Singing Machine SML-383 Portable CDG Player Karaoke Machine, Black

by The Singing Machine

Product Features

• Portable CDG karaoke system with disco lights and vertical loading CD compartment
• 2 microphone jacks with separate volume controls-great for singing duets
• Disco Light Effect
• Auto voice control; balance and echo controls; built-in speakers; AC/DC power
• Includes wired microphone and sampler disc

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 13 x 15.5 inches ; 6.9 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 7.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B001WLSYW2
• Item model number: SML383
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (321 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,108 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
  • #5 in Musical Instruments > DJ, Electronic Music & Karaoke > Karaoke Equipment > Players
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 24, 2004

Product Description

Amazon.com

Take the karaoke party on the go with the Singing Machine portable karaoke machine (model SML-383), which features a built-in disco light system to enhance the party atmosphere wherever you roam. The SML-383 features a vertical loading CDG player, two microphone jacks with separate volume controls (great for singing duets), and a video output for simple connection to a TV or HDTV (for displaying lyrics). And the disco light mode lets you enjoy several flashing effects. Other features include built-in speakers, balance and echo control, and auto voice control. It comes with a free CDG music sampler and one microphone to get you started.

What's in the Box
Portable karaoke machine (model SML-383), wired microphone, AC adapter, RCA cables, sampler disc, instruction manual

Tech Talk

CDG: An acronym for Compact Disc plus Graphics, this is a regular CD with information stored on a data track simultaneous to music. In laymen's terms, CDG has a video output for simple graphics (not full motion video). In the case of karaoke, the graphics function is used to store song lyrics, and display the lyrics in synch with the music. In most cases, CDG software displays lyrics, which change color as they are to be sung. A regular television is all that is required to display CDG lyrics.

Echo: Produced by creating minor controlled feedback in the singer's voice, echo adds depth and resonance. The echo function does not affect the music.

Auto Voice Control (AVC): This useful function is used primarily during practice sessions while a singer is learning a song. Please note that the AVC function only works with multiplex recordings and not with standard audio recordings.

Multiplex: A Multiplex allows you to separate the vocals and music by using the balance control on your Singing Machine Karaoke System.

Product Description

Take the karaoke party on the go with the Singing Machine portable karaoke machine (model SML-383), which features a built-in disco light system to enhance the party atmosphere wherever you roam. The SML-383 features a vertical loading CDG player, two microphone jacks with separate volume controls (great for singing duets), and a video output for simple connection to a TV or HDTV (for displaying lyrics). And the disco light mode lets you enjoy several flashing effects. Other features include built-in speakers, balance and echo control, and auto voice control. It comes with a free CDG music sampler and one microphone to get you started.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

397 of 400 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for our needs! September 10, 2010

By flgirl

After reading numerous reviews on amazon my mom and I decided on this one since it has the highest reviews. Great choice, we love it!! My son got this for his 8th birthday. He and my five neices (ages 1 to 8) have really enjoyed it! The handle makes it nice to carry (even by little people) and it's durable. We're trying to build our karaoke music library now. That's the hardest part. And there's not a huge selection of music in stores. I'd recommend buyers to go ahead and get a few good karaoke cd's off amazon and don't forget an extra microphone. Don't get me wrong, it isn't the machine you want if you're looking to set up a booth for a show at a bar or a venue. It's not that powerful. But, it's perfect for home use especially with family. It would even be great for a work party or small setting. Our family of 18 plus gets together almost every weekend and this machine comes out almost every time. The kids LOVE it! Another thing? It's educational!! When you hook it up to your tv, the lyrics are on the screen AND IT PROMOTES READING!! My son is in a rut when it comes to reading but with this machine he will read for an hour reading lyrics. Hey, whatever works!! :) The disco light is great, very bright and you can make it flash or turn it off. The kids sometimes turn off the room lights and sing with the disco lights on only. Simple to hook up to your tv, even the kids do it. We havent' used the MP3 playback yet, I just noticed here that's an option. One thing I'd recommend is to buy TWO MICROPHONES when you buy the machine. It will help for duets and in our case 2 kids grabbing the mic when the chorus comes up. Lots of excitement when you bring this machine out! I don't think I've seen some of the adults smile and laugh this hard in a long, long time. Warning: if you get it, it might bring out your inner kid!! :) Definetly recommend this product. Can't beat the price either!!

148 of 151 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What sound problems? April 8, 2011

By lin

Amazon Verified Purchase

I already inherited a wealth of karaoke files (.cdg) for my computer, so I was debating whether I should just purchase a pair of microphones and do a karaoke set up on my Mac, or just get a karaoke machine. I obviously decided to take the less tech-savvy route and got this machine, and I'm so glad I did! It was easy to set up and the controls were intuitive and made sense. I just connect my computer to my tv and speaker system to play the music and lyrics, and just let this little guy handle all the vocals. So far, I'm very pleased with it!

I went ahead and purchased the Nady mic that was featured on the "frequently bought together" and am very happy with it. The Nady feels more solid than the mic that came with the Singing Machine, but both sound fine. No one has ever fought over "the good mic," so I think it's safe to say they're equally good. The sound output was just fine for home use. I know what a good sound system sounds like, and I also know how much they cost. I've also heard my share of bad sound systems and this is definitely not bad (regardless of cost). If anyone says otherwise, they are being far too picky for a $50 karaoke machine or got a bad unit.

Also, if anyone is curious, it actually comes with two sample CDs. They each have about 20 traditional songs on them such as London Bridge, Alphabet Song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Yankee Doodle, etc. As well as some Christmas classics like Jingle Bells, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, The First Noel, etc.

EDIT: In response to a comment, yes, it can play regular CDs like any other CD player.

227 of 236 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice, but . . . October 10, 2010

By S. Roberts

Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this for my granddaughter who has autism and loves to sing. It has a nice case and handle, easy to move around. I like the echo feature, she sings mostly Abba songs and it sounds great with the echo. She is 16 and this brings out the best in her beautiful voice. And the ligths are a great feature. I wanted to buy her a gift that she could enjoy every day, and practice for school talent shows.

But it also has some problems. First, the plug that goes into the back of the unit is very loose, so if you pick it up while it's plugged in, the plug will fall out. There is a cheap plastic door that you pull open to insert the CD which I can imagine will be the first thing to break. Also, it doesn't have as much volume as I hoped. I am sure her mother is happy that she doesn't have this vibrating the entire house, but if she uses it to entertain others, the volume won't carry far. all these issues we can work around. For the price it's not bad. But there is one more problem that brought my rating down to 3 stars. She was singing to me, and the CD kept making a echoing thumping, which really takes away from the music. Then it started getting stuck and just making the thumping, vibrating noise. I found that if you lean the unit back at an angle it won't get stuck, but it still makes the thumping. And leaning it back, it leans against the cord that fits loose and needs adjusting every time you touch it.

She is happy with it and loves to sing along with her CD's. But if I had tried this out at a store and seen the problems with it, especially the noise it makes during the song, I would not have bought it.