# Studio Chairs - What are you rocking?



## Audun Jemtland (Apr 19, 2012)

*1. What studio chair do you have?*
I bought the Herman Miller Mirra chair upon trying Aeron...but I didn't try the Mirra, HM is rare in my country and I bought it from USA based on good reviews and it was so called an improved version of aeron.
Coclusion: the Mirra chair sucks. It was actually giving me pressure points instead of relieving them.

*2. What chair does Hans Zimmer have?*
Always wondered why there's an aeron in almost every studio in the world,and hans DON'T have one in his main sitting area Makes me wonder why and how amazing his must be.



http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct11/articles/studio-sos-1011.htm


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## SvK (Apr 19, 2012)

HM Aeron's


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## MacQ (Apr 19, 2012)

SvK @ Thu Apr 19 said:


> HM Aeron's



+1. Seriously, looking at those chairs in the SOS article, I don't know that they'd work for me. The mesh-back is critical to heat dispersion for the long long hours I spend sitting in this chair. I always got too warm with other chairs. Also, it's easy to clean so it doesn't end up smelling like flatulence after long weeks/months/years of use.

~Stu


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 19, 2012)

While I do feel it's important to wear the same brand of underwear Hans wears, no chair is perfect for everyone's body.

I absolutely love my Aeron and have been sitting in it all day long for several years, although I know two people (one of whom I'm married to) who find them uncomfortable. It could be that the ones they tried were the wrong size, because they both complained about pressure from the front of the seat, i.e. the backs of their legs above their knees. Or it could be that their bodies and the Aeron aren't a good match.

Still, it's hard to imagine that the Aeron could have become so popular if most people didn't find it comfortable.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 19, 2012)

Stu, I won't be sitting in any of your chairs if I ever visit you.


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## Audun Jemtland (Apr 19, 2012)

I've sat in the aeron for 5min. I was positively suprised by the give in the seat, but the back rim pierced me abit aorund my shoulders and if I remember correctly the back was more stiff than the seat. I also had some front seat pressure but I think I sat to high. The aeron I tried was a size C...And I'm 183cm and 80kg.

Maybe Hans' studio LOOKS good but smells?  

(it must be something secretly uber comfy about it though)


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## madbulk (Apr 19, 2012)

I have a Humanscale Freedom Chair with a headrest, gel seat and maybe most importantly adjustable arms that drop down below waist level for playing guitar.

I never think about my chair, so I guess I'm thrilled with it.

Need a chair for my wife who doesn't want to have the same chair as I do just because that would be boring... thinking about the Steelcase Leap.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 19, 2012)

Audun, that's the rub (almost literally): your shoulders don't match up with the chair back. Obviously mine do, or I wouldn't be so comfortable. I'm about the same height as you, but my legs are proportionally long, so maybe that's why it fits me better. It's almost certainly a matter of fit rather than stiffness, because nobody would care whether the back is stiffer than the seat; we sit on chairs with seat cushions and wooden backs all the time.

By the way, they make two kinds of lumbar support. I tried both, and I chose the old kind rather than the one shaped like a butterfly.

Actually, that could be what's hitting your shoulders.

In any case, saying that the Aeron - or the Mira (which I think is just a less adjustable version?) sucks and the comfort is secret is sort of silly. It sucks for you but not for everyone!


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## Audun Jemtland (Apr 19, 2012)

madbulk @ Thu Apr 19 said:


> I have a Humanscale Freedom Chair with a headrest, gel seat....


How's the gelseat? I'd imagine it's like sitting down on my gel wrist rest?

It's between humanscale,aeron and embody(i've also tried embody,the leaning back is one of a kind)





Nick Batzdorf @ Thu Apr 19 said:


> Audun, that's the rub (almost literally): your shoulders don't match up with the chair back. Obviously mine do, or I wouldn't be so comfortable. I'm about the same height as you, but my legs are proportionally long, so maybe that's why it fits me better. It's almost certainly a matter of fit rather than stiffness, because nobody would care whether the back is stiffer than the seat; we sit on chairs with seat cushions and wooden backs all the time.
> 
> By the way, they make two kinds of lumbar support. I tried both, and I chose the old kind rather than the one shaped like a butterfly.
> 
> ...


I felt a little trapped and closed in, in the shoulder areas. No pretty sure it wasn't the butterfly but the rim/edge of the chair "closing" me in.
You're right about the back. Would just be preferrable when leaning back with some cushyness.

Yes it sucks for ME :D 



I tested embody and aeron side by side. The aeron had great give and cush on the seat, but the embody had a neutral feel and AMAZING backlean. I just wanted to lean back-Didn't feel too much give or too little on embody's seat. I was missing lumbar support on the embody.It was just a one size fits all and it didn't support me(align with my spinal cord)


I'm curious about cheap alternatives before I make a Herman Miller purchase again. I meant there must be some "secret" to Hans' chair since he got what he has, and not an aeron like 'everyone' else.


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## madbulk (Apr 19, 2012)

Audun Jemtland @ Thu Apr 19 said:


> madbulk @ Thu Apr 19 said:
> 
> 
> > I have a Humanscale Freedom Chair with a headrest, gel seat....
> ...


I never had the non-gel seat, so I can't really say comparatively, but it's less bouncy than your wrist rest. I think the big thing with the humanscale is the moving back... you can't fix it. And I like that just fine, but if you're someone who occasionally puts the chair upright and tries to force sitting up straight that way, you'll miss that.


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## Rob Elliott (Apr 19, 2012)

Humanscale for 8 years. Love it. Last year I didn't like the way the seat was wearing - one call and I had a new one in 3 days. Sit in it 12 hrs/day NEVER sore. Paid for itself in the 1st month.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 19, 2012)

My wife and daughter both really like their Swopper chairs. I have one for auxiliary seating, but its seat isn't padded enough for me to sit in for long. Otherwise I like it.

www.swopper.com


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## NYC Composer (Apr 20, 2012)

+1 for Aeron. I'm a cheap bastard, so I would never have had it if my wife hadn't bought it for me, bless her.


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## nikolas (Apr 20, 2012)

I got a wonderful chair from the greek company 'SATO'. It's not vastly expensive, but works a treat for me.

Thing is that with the summer in Greece it can get very happy and me quite sweaty, so the back in this chair is EXCELLENT!


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## Audun Jemtland (Apr 21, 2012)

Thanks all for your insight.

It'll be either embody,aeron or freedom. After some testing.
Until then, I want a cheap alternative. That's why I wondered what the zimmer chair was.


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## snowleopard (Apr 29, 2012)

I'm using a cheap Chinese made HM knock-off, because I'm part of the working poor. I think I picked up at some big box chain. The one thing I do like about it compared to other chairs is no arm rests. Those just get in the way with me.


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## chimuelo (May 25, 2012)

Nice.


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## Nick Batzdorf (May 25, 2012)

Why the arm rests are important in my set-up (this is an old cell phone pic my wife snapped a few years ago to show a customer the ergonomics):


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## Synesthesia (May 25, 2012)

Love my Aeron.

I figured that it was cheaper to spend the 800 GBP (at the time) on a good chair than the 8000 GBP on an Osteopath five years down the line..


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## RiffWraith (May 25, 2012)

I am using one of these:







:D


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## chimuelo (May 25, 2012)

I usually stand but now I returned to my childhood days as you have Riff.
Only it's the modern version.
Anyone remember those big balls with the large rubber hoop when we was kids...?
I was always scooting around on one of those, but since I get tired at night if I practice all day, which is usually the case after Chimuelo Jr. goes to school, I use the Core Ball to move around and I even do backwards leg raises, etc.
It's a drag when your wifes a babe and being 16 years older than her, it's my duty to stay fit, and it really sucks, but that's reality.
Thanks to my regressions as a child,stretching out TaeKwonDo style watching TV, or making sure I always just don't sit, unless I am bashing the elites here or trying to save the Planet, I have ensured myself that I can still cut the mustard with Mrs. Chimuelo. 

But I no longer can stand all day and play, as then I go to the gig, and miss pedal cues, and just feel like my back is burning on the last set.
When I get really old I'll just get a solo Piano gig where I can sit on my ass.

Nick you have the hands of a Bassist, a lefty actually...


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## Nick Batzdorf (May 26, 2012)

You must think that because I'm slap-happy.


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## reid (May 26, 2012)

Audun, you're living in the same country as one of the world's most respected chair manufacturers - HAG!

I was in the same position as you a few years back - I'd bought a HM Mirra, mainly because of the hype surrounding HM, then quickly realised it just wasn't for me. After some thinking about what I really wanted from a studio chair, and a lot of research, I settled on the Hag Capisco. Never regretted it and never have had any back problems since getting it. Don't be put off by its unconventional look - there's sound reasoning behind all the design decisions, and they make for a very flexible, musician friendly chair.

http://www.haginc.com/products/hag-capisco/hag-capisco-8106/ (http://www.haginc.com/products/hag-capi ... isco-8106/)


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