• Hardware
  • Any suggestions for a good studio chair?
2007/09/09 02:08:20
droddey
I didn't see any threads on this subject, so I figured I'd ask. I'm selling my home theater and putting the money into studio upgrades, and that also means the home theater room can become the studio and get it out of my bedroom, with a dedicated quad core and better sound treatement and all that. That means I need a second chair, both so that I don't have to push my software development chair in there every time I want to work, and because that chair is not particularly quiet and I don't want squeaky chair noise in the mic.

I could obviously just to to the local office supply store, which is where I got the one I'm using. But are there any more specialized options out there that are super-quiet and also comfortable and supportive?
2007/09/09 12:16:48
mwd
Droddey... been in Office Products for 40 years. There is a huge difference in the discount house chairs and a quality chair. HON is by far the leading chair maker with decades of experience. The ones that are good for you and would be considered an "all day" chair (as opposed to a 20 minute chair) is going to have ergonomic qualities.

The primary differences are going to come from:

Construction - Pick it up. A good quality chair is heavy. No if, and or buts.
Adjustments - Higher quality chairs have tons of adjustments to custom fit the posture to you. Lower quality basically go up and down and the back sometimes raises up and down.
Expense - While not always the case the better the chair... the more it cost. (***see below)
Fabric - The better the fabric the more it cost. Sometimes the same chair can be had in say an A,B or C fabric grade which affect the cost.

*** If you can go to a mom and pop office furniture store you can sometimes save money in these ways. A custom chair that was ordered and the fabric came in wrong. They are sometimes either stuck with it or it was comped to them so they have zero in it. Shipping chair mistakes back is not feasible. Also we order chairs in bulk for a local Air Force Base and also our College. We might have a customer order 90 chairs and maybe we get another level price break at 100 so we order 10 extra. Those 10 chairs are super high quality that we got a huge break on. We can pass that along to our customers. That's why I say try a mom and pop store and they can cover the chair adjustments with you. Makes a big difference. Might let you concentrate on your music instead of why your legs are going numb. The big box stores usually can't do anything more than telling you aisle 7.

2007/09/09 16:19:37
marcos69
I have to use 2 chairs. One without arms so I can be comfortable sitting recording guitars. The other with arms so I can rest my arms while mixing. Keep that in mind.
2007/09/09 18:24:49
losguy
I tried this chair in a local boutique recording studio and I loved it:

Herman Miller Aeron

I would have bought one for myself, too, until I saw the price tag. I'm still waiting for some competition in this high-end arena to bring in some similar features at a lower price point.
2007/09/09 18:26:27
coldsteal2
I use Lazyboys, but thats just me......im lazy
2007/09/09 18:58:09
droddey
The Aeron thing looks nice. How much was it? I assume it's probably like $500'ish or something? That's way more than I can justify. I have to put as much as possible into the equipment and room treatment. I'll probably just end up hitting the local office supply place and see what I can find.
2007/09/09 22:31:59
mwd
If you like the mesh chair there is a brand called Basyx (aka BSX). It's a subdivision of HON and these are decent chairs.

Sample of BSXVL701ST11 here

Can be had for about half of what you mention (250 or so) and some places have free shipping.

Any mesh chair you buy... sit in it first. They don't look comfortable on first glance but they really are but some of them the mesh seat is slick.

Almost slid into the floor first one I sat in.

The sample above is kinda' neat the back is mesh and the seat is standard.

2007/09/09 22:43:51
droddey
That's more reasonable. I'll have to see where I come out on funds in the end.
2007/09/09 23:59:57
yep

ORIGINAL: mwd
...Any mesh chair you buy... sit in it first. They don't look comfortable on first glance but they really are but some of them the mesh seat is slick...

Also, for a studio chair, sit in it on a hard surface and rock back and forth and wheel it around. Pick it up and shake it. Take a look at the contruction (especially the wheels) and estimate how likely they are to remain silent.

I can't tell you how much money I and others I know have spent on comfortable, good-looking chairs that squeak, rattle, or creak after a few weeks of use, or that clatter across hardwood floors whenever the sitter shifts position. In a dedicated control room this is maybe not such a big deal but in a one-room home studio it's a royal PITA. And even most control rooms get a fair amount of use for tracking. Any time you're buying studio equipment, noise is a worthwhile consideration.

Cheers.
2007/09/10 00:52:48
droddey
Yeh, that's the problem with my current chair (which will stay in the bedroom for software development after the studio moves to the other room.) It was quite solid and quiet for a while, but with some wear and tear it's loosened up a lot and has more creaks and groans (a lot like myself.)
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