This system isn't perfect—the case, stand bag, and foot controller don't really inspire a ton of confidence. The case is thankfully a hard-foam zipper style, which makes it light and relatively protective, but its canvas outer layer is held on with screws which I can pretty much guarantee will back out over time. The canvas material feels pretty cheap, and that trend continues even more with the stand bag which is essentially a skinny potato sack with a drawstring—it's more convenient than carrying the bare stand would be, but it's not adding anything in terms of protection. The foot controller also feels pretty cheap, and the battery compartment is secured with screws instead of a clip so if the 9V battery dies at a gig, changing it will take longer than I'd like. I haven't had it long enough to know if it will indicate somehow when the battery is low, but I suspect it won't. The stand is surprisingly sturdy and extends the lights to a maximum height of 7 or 8 feet (sorry, no tape measure handy at the time of this review), but the hardware for setting the feet and the pole height is, as is the overall trend here, pretty cheap. It works fine, but odds are a lot of this won't hold up all that long if you're gigging regularly.

At this price, however, I don't care. The stand and case that come with this one are WAY better than in the not-that-much-cheaper 4 Bar LT. The light output is great for the price point, and as simple as the foot controller is, it's by far the easiest (and I'd argue best) way to control lights from the stage. One system is more than sufficient to light up a solo or duo act. I ended up buying two of these systems and a 50ft DMX cable for use with my 4-piece band. I haven't tested it yet, but in Master/Slave mode I'll be able to use one foot controller to synchronize both units. I may even get a third one to place upstage for some rim lighting.

Sadly, it seems like this system is being phased out, replaced by the newer Hex version. Personally, I found the price point of this system and the higher overall output to be preferable to the color advantages of the hex lights, but the good news is it looks like that system comes with all the same accessories so, while it's a slightly worse value, it should still be a great option when this Quad system is eventually discontinued.

Also, just as an aside, I did see one review mention the case being just a bag. I believe that's true of the Flex version (which is just the lights, no stand) as well as the LT version (which is a smaller bar with 3-LED modules instead of the 7-LED modules this unit is equipped with), but the case that is intended to come with this 4Bar Quad is the rigid foam zipper case I mentioned in my review. Their product line is a little confusing and this took me a while to figure out, so hopefully that's helpful to someone.

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I've played in a 5-piece classic rock cover band for the last five years and am a musician with decades of experience. We usually have a sound engineer, but our lighting system has been generally us putting up some colored lights in the back, and either leaving them in static mode, or using them in sound-operated mode.

We play 40-50 times a year, so that gear started wearing out. Thus, last year I did a lot of research and decided to buy two Chauvet DJ 4BAR Quad light systems from Sweetwater. Sweetwater's two-year warranty protection is the best around and since I was buying lights manufactured in China, I felt it would be in our band's best interests to have that additional warranty protection, and as it turns out, buying from Sweetwater was a good decision.

I purchased both sets of lights in May 2024. At first, they worked well. I set them up fairly easily in a master-slave configuration, connected them via an XLR cable and by using the included wireless footswitch, our band for the first time had a modest light show. I could turn the lights on and off at the start and end of a song, and could set the lights to run in a static mode, auto-mode or in a sound-operated mode. The lights were bright, but the color intensity could be adjusted and for the first time, we had credible back-lighting.

The lights worked fine until February 2025. We were setting up for our first show of the new year. One of my set-up tasks was to get the Chauvets up and running. I set the master light up with no problems. When it came time to set up the slave lights, they didn't turn on. There's no on-off switch, so one just plugs in the unit and it's supposed to work, but this time, the unit didn't operate. I checked the fuse, but it wasn't blown. So, that night, we had to make do with the remaining Chauvet.

A few days later, I contacted Sweetwater and informed them of my situation. Because the shipping costs to get the defective unit back to Sweetwater were prohibitively expensive from my town, the company kindly emailed me a shipping label.

I was contacted a few days later and advised that Sweetwater didn't service Chauvet lights, so Sweetwater would ship the system to Chauvet's repair location. Sweetwater was really good about keeping me up with the progress on the repairs.
After a few weeks went by, I emailed the service folks at Sweetwater. I was told that the parts to repair the unit were backordered and no one at Chauvet could give me an estimated time when the unit would be repaired, so Sweetwater shipped me a brand-new unit.

So, kudos to Sweetwater for honoring the warranty, perhaps when it didn't have to. But they made a fan out of me forever for that act.

As far as the Chauvet unit, it worked great until it suddenly didn't. If Sweetwater hadn't taken it upon themselves to remedy a problem it didn't create, I would give zero stars to the product. As it is, I'll give the unit two stars, again because of Sweetwater's unparalleled customer service. Frankly, given the supply chain issues that may arise if new tariffs are placed on Chinese products, it may be that serious thought should be given before purchasing a unit manufactured in China, but since very few like-items are made in the USA, this may be a long-term issue for everyone. In retrospect, perhaps purchasing a few individual and cheaper LED PAR lights and putting them on a stand may have been a better decision for me; time will tell.

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Great lights - just what I was hoping for easy to pack and set up!

My Sweetwater expert Ryan, answered all my questions and helped me with my order. Everything arrived on time and was perfect. I am very happy with my purchase!

I already have a previous review on these awesome lights but one more great thing is the ILS mobile phone control you have with these. Change in lighting color and ambience really affects the emotion of music, and these are a dream-come-true to control.

The colors are really rich pro grade.

I did order some 15 foot standard IEC power cables for each unit so I can wrap a bit down the stand for neat cable management. :)

I've owned Chauvet stuff and never had a complaint till I got the 4 bar. I didn't get the stand, just the lights. First off, the lights are fine for my purposes - club band and they throw enough wash lighting to light the stage. My complaint is with the case and attaching them to a pole. First the case, it's just a crappy bag with little protection for the lights. I added a piece of pressboard cut to fit and glued the foam that came with the lights to the board. Hardly road worthy but better then what you get out of the box. And my other issue is with the mounting system. It's 'pole through' so the lighting bar has a knob to snug the fitting to the bar to hold it in place on the pole. That piece has a tack weld that is weak, first one I got broke the first time I used it - I figured this must be a defect and sent it back and Sweetwater replaced it. Second unit - same issue. Not sending it back but will use a small C clamp to keep it in place. This is just poor design. Lights are fine, the rest is garbage. No reflection on Sweetwater - their usual great customer service worked perfectly but maybe review your product offerings from Chauvet.

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When it comes to stage lighting, pay attention to the "luminance" in the specs. This one has a luminance of 2353 lux @ 2m per par. I replaced an older set of Chauvet 4BAR from 2016 with the little 108 LED's that had a luminance of about 750 lux, ... which is fine in a small club but not anywhere near the rich colors of these pars with 7 large leds.

We did a gig as a 5 piece band for July 4 on an outdoor trailer stage, and the company providing sound used just one of these on both sides. The stage lighting was as nice as any large concert.

The brightness is absolutely professional in a small to medium gigging venue.

Our band has two of these 4BAR Quads for wash lights, 2 Chauvet Giga Bars for active lights and a Chauvet haze machine. Indoors, the haze machine really shows off your investment in lighting and is almost a top secret ambience factor that makes everything come together beautifully!

If you already have a stand, look at the 4BAR Flex, which does not include a stand but looks like the same top bar with the same luminance, and save about $-ish using your own stand.

ILS is the new way to go in lighting to allow control with mobile phones.

We use a 50 foot DMX cable to sync these lights and run the cable around the back of the stage. Sometimes we use solid colors, and some songs we let the colors wash through the various programs. We don't use the music active feature because with have the Gig Bars for active lighting.

Very hightly recommended. They are built to last a very long time

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