If you’re building a quality karaoke system, you’ll want to purchase a karaoke mixer. If you’re looking at the connection process for your system, the mixer is placed between the player and the amplifier. The mixer is important for those component systems where there are not connections in the amp or in the player for the microphone to plug in.
The mixer, then, becomes the place where the vocals are “mixed” with the background sound from the player and are together sent to the amplifier and speakers. If you want to have video as well as audio, the mixer becomes a useful tool in that process as well. With a good mixer, you can control all aspects of sound and visual from one location.
Some systems, of course, have multiple audio and video streams, such as multiple microphones and cameras, and in those situations, the mixer becomes a vital element.
The features you may want to consider on a mixer is the number of audio/video inputs and outputs and what mixing controls you’d like to have for your system.
If you know you have multiple audio or video streams, you’ll need a larger, more powerful mixer with more connections to begin with. If you have a smaller system now, but think it possible that you will expand, it’s wise to buy a mixer with extra connections so you are prepared for any future expansion.
It’s always best to have a few extra inputs or outputs regardless of your expansion expectations so you have some flexibility if a piece of equipment fails and you need to make a last second substitution. There are some other features that you may find useful, such as a key control, echo, and a vocal reducer. The best new mixers utilize digital technology, so they provide a sound clarity that you don’t get from analog. The latest models even feature both digital optical input and coaxial.
With a digital input, you are able to get rid of the annoying “hum” that often accompanies traditional connections like RCA jacks. Additionally, since the sound travels digitally to the speakers, the clarity of sound coming out of the speakers is also enhanced. The echo, key control and vocal effects (such as reverb) may also be in digital, offering an outstanding sound quality.
When purchasing a mixer, be sure to look at the number of microphones you want to be able to use, since some mixers only offer one slot and others offer up to three or more. It’s likely you will, at some point, want at least two microphones for your performers.
If you have a more complex system, you will also want to look for the vocal cancel and vocal partner features so you can delete or add guide vocals if you have a multiplex karaoke tape or CD. The karaoke mixer, then, can be an important and powerful tool if you are building a truly quality karaoke system, and can be a useful and fun tool for any karaoke venue.
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