Investing in a karaoke machine either for personal or business use is a really wise decision. Karaoke singing is a very great way in enjoying music and relaxing. You can do this in your own room or with your family and friends. However, when you buy a karaoke machine there are some things that you should consider. To help you in determining what type of model to buy, you need to ask these four questions first.

Is it worth the price?

When one buys any type of equipment one must consider its price. Some stores charge higher than others, while others offer cheaper but the quality of the machine is inferior. In order to know if you’re buying a good karaoke machine, look for at least 3 to 5 different stores that offer it. Spend a little time in canvassing the prices on different stores so you can be sure that you will get the best price. If you don’t have time, log in to the internet and start searching, you will find tons of offers in less than a minute.

What are its capabilities?

Some machines can record mp3s and make them midi files so you can use them in your karaoke singing. While some can record or copy DVD files and CD-g formats. If you are starting to build your own karaoke bar, then it is best that you buy a machine that has these capabilities. There are other machines that already have a monitor attached with it so you don’t have to use a television to use it. Others even offer cassette decks and AM and FM receptions. You can actually buy a karaoke machine that can satisfy all your musical desires. So if you would like to invest in a karaoke machine and have the budget, then look for a model that will give you everything you need.

There are also karaoke microphones that you can buy especially if you only intend to use it in your home. These microphones contain the songs and you can buy chips if you want new songs. You just plug it in a television just like a DVD player and you can sing your heart out.

How is it going to be used?

If you intend in using your karaoke machine for everyday use, then pick the best one that can handle this. Are you putting it in a bar? Then pick the best one that you can find since it is going to be used frequently. The value should not matter at all since you are using it for business. If you intend it just for home use, then maybe you can look for something cheaper but has the same sound quality. How you are going to use your machine can really help you decide what type to buy. If you are always throwing a house party and would like to wow your friends, then choose the best one that fits your budget.

How long are its warranty and what other offers can you take?

When you buy an appliance, make sure you that you can get the longest warranty it can offer so you don’t have to worry about it when something goes wrong. Aside from this, ask for the add-ons and the special offers that come together with the machine. Some stores offer the best microphones, give away a certain number of CD’s and even offer discounts on other karaoke paraphernalia. When you buy a machine, think about it’s other offers too so you can get the worth of your money.

Remember these questions when you buy a karaoke machine to ensure that you will pick the best one fit for you. Just be sure that you will not go beyond your budget and understand that you need to take care of the machine too if you want to use it for a long time.

Stephen Kreutzer can be reached at http://www.yourkaraokeguide.com

Most people who have sung and heard karaoke probably believe it was something that grew of its own accord, like crab grass! But that is not the case. It was invented … by a guy who could not possible have dreamed that it would spread around the world like some kind of Asian flu.

Singing in Japan goes back to ancient times, when it became an integral part of Japanese culture. It began with shamans and priests chanting their ritual prayers to the gods

Then fishermen, boatmen, carpenters, geisha, samurai warriors, shoguns, cooks, you name it, got into the act. Everybody sang, in groups and individually, to enhance work camaraderie, for self-gratification, as well as to entertain others.

Virtually every category of personal and public activity had its own collection of songs. The practice of singing became such an important part of Japanese culture that it survived into modern times.

Still today, singing is a significant part of the business and social life of the Japanese. It is perfectly common for reserved, elderly businessmen and politicians to burst out in song at public events—something that generally surprises—and invokes envy—from their Western counterparts.

And it was because of this imperative that everyone sing—for both business and pleasure and to relieve stress and bond with co-workers and new friends—that Daisuke Inoue invented karaoke.

In 1970 Daisuke Inoue was a club musician who earned his keep by playing sing-along tunes in cabarets in Kobe, Japan. It was painfully obvious to Daisuke that many of his businessmen “customers� had been so consumed by work that unlike other Japanese they had never had time to polish their singing skills.

This prompted Daisuke to tape a number of the more popular tunes (like Frank Sinatra’s “I Did It My Way!�), changing the pitches to suit off-key singers, and making it possible for the cabaret customers to sing along with the taped tunes and not sound like screeching banshees.

Over the next several months, Daisuke integrated the “singer friendly� tunes into a tape recorder that became the first karaoke (kah-rah-oh-kay) machine that played only accompaniments. Kara (kah-rah) means empty and oke (oh-kay) is the Japanese abbreviation of orchestra. In other words, “empty orchestra.�

In 1971 Daisuke made 12 karaoke machines and leased them to bars in Kobe. And as the saying goes, the rest is history…but not the kind of history most inventors dream of.

Following the incredible success of his first karaoke machines, Daisuke’s intuition and ingenuity failed him. He didn’t patent the new device, and before you could say Dohshimashita ka? (doh-she-mah-ssh-tah kah?)—which you might translate as “What the Hell happened!�—a whole stream of karaoke machines poured into Japan’s huge number of bars and cabarets.

The new device was so popular that thousands of new “karaoke bars� were opened to take advantage of it. Hotels and other public buildings in the country opened “karaoke rooms� for their guests and employees.

Major manufacturers got into the act, using the latest technology to continuously upgrade the quality of karaoke machines. By the late 1980s karaoke had spread around the world, and went on to become one of Japan’s most popular exports.

In 1999 Time magazine named Daisuke Inoue one of the 20 most influential Asians of the Century, along with China’s Mao Tse-tung and India’s Gandhi. I don’t remember the Time piece, but naming the inventor of the karaoke machine in the company of such luminaries was surely not a tongue-in-cheek thing.

In 2004 Harvard University students awarded Daiskuke one of their annual Ig Nobel Prizes for contributing to world piece though his invention…the Ig being short for ignoble, and the annual Ig Nobel Prize is a parody of the real Nobel Prize.

Daisuke was invited to Harvard to receive the award in person, and sang a song before an appreciative audience. He was awarded the Ig Noble Prize for Peace for the contributions his invention made to world harmony.

This belated recognition is all that Daisuke’s gets from his innovative invention. He could not compete with the big companies that jumped into manufacturing and marketing karaoke machines. His business failed. He now lives in Nishinomiya, just outside of Kobe, and sells rat repellant devices.

Some of the millions of people around the world who have had their peace and quiet disturbed by home karaoke singing may wish that Daisuke had come up with his rat repellant business first.