kJams Lite for Mac

User Reviews

• It makes owning a Mac absolutely complete!!!!!!!

  wflisterApril 5, 2013

  Pros

  There is nothing that this software does not provide. It is hands-down the best kj software I have ever come across.

  Cons

  The only con is that more people don't know about it.

  Summary

  This is my first review on Cnet because this is the best piece of software that I own and it's my honor to spread the word about it. I am a Mac person but had to use a PC for my karaoke software. That was until I came across this little gem. David even instructed me on how to add karaoke tracks that I couldn't load in my PC setup. Both the software and the creator--simply amazing! Give it a try and see for yourself.

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• Kjams:you either love it or have never used it

  SikoftheCONMarch 22, 2013

  Pros

  #1. Web server = Wifi songbook and signup. ~ no sticky outdated songbooks ~ no hunting for songs on barely legible song slips ~ auto singer rotation mgmt #2. Easy interface. Like iTunes easy, back when we liked iTunes. #3. CHEAP. Worth twice what it sells for, easy. #4. Amazing customer service from the creator, who chats with you personally about fixing issues. WTF? yes....

  Cons

  Makes you pissed off when using other inferior software. " My firefox needs what? wtf is a codec? screw this..."

  Summary

  I run San Diego's only wifi songbook/signup, with custom showscreens, messenger scrolls, all in an easy iTunes like interface. For $99. BEST DEAL EVER!!!! You have to be an IDIOT to use any other program...

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• Perfect for a technophobe like me

  ocheyeJune 29, 2011

  Pros

  It's incredibly easy to use. Competitors like pcdj are fiddly to use in reality and I find their screen appearance really daunting. KJams does what it says on the tin and does it simply and well.

  Cons

  I can't think of any cons except perhaps that it is now available for Windows users and is no longer a private club for those of us on the 'dark side'!

  Summary

  I originally got KJams because I couldn't find anything else for a Mac. I've been using it from the early days and Dave's support is great. I don't actually use it for Karaoke 'per se' as I am a professional singer and use it for my backing tracks. The key change facility is a godsend. I can save every gig I do as a separate playlist which prevents me from doing the same set on a return visit. As a pro I can use Karaoke backing tracks with the words on the screen (not that I ever need to use them!!!) as well as my mp3 tracks giving me complete flexibility. It also plays the iKaraoke TunePrompter tracks that I create myself. This is fantastic when video karaoke tracks are not available or are too expensive. I can't praise Dave and KJams highly enough.

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• Warning: May cause karaoke addiction.

  didi99603October 8, 2010

  Pros

  This software has multiple paid tiers. Everything I need to do for a home setup I can do with the free trial, forever and ever. There are active forums and the developer is very responsive.

  Cons

  What I don't like is that it's so easy to use that anyone in the room can, and will, use it. I'm constantly breaking up "who's next" fights and kicking would be control freaks off the master console.

  Summary

  I run a Mac Mini home entertainment system. It occurred to me that if I stuck a couple microphones on a small mixer I could run karaoke from the Mini through my home stereo system. I hacked together a setup and downloaded kJams. It works brilliantly with the equipment I already had. Now the girls and I can have karaoke night without the drunken guys hitting on us, the ambient smoke, and the watered down drinks. The free version is full featured and forever, but if you like the software do the developer a favor and at least buy the Lite version.

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• kJams does exactly what you've read about it and more!

  djwebOctober 7, 2010

  Pros

  Setup was quick and it is easy to learn and use.

  Cons

  I did not find out about it sooner.

  Summary

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• kJams, the best karaoke software on the market bar none

  lenskaraokeSeptember 28, 2010

  Pros

  The simplicity of use. There's no useless graphics cluttering up the desktop just a simple looking, but deceivingly clever and clean window to work in. Think iTunes but better. Think of a feature you want in a karaoke program. Now you see what it is.

  Cons

  When you use kJams it does tends to spoil other programs because kJams does what it says on the tin. Dave Cotter (the developer) spoils you too much and if you use him as a benchmark you'll be disappointed with other programs Theres NOWT I dont like

  Summary

  I've used kJams for a few years now and the program has gone from strength to strength. with several features added over that time that are very well thought out. The developer is very active on the kJams forum along with many users so if you don't understand anything there's a wealth of info and help from people there The features include 1 A pitch change with up to six changes up and the same down without distortion 2 An excellent singer folder system that remembers every song a singers done and keeps the changes a singers made so that the next time they turn up they can sing the same version in the same key etc. It also remembers when they last sung the song and how many times they?ve sung a song 3 There?s a built in shop so if your connected to the internet and someone wants to sing a song you ain?t got, you can click on one of the suppliers and buy the track and then download it right into kJams. And what's more the track prices are great, you?d expect for a feature like this that the prices to be expensive but there not 4 The shortcuts are very well thought out but if you want a short cut thats not there you can do one of two things. 1 your can request it on the forum and 2 you can create your own and it?s not difficult 5 There?s a monitor window right within kJams that can be turned on and off so you can see exactly what the singer see?s on their monitor 6 If you double click a singer and then go to the library then double click songs ,they will go into the singers list, You can do this from any other singers file as well 7 When a singers get up to sing and they don?t like the version you?ve put in for them, simply click on a dropdown and chose another version and the new version plays immediately 8 Again, when a singer gets up and they?ve changed their mind about which song to do, click on a dropdown and click on the song they now want to sing and again the song plays immediately The last two features really speed up the night so when your very busy with singers as little time as possible is lost looking for the track they want to sing 9 You can change the order of songs a singer has to sing without navigating away from your main working area, another great time saver 10 Change the order of singer with click and drag, again you do this in your main working area The Preference panel is selected with a two finger command and within that window the preferences are superbly thought out, here?s some of my favourites 11 When your working and a singers singing you can set the prefs. to give you a warning when a song will be interrupted and you can choose to interrupt or not. There?s even two options in the prefs for this I run competitions and I set the prefs to suit the comps and then go back to my normal pref setting very quickly 12 Within Prefs, I use:- Pause between tracks, Skip silence at the start of a song, Hide Video Window when paused, Warn if current song will be interrupted, Remember pitch and tempo changes in all playlist. But there are lots more so you run your show as you want and not the way the developer thinks it should be run. The developer recognises that everyones different and so are their needs 13 When running a show you can always see just how much time the songs will take to get through. There are two windows to see this in. One window will tell you how much time it?ll take to get through one song each for the singers, and the other window tell you how much time it?ll take to get through all the songs in the singer files for that particular night 14 If your customers have iPhones, and some smart-phones, there?s a system where the singer can log into their playlist and create a list of the songs they want to sing without even speaking to you You set it up initially and they log in using a password 15 There?s a comment column that I use within the singers file This is very useful. 16 When a singer takes their time getting to you and the tracks started there?s a button you click to take the track back to the start I?ve created my own shortcut for this and I use it many times during a show 17 A feature that isn?t in the program is the forum. If there?s a feature you feel would be worth putting in Kjams, the developer will consider it. I?ve personally put in request for features to be added and some have come with time. some overnight but I have to say thats most suggestions that come through the forum are already on the developers to do list 18 You can video the singer and show them on the screens with the words on top of them 19 Create messages to put on the monitors for your customers to see, including announcing that a taxi's at the venue for a customer whilst a singers singing using "on screen messaging" 20 Quickly delete a singer from the playlist from the main operating window safe in the knowledge that the next week when they come back all the songs they?ve requested are still in their folder. Not enough room to put it down here Try the program and you will not be disappointed

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• Fantastic Karaoke Player!!

  einsteindorkSeptember 27, 2010

  Pros

  1. Hands down the best Karaoke player on the Macintosh! 2. Plays just about any format! 3. Professional and dedicated tech support and online forums makes this a no-brainer for newbies!

  Cons

  Still in beta but definately stable enough that I have been using the program for professional gigs since 2005.

  Summary

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• Hands-Down Best Karaoke Software Available

  jfbiiiSeptember 27, 2010

  Pros

  AWESOME SUPPORT from the developer. Frequent and timely addressing of any bugs, new feature request, support requests. Integrated music stores make adding music painless & focused. Singers can control their songs from an iPhone or iPod Touch.

  Cons

  Other karaoke operators in my area might find out about this software.

  Summary

  I've run a weekly show with this software now for 30 months with only 2 crashes during a gig, neither of which prevented the current song from finishing. That may seem like a lot of crashes, but for a program that is not even in alpha much less beta it's outstanding. Adobe's Creative Suite crashes way more often. The integration with the iPhone/iPod Touch app is some serious WOW factor that my karaoke singers can't get over. The fact that the software remembers what they've sung (and what key they've sung it in if they changed it) blows their drunken little minds. Changing songs at the last minute is a frequent pastime of theirs, too, but much less painless after kJams. Looks and works very much like iTunes, so there's instant familiarity with what you're looking at. Features are added frequently, there are constant discussions on the kJams forums about ways that the software can be improved, discussions in which the developer participates. In the only instance where I needed the developer to urgently work out an issue, he was able to fix my issue remotely during his "office hours." And I know he's done the same for other users in the course of tracking down a bug or resolving an issue. It just works. This program is a beast when it comes to taming a show and allowing you extra time to talk/flirt with singers and enjoy the karaoke.

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• No Doubt the Best Karaoke Program on the Planet!

  einsteindorkJuly 10, 2010

  Pros

  Cons

  Summary

  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I have been a user of this program since 2005. kJams is by far the best Karaoke program for the Macintosh. Superior customer service makes this a no brainer for anyone that is a KJ / DJ or singer starting out or professional. It plays almost any Karaoke CD/DVD format and with the burning plugin, you can make your own custom Karaoke CDs. During shows you can search, keep track of singer order, advertise using splash screens and even throw live pictures in the background. Simply Fantastic!!

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• There Is No Other

  wgfinley--2008May 8, 2008

  Pros

  Cons

  Summary

  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />Long and short of it, I have used kJams for several years now, I was one of the early testers for Dave and his product, I've been a KJ for 15 years and I have used kJams professionally for karaoke as wells as for handling backtracks for a lounge act as well as my own online lounge act -- <b>there is no other karaoke hoster, OS X or otherwise, period</b>. No other program offers the features, versatility, polish, presentation, intuitiveness or the capabilities of kJams. This includes the Windows platform as well where I used several hosting programs. No other program parses a massive library in not time at all. Screwed up your library or rebuilt your drive? Re-index the whole dang thing in minutes. Have a singer who sings the same 5 songs every time and is particular about the version? His favorites are in there waiting for you just to click on "here". Have a venue that's just once a month with a core group of folks who always sing the same thing every time? No problem, they're all right there with their favorites and they're not cluttering up the favorites from your weekly gigs. Most of us spend half our lives ripping as well, I did too before I ripped with kJams. Most hosters won't even touch ripping and kJams gives you the best ripper there is <b>period</b>. Anal about your sound quality and want everything in AIFF or WAV? No problem. Like LAME at 128? No problem. Tired of zipping CDG files to compressed files, organizing folders, keeping them all sorted and named the same thing? No problem, kJams rips and sorts your library just like iTunes does. Did I mention integration with KJ Pro so you can keep your song book organized <b>while you rip</b>? Pure genius. Dave is a diligent and attentive developer, he's constantly working on his product to make it better and he's there to fix it when something goes wrong. He communicates well with users finding out what <b>we want</b> in our karaoke program and doing what it takes to get those features integrated into the product. As I stated earlier, there is no other hoster professional or otherwise, OS X or Windows, that measures up to kJams. Look no further.

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