DJs across the land are ridiculed on socials by their peers for their speaker brand of choice, their controller, their lighting, and even their ability to hide wires. It’s a bit of a mystery as to why so many in our profession choose to take the time to criticise their peers on such a regular basis. One of the major sources of snobbery is the CHAUVET DJ GigBAR.

If that is you, then look away now. However, if you want to really learn about how far this particular line has come, or if you are a GigBAR convert, then you’ll be pleased to know...there’s another one!

I say this every time I review a CHAUVET DJ GigBAR: it’s a Marmite product. If you have one, you will understand why they are so popular. If you don’t have one, you are quite probably going to spend far too much of your time sharing that opinion online. Which is a real shame because they are really, really good! Now might be the time to drop your hatred for the GigBAR.

Apart from anything else, it’s a massive time-saver. Do you really want to spend time connecting multiple wires and DMX and then program 400 channels of DMX? Great if you have the time to do that, but if you don't, or DMX still confuses you, then the GigBAR is a great way of taking easily controllable lighting to the masses. In fact, CHAUVET DJ’s GigBar range will massively reduce the time you spend setting up and breaking down at gigs, and I’m all for saving time, especially at the end of a long night!

The GigBAR Bridge ILS is like a Swiss army knife for DJ lighting setups. It combines two different effects: moving heads and wash lights pre-mounted on a single bar. Stick it on a pole, turn it on, and the job is done. People love it because it’s plug-and-play but still offers advanced features for anyone who wants to spend a bit of time setting them up.

You will notice that it’s not a full-size ‘regular’ GigBAR. It’s just over 26 x 2.8 x 12” (660 x 71 x 305 mm) and weighs 18.6 lbs (8.4kg). There are two moving heads powered by a cool-white 40w LED each and they have separate GOBO and colour wheels. There are nine non-replaceable static GOBOs with nine colours plus open, and you can get fancy with split colours and continuous scroll effects at various speeds.

Across the top of the bar, there are four wash LEDs. These are 10w HEX (RGBWA+UV) LEDs that can also be used as a strobe (0 to 20Hz) to energise your dancefloor. Because they’re HEX, they produce rich, vibrant colours to create the perfect vibe and have a beam angle of 22° and a field angle of 38°. In terms of output, the moving heads produce an impressive 6,594 Lux at 2m (per head), and the wash lights produce 375 Lux at 2m per section.
There’s a single, removable pole mount in the centre for placing on a mobile tripod. On the rear, there is a full-colour display, so navigating through the settings is a breeze. PowerCON in and out takes care of the juice and you also have an option to daisy chain. There is also 3-pin DMX for control – with three different modes: 3-, 16- and 46-channel. If DMX is not your thing, then you can use CHAUVET DJ’s RF controller, a footswitch, or the ILS command (all available to buy separately).

I was also sent the ILS command for this review, which I reviewed in issue 120. It’s a fantastic way to wirelessly control the GigBAR Bridge ILS with the built-in D-Fi transceiver. Just put it into slave mode, make sure your wireless channels match, and off you go. It’s painless, and it syncs effortlessly with what is now a huge range of ILS-enabled fixtures.

If you’re worried about the moving heads spinning around all over the place, the GigBAR Bridge ILS features a totem mode that allows you to keep them locked on the dancefloor, keeping your lighting focused on the action.

So far, it’s all standard stuff, so you’d think the review is pretty much done and dusted, right? Wrong! The GigBAR Bridge ILS has a few more tricks up its sleeve!
It’s called the GigBAR Bridge ILS, and when I first saw it, I wasn’t really sure what the ‘bridge’ bit meant, but honestly, it’s genius. The system comes with a built-in mechanism for attaching multiple Bridge systems together. It’s quick, secure and doesn’t require any tools. The units are power-linkable, and you can daisy-chain multiple units together without needing a dedicated power line with plugs for each one. It’s tripod- or truss-mountable with a removable bracket for complete flexibility.

You could connect three units together, attach them to a pair of CHAUVET FLEXstands (or other regular lighting stands), and remove all the extra brackets you don’t need to create a tidy-looking bridge over your DJ booth. It would literally take minutes, and you wouldn’t even need a spanner or a screwdriver!

Despite snobbery from some on social media, I still believe that the GigBAR series is perfect for weddings, parties, or gigs where versatile, dynamic lighting is needed without hauling tons of equipment around. Sure, if you want to go the extra mile and make life a whole lot more complicated for yourself, there are plenty of other CHAUVET DJ products to choose from, but you can’t really go wrong with the GigBAR Bridge ILS.