Chauvet 4 Bar review

CHA4BAR_Controlbar

What is it?

The Chauvet 4 Bar, is essentially a bank of four slimline Par-Can wash lights, designed to be quickly assembled and disassembled in a small scale live environments.  It operates both DMX and Sound to Light, and comes with a foot controller allowing basic control of the lighting patterns.

Why is it interesting?

Anyone who has spent time screwing and unscrewing lighting to truss and stands in a small scale, live environment, will understand how time consuming, and in some cases, frustrating this can be.  With time pressures ever present in the pub and functions arena, being able to get your lights up in a “Set and forget” manner is really important.

We have been using the Chauvet 4Bar for about a year now, and have been very pleased with its performance.

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Performance in a compact package:

The first thing that hits you about these lights, is how small they are.
Compared to a Slim Par56 they’re very slimline, and almost appear as if they might be a little low on power – until you switch them on.  The light that these things put out, is quite impressive, and very much defies its small package.

They’re also lightweight, and come with some solid, well built stands to put them on.  In addition, the storage case for these lights, whilst quite bulky, is very well made, and offers good protection for your lights.

DMX and Sound to Light:

OK – I admit it – I’m not a lighting person!  I don’t understand DMX properly, and I have always seen lighting as secondary to the sound and energy of a band.  So for me, the sound to light option does all I could really ask of it.  With an adjustable microphone sensitivity on the rear of the bar, it’s easy to stop, or create (if desired) any strobing, and get your lights moving in time with the music to a point.

More advanced users will love the DMX support, and one day, maybe we will too!

Again, the foot controller has really been surplus to our requirements in the arena in which we’ve been operating – however its functions are simple enough, and it offers the option to black out the lights – which is a natty option when you’re looking to make an impact with your lighting!

Pro’s:

  • Easy to set up – One stand, one power cable is all that is required to start this product off.
  • DMX and Sound to Light, allows flexibility if things get more serious.
  • SERIOUS light output – I’ve previously lit entire dancefloors with just two sets of these, with great results.
  • Lightweight, and easy to carry with the included carry case.

Con’s: 

  • Stand case is a little flimsy – mine has no zip left on it after a year.
  • Foot switch is a little basic – although we generally don’t use it.
  • Menu’s can be a little fiddly

Tips:

There are a few key things to remember when using these lights – just to make your life easier!

  • Plug the power cord and DMX cable in, BEFORE hoisting the lights up on their stands!
  • Use a dedicated DMX cable – they ARE different to microphone/instrument XLR’s.

Conclusion:

The Chauvet 4Bar is a very well thought out, very effective package.  It is well built (much like a lot of the other Chauvet equipment I’ve ever come across) and works well to save time on set up and tear down in small venues.  It performs reliably, and is well powered.

To complement it, it’s worth having a couple of other Par-Cans lighting the band up in white, but in a pinch these will do an adequate job!  They’re not too flashy, and come at a good price point.  I’d recommend these to anyone looking for a simple, basic lighting set up for a band for sure.