll, dejavu
  • flumpool: 花になれ
Tags: