Cheapest Mover.....1000 watts

[stantonsound]

Chauvet StageMover (or S Mover)

I think that it has been mentioned here before, but I could not find a review, so I thought that I would post one.

A Chauvet dealer owed me money for a show that I did for him and didn't have it, so I took (2) of the Chauvet StageMovers that he had on his shelf in trade. All of my other movers are Chauvet or HighEnd, so I was skeptical. I just finished using them for a show, and here is what I found.


For those who are not familiar, it is a 1000watt moving head fixture. It has pan and tilt, as well as a built in dimmer, and that is about it. No color changing, no gobos....but the cost is $300 each.

Initially, I found some features that I really liked. The bases were smaller than typical movers, and were fairly light. There were detachable mounting brackets (much like the better movers) so it can be hung easily. They also come with 4 colors of gels. There are two cooling fans that are positioned between the lamp and the gel, thus increasing the gel life. The power cord is also detachable (UPC like a computer) which I like to replace with the 25' cables so they are easier to use.

I powered them up and hooked them up to my smartfade ML. They work fairly smoothly and quickly, not too bad for $300 a piece. After a few minutes, I noticed a clicking from one of the units. Upon inspection, one of the cooling fans was making this noise, and I found that one of the fan blades was too long and hitting the edge. I filed it down, and it stopped clicking. The dimmer was slow, so it is impossible to get a strobe effect. The units were also difficult to program, as they have sound activated master and slave, as well as built in programs.....so getting it addressed to DMX was a challenge as the menus were not easy to understand without the manual.

I used it for 6 performances, and it worked fairly well. It was quick and quiet, but it just feels cheap (a great deal of plastic and too light).

I think that this can be good for a few applications. I heard that Universal Studios bought a bunch to use as indoor search light effects, which they would be perfect for. I used them as a moving crowd blinder, and it worked pretty well for that too.

I have them scheduled for a Pat McGee/Sister Hazel show next week and I am going to place them behind the drummer for a back line effect and then pan them to the crowd for a blinder.

All in all, very impressed for $300. I doubt that they will last more than a year or so, but I plan to use them until they break.