Technical : Disc Reviews
By Leigh Balton
recently updated for 2003
Thanks Leigh, Johnny Stewart
Disc Quality Review Pages
- 2003
For informational purposes, here's a breakdown of some of the CD+Gs
currently in use, and what I think of their quality: (keeping in
mind
that this is JUST MY OPINION....everyone has one....LOL)
ALL HITS: Hit-and-miss. Some good, some suck. 8003 and 8004 are
excellent due to shameless sampling of portions of the original tracks.
QUALITY RATING: 5-8, depending.
AMERICAN GOLD: Good quality, good selection on the one disc that
is available. Same exact disc as All Hits 1001 & 8010. In and
out
of print.
QUALITY RATING: 8
BACKSTAGE: All-Artists discs. Pretty bad, but some useable
tracks. 9017 (Eagles) is okay, but the Queen, Buddy Holly, and Bee Gees
discs are downright horrible.
QUALITY RATING: 5
BASS-LINE LEGENDS: No personal experience with this brand, but
if they are affiliated with Legends, they aren't too great. Probably
too many repeats for anyone who already has a "starter set", anyway, as
they are mostly "karaoke standards".
QUALITY RATING: N.A.
CHARTBUSTER: Not bad, except that background singers can
occasionally be a little too loud. Graphics plain, but still
feature
key, length and intro information. This company has been tireless in
it's quest to release sheer numbers in a short time.
Mostly country for the moment, entering pop market slowly. Their
Dave
Matthews disc (40034) is definitely worth having, but beware - most of
Chartbuster's pop tracks are pretty weak, and have some serious wiping
problems....as much as a full page behind. For this reason, AVOID the
Essential 450 set....it's AWFUL.
However, this is one of the better brands for country tracks besides
Sound Choice, and they have a great selection of obscure country.
A
good second choice for those who can't afford SC. This is a
company to
keep an eye on.....if they clear up the problems with their pop tracks,
they'll be going places.
QUALITY RATING: 7-8 on country, 3-4 on pop, except 40034, which rates
about a 7
COUNTRY HITS MONTHLY: Fair to good. Company is trying to make a
comeback, so they are a good deal right now for current Top 40 country.
QUALITY RATING: 6
COUNTRY HITS TODAY: Best of the "Monthly" brands for new
country, excluding Sound Choice's Power Picks. Production ended Feb
2000....so grab 'em while you can....otherwise, Pop Hits Monthly is
your best second choice in that price range.
QUALITY RATING: 7-8
DANGEROUS: Hit-and-miss, but quality rarely dips too low.
First
disc was excellent, mostly due to sampling. Went downhill from there,
but still okay. These discs are WAY out-of-print, so get them while you
can.
QUALITY RATING: 8-9 on first disc, 6-7 on most of the rest
DK KARAOKE: Excellent quality overall....the original 1-99 was
one of the most reliable in the industry, save a few faux pas. DK's
most frequent hassle is unevenness on the volume on some tracks.
Watch
your knobs on My Way, Night And Day, and Endless Love...the volume
starts out normally enough, but will blow your eardrums out later in
the songs.
Other complaints involve the annoying flute-generated melody line and
the occasional track that is recorded in a lower key than the original
(Me & Bobby McGee, Think, Chain Of Fools, I Will Always Love You,
Yesterday, and many of the other Beatles tunes, for example).
DK was the first of the "Big Three" high-quality standards in the CD+G
industry (DK, Pioneer, Sound Choice). Selection is mostly
high-traffic
older karaoke "standards". Company is slow to produce new stuff,
although Premiere series is beginning to catch up slowly.
Even though it's 1-99 series is long out-of-print, DK still commands
the starter market with The Millenium set, which is currently a much
better deal than SC's Foundation. Quality has slipped somewhat since
Song Factory took over production.
QUALITY RATING: 9-10 on original 1-99 series (or any re-releases on
Encore, Millenium, etc.), 6 on Premieres after #1113.
DOCTOR MUSIC: Interesting and unusual selections on the few
discs there are. Music is thin and a little synthy, but useable.
DM01
has a good Simon & Garfunkel collection on CD+G, but keeps going in
and out of print.
QUALITY RATING: 6
FAT COCKEREL: Weird discs...only a few produced. Pretty high
quality for so much syntho content. Sub-division of Sunfly based
in
Italy. Out-of-print and difficult to find.
QUALITY RATING: 5
FLASHBACKS: No personal experience with this brand, but what
I've heard is not good. Division of Top Hits Monthly. Produced
after
the changeover when THM's quality started to go downhill....wouldn't
chance it.
QUALITY RATING: N.A.
HELLUVADISC: Hit-and-miss, and even when they hit, it's still
pretty far off-center. Music thin, high syntho content, many
lyrics
inaccuracies. Some unusual selections that are not available on any
other brand, however. Many HDs are actually All Hits discs under
a
different label. A few volumes out-of-print.
QUALITY RATING: 4-7, depending
HONKY CAT: AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!! Some idiot from overseas
regurgitated this homemade trash - and it's as bad as it gets,
folks.
Music is 100% low-end midi, and it sounds like it's being played by an
orangutan. No real instruments, no background vocals. Just
try
singing Boston, Toto or Steely Dan without backup harmonies.....yeah,
RIGHT.
DO NOT allow yourself be tempted by the hard-to-find titles offered by
this company. This brand is at the very bottom of the
barrel....in
fact, it earns the lowest quality rating I've ever given out.
These smelly little plastic coasters (five 'volumes' at present) are
only available on eBay, 'cause no regular karaoke retailer would be
stupid enough to carry them. Don't be stupid enough to buy them.
QUALITY RATING: 1-2
JVC: Too bad these were discontinued....pretty good
stuff. The
original ACDG series was kinda hit-and-miss until the later
volumes....(over #65). If you can find any of the Hot Hits series
(only 7 produced...#1001-1007), grab them and guard them with your
life....they were some of the best tracks ever made for karaoke.
Full, clear, accurate, great highs, but recorded VERY LOUD, so watch
out. Occasional wiping problems. The only real problem with
the JVCs
was their small screen font....a bit hard for the singer to read. WAY
out-of print....for like, YEARS.
QUALITY RATING: 6-7 on most of ACDG series, 9-10 on ACDGs over #65
& Hot Hits
KARAOKE CLASSICS: AVOID. Pretty much pure crap. Music MAJOR
syntho, lyrics inaccuracies abound. Broadway disc had a few useable
tracks. Tuesday Afternoon is in the wrong key, and cuts off in
the
middle of the song, leaving the poor singer standing there like a dork.
Overall, this brand is one of the worst on the market. The inside of
the CD case should be decorated with the picture of a toilet bowl, so
you can throw your money into it.
QUALITY RATING: 3
KILLER KARAOKE: "Killer"....that's funny. More
like a
security guard at a strip mall. Tracks are thin, syntho, and
sound
like they were produced by a computer geek who lives in his Mom's
basement. Only advantage is a couple of rare Pat Banatar and
Jackson
Browne tunes. Don't expect much and you won't be disappointed.
QUALITY RATING: 5
LEGENDS: Nothing to write home about. Pretty syntho, but
most
tracks useable, as far as I know. Didn't spend much on their graphics,
that's for sure. David Bowie disc gets a lot of play with no
complaints, but the quality goes down after that.
Mostly all-artist discs, which is handy. A little too expensive for the
quality, but you'll probably find yourself buying quite a few, anyway.
Tracks can be loud, so be ready on the knobs. Yet another
division of
Sunfly.
QUALITY RATING: 6
LOST CLASSICS: Pretty decent. Used a lot and no
complaints.
Mostly 1960's-80's music. Tracks a little thin and tinny at times,
occasional wiping problems, but mostly useable. A very good buy for the
money...also a few unusual selections not available on any
others.
Division of Priddis.
QUALITY RATING: 6-7
MADACY: Interesting discs, although kinda hard to track
down.
Pretty good quality. Garden variety selection, but they do offer
some
rare tracks that aren't available on any other discs. All-in-all,
worth having....if you can find them, that is.
QUALITY RATING: 7
MEGA KARAOKE: A bit of a let-down, considering the quality
of
Mega lasers. Same good music, but frequent wiping
problems...lyrics
often light up ahead or behind. Tracks sound pretty good....too
bad
they hired an idiot to encode their graphics.
Very inexpensive, and more or less worth the cheap price tag.
Stick
with the Mega lasers if your player has the capacity to do so,
though....they're better (if you don't mind looking at the Grand Canyon
while you're singing).
QUALITY RATING: 5-6
MONSTER HITS: No personal experience with this brand, but hear
they are okay. Mostly high-traffic tunes....so not very useful as
add-ons if you already have a good starter set.
QUALITY RATING: N.A.
MUSIC MAESTRO: If hit-and-miss has a name, thy name is
Music
Maestro. Widest variance in quality of any brand....God only knows why
their prices are so high. Never underestimate the power of
denial, I
guess.
Some tracks are very good, but others suck so bad that my 5 year-old
niece could plunk out a better version on her Playskool keyboard.
Most
of the country is useable, but avoid anything remotely rock-and-roll,
unless you want to sing Guns & Roses to Zamfir, Master Of The
Pan-Flute.
The "standards" discs are sometimes great and sometimes embarrassingly
syntho. I was disappointed when I couldn't find a real instrument
anywhere on 6142...then bought 6259, and was pleasantly surprised that
the quality was much improved.....once again, you just never know with
Music Maestro.
The key phrase with this brand is PREVIEW FIRST. Some of the
worst
versions of certain songs reside on Music Maestro discs, and a few of
the best....but you'll never know unless you take the time to actually
listen to the tracks.
**** NOTE **** These discs are only good as ADD-ONs.....DO NOT throw
your money into any of the tempting Music Maestro pre-packaged disc
sets....they look good on paper, but you'll be sellin' those babies on
eBay once you actually hear 'em.
QUALITY RATING: ranges from 2-7, depending.
NASHVILLE SOUNDS: - AVOID. Tracks thin, frequent errors in both
lyrics and music, occasionally the wrong key. I never heard
sounds
like that when I was in Nashville, unless I went into a bathroom.
QUALITY RATING: 3-4
NUTECH/MEGASTAR: Hit-and-miss. Not great, but most tracks fairly
useable except for some hilarious lyric errors. Library contains some
unusual tracks unavailable anywhere else. Biggest problem is lack of
back-up singers.
Getting harder to find due to ceased production. You'll probably see
them for 5 or 6 bucks a piece here and there. At that price, they're
worth it. They're okay for a few supplements, but DO NOT base your
collection on this brand.
QUALITY RATING: 5-6
PERFORMANCE TRACKS (DRUID): Not very good. Cheap, and you're
getting what you pay for. PT, Standing Ovation, Backstage and UK are
"any-port-in-a-storm discs", due to their hard-to-find (and illegally
produced) artists tracks, such as The Doors, that get a lot of play.
NOTE: Performance Tracks discs have some manufacturing problems
that
cause them to damage easily, causing frequent graphics breakup and
skips, so handle carefully.
QUALITY RATING: 5
PIONEER: Excellent quality overall....too bad they quit making
them. Pioneer was one of the "Big Three" high-quality "standards" in
the industry. (DK, Pioneer, Sound Choice). Tracks are almost all
useable with a few clinkers here and there. Only problem is that music
tends to be recorded at a low volume on original (PCDG) series. Get
them while you can....Pioneer has long discontinued it's CD+G
series.
QUALITY RATING: 9
POCKET SONGS: Hit-and-miss. Some discs good, some horrible. The
best Pocket Songs discs tend to be "standards" and Broadway....anything
that requires a full orchestra. The Harry Connick disc was excellent.
However, I bought one Stevie Wonder disc that I literally threw across
the room into a wall. It sucked so bad that it didn't even fly
straight. Sometimes tracks have no backup singers. Bit of a
crap-shoot considering the high price tag. Your call.
QUALITY RATING: 3-7, depending
POP HITS MONTHLY: Only covers brand new Top 40 music. Tracks
pretty useable, occasional lyric errors. Very fast in producing
the newest stuff.
QUALITY RATING: 6-8
POP HITS TODAY: Was the best overall music quality of the "pop
monthlies", excluding Sound Choice's Power Picks. Unfortunately,
production stopped Feb 2000, so get 'em while you can. Overall,
very
reliable.....highly recommend.
QUALITY RATING: 8
PRIDDIS: Hit-and-miss, but most semi-decent. Some very
good,
some not so good, but haven't seen any total losers yet. Tracks a
little tinny at times, but generally useable. Occasional wiping
problems and sometimes no backup vocals. Nice Broadway
orchestrations. Priddis also offers a "custom disc" service,
which is
handy.
QUALITY RATING: 7-8
RADIO STARZ: Pretty decent tracks with a "live" sound to
them...no syntho that I can find so far. Definitely worth the
money.
Producing all-artists anthologies, including a Pearl Jam which is a
must have for any rock-and-roll KJ. Recorded at a fairly high
volume,
so watch those mains. Grab as many of these discs as you can.
QUALITY RATING: 7-8
RHYTHM & BLUES: AVOID at all costs unless you want a good
laugh. Heard better sound in a cat fight. A real heartbreaker to find
out that these are so bad, since the funk selections were soooo coool.
100% syntho, beats off, background singers often in wrong key, lyrics
inaccurate....a perfect example of doing everything wrong.
Somebody
was drunk when they made these discs.
QUALITY RATING: 1-2
RISING STAR: Odd discs, odd selections. Music thin and synthy,
but generally useable. Similar in quality to Helluvadisc. Heading
for
the out-of-print lane....if you want 'em, grab 'em now.
QUALITY RATING: 5
SAV/BMB: AVOID. One of the worst overall. Biggest complaint:
wrong key....happens a LOT. A few real gems hiding in there, but you
really have to root them out. Nice acoustic version of Stairway, and
their Smoke On The Water came better than DK's, but these incidents are
rare.
You'll find really weird lyric errors, also....I don't know who
proofread the text on these, but English is definitely a second
language for them...maybe a third.
QUALITY RATING: 2-5, with an occasional 7-8
SOUND CHOICE: Only one of the "Big Three" that's still
producing. Excellent quality overall. Some of the most reliable tracks
in the industry, except for their early attempts at Broadway...which
were unsuccessful (avoid Spotlight # 8127). You'll find most of the
rest of their clinkers in rap tunes & R&B, due mostly to
inaccurate wiping (synchronizing color change), and some
less-than-soulful back-up singers.
However, SC has the best graphics set-up of any company...all details
displayed, including keys, breaks, length of breaks and intros in
measures. Handy "count offs" to assist timing, and "clicks" when song
starts a cappella. Although the company started out with a focus on
country, the bulk of SC's appeal has become it's strong 70's and 80's
rock and Top 40 pop and hip-hop tracks.
SC is also pretty responsive to customer input where making music
selections is concerned. The customer request-inspired Brick 5 is
a
"must-have" as an add-on (especially the rock selections) due to the
fact that most of its songs were not previously available on karaoke.
SC and DK still make up the biggest chunk of my library. I give
this
brand one of the highest recommendations. Expensive, but they're
worth
it.
QUALITY RATING: 9
SOUND IMAGES: AVOID. Terrible stuff. Wiping problems, very
syntho, and there are occasionally tracks listed on the label that
aren't even on the disc. Real amateur I-made-it-in-my-garage
crap....one of the worst. Makes a great coaster.
Out-of-print, and
good riddance.
QUALITY RATING: 2
STANDING OVATION: Hit-and-miss. Music tends to be a bit
syntho
and thin, but some useable tracks, and some unusual tracks unavailable
on any other brand. A few wiping problems that render a track or two
unuseable (Where The Streets Have No Name by U2 was a crying
shame...good music, but wiping was WAY out of sync, dammit).
Once again, cheap, and you're getting what you pay for.
Out-of-print, but still available for purchase.
QUALITY RATING: 6
STARDISC: So-so to rotten. Graphics very plain, but wiping
is
generally accurate. StarDisc is about 95% country. Never had a
complaint on the older discs.
The couple of pop discs they made in the beginning were also worth
having. "The One I Love" by R.E.M track (disc # 10) is
excellent. The
Steve Winwood stuff on # 3 was not so hot. AVOID the latest pop
discs
(4000 series), though...they flat-out SUCK.
QUALITY RATING: 3 on the new stuff, 6 on the older
SUNFLY: Hit-and-miss...more misses than hits, and they
usually
MISS BAD. The first few discs (1-7) were excellent, but Sunfly started
to go back and forth on producers after that, and the quality and
consistency suffered.
This brand contains the most overall unusual selections of any
company....many obscure tunes and the largest selection of popular
British tunes.
Be aware that the graphics on Sunflys can be a little cranky when
played on JVC800s, but a flip of the little superimpose switch on the
back of the player usually fixes this problem.
QUALITY RATING: 8 on the first 7 discs, 4-5 on the rest.
SUPERSTAR: AVOID. Not great, and annoying multiplex
feature
built-in to all tracks. If you don't have a multiplex feature on your
player, the disc is useless, because the lead vocal is there until you
manually take it out.
QUALITY RATING: 4
SWEET GEORGIA BROWN: Pretty LOUSY overall....which is a
real
drag because SGB takes the initiative to produce tunes that haven't
been touched by anyone else. Music is tinny, synthy, and not
well-mixed. Some instruments and/or portions of the music are
unbearably loud, while other elements can't be heard at all.
Graphics
are nothing to write home about, either. A few tracks are worth
having, but you really have to look for them.
The first disc was a collector's item because of the ghost track (track
#16) of James Dean by the Eagles. Some of the early discs were
fun to
have, but the later releases REALLY went downhill...the Ricky Martin
and Weird Al discs are just plain LOUSY.
SGB is like being stuck on a deserted island with somebody really
ugly. If you're really desperate, go ahead….but you'd be much
better
off waiting for the next ship to come along. : )
QUALITY RATING: 4-5
SYBERSOUNDS/PARTY TYME: Pretty good. Extended Dance
Re-Mixes
are great fun to have, and very challenging for a more advanced
singer. Some wiping problems and occasional lyric errors, but
nothing
earth-shattering. Most tracks completely useable. Bass can
be a bit
overwhelming on some (especially Dance Re-Mixes), so watch your
EQ.
QUALITY RATING: 7-8
TIP TOP: Avoid. These were mostly crap, that's why they stopped
making them a long time ago. A few decent discs here and there,
but
you have to root them out.
QUALITY RATING: mostly 4, some 5-6
TOP HITS MONTHLY: Hit-and-miss. Not terrible overall, but not
great either. They're cheap, and you're pretty much getting what you
pay for. This was the first of the "monthlies" to come out.
Product
was good in the beginning, but company has gone through many phases and
changes, and quality is somewhat variable these days. Tough call.
However, their Rock Series is getting progressively better, and is
definitely worth a look because of the great alternative selections.
QUALITY RATING: 6-7
TOP HITS PLATINUM: Not too good....a little thin and
tinny.
All-artists discs, primarily country. Handy to have, but nowhere
near
SC or Chartbuster quality. If you don't expect much, you won't be
disappointed.
QUALITY RATING: 5-6
TOP HITS PLATINUM PLUS: Only bought the Bruce Springsteen,
but
was very surprised by the quality....much better than UK, that's for
sure. This is the disc to buy to fill the Springsteen that SC
doesn't
cover. If the rest of the Platinum Plus series is as good as the
first
one, I would recommend them....a great buy for the money.
QUALITY RATING: 7
TOP TUNES: Tracks are thin, but highs and bass are good,
and
they provide a sort of "live" sound. Some wiping and lyric
problems
here and there. Backup vocals are sometimes too loud or not there
at
all. However, you'll probably find yourself buying a bunch
of these,
despite their flaws. The company is innovative, and exploring formerly
unproduced and obscure tracks from popular groups.
Discs retail at around $19.95 and typically offer 17-22 tracks....a
good buy for the money, and they are currently THE front-runner by far
at putting out brand new music...especially new alternative rock and
pop. Top Tunes also is the first to offer a wide range of techno
tunes.
QUALITY RATING: 5-6
UK KARAOKE: Music thin and tinny, graphics cheap, however,
a
few are worth having due to the hard-to-find artists they targeted,
such as Bruce Springsteen, John Cougar Mellencamp, the Doors and The
Rolling Stones. However, if you're looking for Springsteen, the
Top
Hits Platinum Plus is a much better choice.
QUALITY RATING: 5
ULTRASONIC: Interesting discs.....kind of the "betas" for
the
Sweet Georgia Brown...same group of producers. As with SGB, they went
after unusual stuff that wasn't been produced by others, and as with
SGB, they didn't do it perfectly. Music is a bit thin and syntho at
times, but fairly useable.
Graphics similar to SGB. Biggest problem is graphics incompatibility
with some players. If you have an old JVC 800, forget it....the
graphics will not play reliably, if at all.
QUALITY RATING: 6
ZOOM: British produced, and that usually means pretty
crappy,
but maybe things are looking up a bit in the ol' UK. Real
instruments,
clear highs, and some nice acoustic stuff. Platinum Artists
Series
seems very useful.
First producer to really go after the Eva Cassidy material, which is
getting hotter by the minute. A few lyric problems here and
there, but
nothing earth-shattering. Generally worth the money.
QUALITY RATING: 7
Sorry for the long read, but hope all this helps. Good luck to all new KJs!