Chauvet gig bar.

[funkymook]

I’m going to go and hire one now for tonight and will report back with my findings (venue is literally 3 minutes away from me so an early set-up and test still gives me time to nip home for my other lighting if it’s seriously lacking).

Interesting!

It easily filled the room and the programmes certainly made the best use of the lights. Just had the pars on as people arrived, they lit up the whole ceiling and were ample for the space (a full power bar would’ve been too much). A press of the footswitch and I had a synchronised lightshow that looked good from the the back of the room without haze as the Kinta’s had a wide enough spread to hit the walls next to me - I could use haze tonight and with it it did look impressive.

So have to agree with those who say it’s a bit more than the sum of it’s parts.

It’s lightweight so getting it on the stand and raising it is a doddle, the stand is basic, but also lightweight and a decent quality. The wifi footswitch worked well, that’s one less lead to plug in, it just needs a mains lead and that’s it. I reckon I had it set-up and running in about a minute, and equally as quick taking it down - that to me is a massive plus.

Tonight it took 30 minutes from the end of the last song to driving away, and that included chatting while picking at the last of the buffet, I usually load out in about 50 minutes.

It is what it is, but the clever programming does make a massive difference.

So all in all it does enough lighting wise, saves time and effort and means less boxes and leads to carry - so I’ll keep it as I’ll be happy to use it for certain gigs (and I honestly didn’t think I’d be saying that).

[Excalibur]

Interesting!

It is. We're on tenterhooks waiting for the review.

It easily filled the room and the programmes certainly made the best use of the lights.

Owners have commented on how the coverage exceeds their expectations.

So have to agree with those who say it’s a bit more than the sum of it’s parts.

What a good turn of phrase. Must remember that.

So all in all it does enough lighting wise, saves time and effort and means less boxes and leads to carry - so I’ll keep it as I’ll be happy to use it for certain gigs (and I honestly didn’t think I’d be saying that).

I rest my case.

If it didn't cost £400, I'd have one. a full light show* with one cable and a tripod, fully wired and cased. The concept's cast iron. The execution is open to debate. For a certain type of event and venue ( and in all honesty, quite probably nearer the lower end of the market than the top, but that was never in dispute ) it's a winner.



* Yes, it's a full lightshow. No, it's not a pair of 50w moonflowers, a powerbar, and four moving heads.

[Benny Smyth]

The concept's cast iron. The execution is open to debate. For a certain type of event and venue ( and in all honesty, quite probably nearer the lower end of the market than the top, but that was never in dispute ) it's a winner.

Chauvet are pretty good at coming up with concepts, but other companies will catch on and do it better. Imagine an ADJ Gigbar...

[Imagine]

Martin - welcome to the GigBar owners club....they're something else aren't they

Lower end of the market? Only if you're planning on using it on it's own methinks. For things like pubs, village halls etc. (regardless of the function), it more than serves the purpose and provides more than enough light for the "average" function (or the sort of average function that I do and bear in mind I book weddings from kids parties where my lighting rig contains 1980's Showtec lightscreens because the little cherubs can't pull 'em over!)

For things like weddings - depends on the sort of wedding. My market is the evening reception (i.e. a Saturday night in a village hall/pub/the function room over the Co-op funeral parlor but with the all important first dance, and before the wedding specialists knock that...I've got 20 weddings booked for next year already based on what I do...there's a market out there for it and I'm hitting it hard ). However the bit that worries me (and the reason I tend to carry other lighting as well) is what happens if something blows internally in the bar? Does the whole thing stop working? Just one light? Could be a tad embarrassing at any party if that happened (which is why I take spare stuff anyway).

Personally, I love Chauvet lighting because it just works for me and the type of gig I do. In fact apart from a couple of ACME ImpossiLeds (which are also a brilliant bit of kit), all of my lighting is Chauvet.

I'm actually looking now at getting a couple of the Swarms in the next week or so to compliment the GB, so I'd have the GB behind me as it is now, and a pair of Swarms either side on poles for bigger stuff (the laser in the Swarms is a lot better rather than just dots). It'll be a hell of a lot easier and quicker to put up than the overhead truss which is being used less and less.

The big question being.....can I link the Swarms and the GB together and let them run the show automagically........

[funkymook]

Martin - welcome to the GigBar owners club....they're something else aren't they

However the bit that worries me (and the reason I tend to carry other lighting as well) is what happens if something blows internally in the bar? Does the whole thing stop working? Just one light? Could be a tad embarrassing at any party if that happened (which is why I take spare stuff anyway).

I’ve used it three times now - it’ll never be my favourite lighting but it certainly does the job.

If it blows - just get someone to flick the house lights on and off in time to the music!