The Chair

spantini

spantini

COO of me, inc.
In my weeks-long search for a decent work chair from which to make music, and not drain my wallet,
I've waded into the shallow end of $50-$99 offerings. I'll be moving up from a 20.5"H desk with a
footstool as a chair.. to a 29"H requiring a "real" chair, so whatever I get will be much more
comfortable than what I am currently using.

One I have my eye on has an unusual feature.. attached to the side of the backrest is a loop "for headphones"... ?!
Headphones, you say! Well.. that's interesting, but no thanks - for the loop.. I like the chair - not the loop. It must
be for small phones because I can't imagine a regular sized pair of studio phones being easily retrieved - one cup
would always get hooked, preventing one-handed operation.

I like the chair, though!

pWbIOhQ.jpg
 
If they could only ditch the loop and replace it with a feature that makes it impossible to role over cables... That would be nice.:thumbs up:
 
Update

Well, it's been 2 years since getting this chair and it's been super comfortable from day-1. I'm in and out of it roughly 30 times each day, but I must admit I haven't spent more than 2-3 hours in it at a time. The cushioning hasn't compressed to any noticeable degree and the finish remains intact with no peeling or scratches - so far. The height adjuster piston is still strong enough to fill in for James Bond's ejector seat. And I have yet to make any good use of that "headphone loop" gadget.

So far, I haven't experienced problems running over cables and such, though line cords and headphone cables do tend to pool at my feet and frequently wind up under them while tracking.

If I recall correctly, I paid $99 and it's current price is $120.
 
That's a nice chair you've got there. Mine also has the flip up arm rests - can't do without.
 
Honestly if I could get the same chair I have without armrests at all (it too has flip-up ones) it would be better. I never put them down, and up they just catch headphone cables, especially if I’m using in-ears that have the cable going behind me.
 
Currently, I flip the headphone cord behind me and down the outside back of the chair. I keep a small bath towel draped over the back to keep the cable from sliding about. I do require armrests though as I lean heavily on them while performing other tasks at my PC.
 
I believe that comfort is the main goal, provided that you can afford that "comfortable chair." From there, you may need a few other characteristics of that chair. In my home studio, I use a standard moderately-priced desk chair on which the back can be adjusted in its distance behind me. The arms are not adjustable; but the hight is, using a lever to allow the whole assembly to move up and down. The chair is also on rollers so that I can move it around as need be. That feature is handy for me because I use the same chair for my work at the desk and also for playing my pedal steel, where I have to raise the seat a bit to allow my knee to operate the two levers under the left end of the instrument. I learned later that my steel could have been ordered about an inch or so shorter for shorter persons if I had paid some extra bucs. But I can make my "interface" with the instrument work by simply raising the seat. If I did a lot of guitar playing, I might remove the left arm of my chair to get it out of the way; but I often stand while I am playing one of my guitars, especially when I am recording a guitar track.

But I say again that comfort has to be a big "piece" of the decision. I admit here, that I am biased when I say that the appearance of the chair doesn't enter into my thinking because nobody will see it in our environment. .
 
Just for $#!+$ and giggles, I googled 'best office chair for guitar players', and guess what popped up..
'Best Office Chair For Guitar Playing 2021 Reviews' .. duhhh.. right..? :p

I wasn't expecting much because, mostly, all these 'reviews' show are overpriced chairs that aren't very appealing (to me). But these are a little different. These are all priced below the $99 I originally paid for my chair 3 years ago - and they're slightly more appealing in other ways.

I'm not yet in the market for a new chair, but if I were I'd give #3 a try. It's one of those ComaHoma jobs, similar to what @mjbphotos picked up last year (see post #4).
 
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I've sat on several chairs over the years, and have not found any partiocularly satisfactory, until I managed to get a chair that was being discarded from a major call centre as part of an office refurbishment. That is the one I'm sitting in as I type now. It is firm, comfortable and strong, which I guess is important for people whose job involves sitting in them all day.
 
Thanks for the tip. We've got a couple of those call centers in my neck of the woods, so maybe I'll start cruisin' their lots. Never know, eh.

My backside doesn't seem to work well with firm seating. I've actually placed an additional 4" foam pad on my seat cushion and it's become uncomfortable lately. I reckon I was designed for overstuffed living room chairs, but they're a no-go for office/studio/guitaring stuff.
 
spantini said:
Just for $#!+$ and giggles, I googled 'best office chair for guitar players', and guess what popped up..
'Best Office Chair For Guitar Playing 2021 Reviews' .. duhhh.. right..? :p

I wasn't expecting much because, mostly, all these 'reviews' show are overpriced chairs that aren't very appealing (to me). But these are a little different. These are all priced below the $99 I originally paid for my chair 3 years ago - and they're slightly more appealing in other ways.

I'm not yet in the market for a new chair, but if I were I'd give #3 a try. It's one of those ComaHoma jobs, similar to what @mjbphotos picked up last year (see post #4).
Click to expand...
I have to say that after a year, I'm not exactly thrilled with the chair. The seat itself is not big enough - depth-wise, so I must sit completely upright all the time (and I'm not a big guy). The seat padding is pretty thin.
Looking at the reviews at that link, I can see all these chairs in the $100 range are very limited as to comfort/fit/lastability.
I've got a 'gamer chair' (fake leather, I would guess) here at my regular computer. It's about 4 years old, and the seat material is cracking along the front of it - but its much more comfortable (no fold away arms, but you can remove them), I think it cost about $160.
 
mjbphotos said:
I have to say that after a year, I'm not exactly thrilled with the chair. The seat itself is not big enough - depth-wise, so I must sit completely upright all the time (and I'm not a big guy). The seat padding is pretty thin.
Looking at the reviews at that link, I can see all these chairs in the $100 range are very limited as to comfort/fit/lastability.
I've got a 'gamer chair' (fake leather, I would guess) here at my regular computer. It's about 4 years old, and the seat material is cracking along the front of it - but its much more comfortable (no fold away arms, but you can remove them), I think it cost about $160.
Click to expand...
That's exactly an issue I'm having with my chair. I always sit upright and on the front half, not fully into the seat. I'm @ 167 lbs and there's just not enough cushioning.

If only I could get an armless version of this little beauty...

comfort.png
 
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I picked up a Sorina Bonded Leather Chair from Staples last year that works well. It has the flip up arms, so things get out of the way for holding a guitar, but you have the rests for when you are on the computer. I think I paid $119 for it on sale. It's been comfortable, and the level adjustment is great.

sp41817402_sc7
 
That's a nice chair. I like the additional cushioning on the front of the seat. The prices are way up on them now - I'll keep an eye on it for the future.
 
TalismanRich said:
I picked up a Sorina Bonded Leather Chair from Staples last year that works well. It has the flip up arms, so things get out of the way for holding a guitar, but you have the rests for when you are on the computer. I think I paid $119 for it on sale. It's been comfortable, and the level adjustment is great.

sp41817402_sc7
Click to expand...
If you got it for $120, you lucked out. Normal price is $210, on sale right now for $180. $165 thru Walmart and $169 from Amazon.
 
I like a nice plush swivel / rocker chair for working at the desk / computer. For playing guitar however......I've always had trouble with swivel rockers. When I lean back my feet can leave the floor and my playing doesn't feel stable. Just me I guess. Could be because I played a lot of times on one of those metal fold down chairs over the years and I got used to it.

Mick
 
mjbphotos said:
If you got it for $120, you lucked out. Normal price is $210, on sale right now for $180. $165 thru Walmart and $169 from Amazon.
Click to expand...
Yes, It was about a year and a half ago, and I guess they were having good sales to get things moving in the early covid days. It is comfortable, and I was just downstairs playing my Taylor acoustic... perfect.
 
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