JHouse Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 I'm thinking about purchasing a gaming chair, but using it for music production — Namely for playing my keyboard and assembling tracks. Would you guys recommend using a gaming chair, and if so, do you have any suggestions? Or would you suggest an executive chair for my needs? Don't want to spend more than $250-$350. Sincerely, Lord JHouse 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottie(the)goonie Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 I bought a used Herman Miller Aeron chair for $350 that I've owned for about 5 years. It's one of the better purchases I've made for the PC. It's not the most comfortable and it punishes you for sitting incorrectly, but the mesh material can really support you for 8 hours at a time. My second favorite chair for gaming is a wood chair. Office depot also makes a chair that is around $200 that is somewhat decent. You can actually go there and sit in one if you like. I'm weary of racing bucket seat design as computer chairs. I have actual bucket seats in my car (Bride Low Max) and they are great for resisting sideways gravity but they aren't comfortable for more than an hour at a time. Finally, breathable mesh chairs are great for letting farts through. If you go with fabric it will slowley be terraformed with gas. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neks Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 (edited) You can also sometimes find nice office chairs on Craiglist sold by liquidators for a fraction of the price if you're in a big enough city (or near one). I'd def choose one of those over a gaming chair. At work I have a Steelcase Leap and it's incredibly comfortable all day for my fat ass. I'm hoping I can find a used one some day for home. Edited January 7, 2022 by neks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfsop Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 I really like Swiss Balls (Oh Hi @arkei 😄 ) because they prevent staying in the same position all the time and your core muscles don't degenerate as much. Also, they're dirt cheap. Do you play a full keyboard or a small synth / Midi keyboard? Arm rests might be a problem. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdiggla Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 15 hours ago, JHouse said: I'm thinking about purchasing a gaming chair, but using it for music production — Namely for playing my keyboard and assembling tracks. Would you guys recommend using a gaming chair, and if so, do you have any suggestions? Or would you suggest an executive chair for my needs? Don't want to spend more than $250-$350. Sincerely, Lord JHouse IDK about gaming chairs but have wondered the same thing. My guess is they are sub-par compared to a nice work chair. I recently got a kneeling chair off craigslist and pretty happy with it. If you have any back pain might be worth looking into. Also suggest checking out https://www.uline.com/ they sell office supplies and are one of the better priced resources I've found. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHouse Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 3 hours ago, scottie(the)goonie said: I bought a used Herman Miller Aeron chair for $350 that I've owned for about 5 years. It's one of the better purchases I've made for the PC. It's not the most comfortable and it punishes you for sitting incorrectly, but the mesh material can really support you for 8 hours at a time. My second favorite chair for gaming is a wood chair. Office depot also makes a chair that is around $200 that is somewhat decent. You can actually go there and sit in one if you like. I'm weary of racing bucket seat design as computer chairs. I have actual bucket seats in my car (Bride Low Max) and they are great for resisting sideways gravity but they aren't comfortable for more than an hour at a time. I like the idea of a Herman Miller Aeron chair sounds good, however, like you mentioned, "it punishes you for sitting incorrectly." Shoot, I sit incorrectly all the time, therefore I could see it jacking up my back. The reason I was initially leaning towards a gaming chair is because some of the producers I respect are using them, so figured they were all good for long-term seating. They look uncomfortable though, especially for 5-8 plus hours, so I've been on the fence. I've tried executive chairs before, but mind you, I was only entertaining the cheapest options, so naturally didn't find anything suitable for my needs. Moving forward, I think my best option is going to Office Depot and trying them out. Thanks for the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHouse Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 3 hours ago, neks said: You can also sometimes find nice office chairs on Craiglist sold by liquidators for a fraction of the price if you're in a big enough city (or near one). I'd def choose one of those over a gaming chair. At work I have a Steelcase Leap and it's incredibly comfortable all day for my fat ass. I'm hoping I can find a used one some day for home. Thanks man. I tried a bunch of chairs I found on Craigslist (throughout Orange County and Los Angeles), but admittedly I was only scoping the cheap ones at the time, so they never fit my needs. May have to look again though, especially since numerous offices shut down since Covid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHouse Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 3 hours ago, mfsop said: Do you play a full keyboard or a small synth / Midi keyboard? Arm rests might be a problem. I play a full 88-key Midi keyboard (Native Instruments S88) . Didn't think about the potential arm rests issue, which now that you bring it up, could see it being a problem. Will have to really think about that one, which is why I'm glad I created this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHouse Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 2 hours ago, djdiggla said: IDK about gaming chairs but have wondered the same thing. My guess is they are sub-par compared to a nice work chair. I recently got a kneeling chair off craigslist and pretty happy with it. If you have any back pain might be worth looking into. Also suggest checking out https://www.uline.com/ they sell office supplies and are one of the better priced resources I've found. The more I think about your guys feedback and questions, the more I'm leaning towards a nice work chair. Since those are already meant for long ass work sessions, they'll likely meet my needs, granted I don't go cheap. I want an executive chair that makes me feel like a pimp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 I have an Aeron and I love it. I certainly don't have the best posture, but I find it really comfortable, and I love the mesh in the warmer months. Every other office chair I had before the Aeron started to fuck up after several months. They'd get creaky when leaning back and/or the material would start to wear/tear, particularly with those fake leather office chairs. The Aeron is built like a tank. I've had mine for just over 3½ years and it's literally as good as new. Obviously, given how much Aerons cost, you would expect them to last a very long time, but they do actually live up to the hype. I think "gaming chairs" are a bit like "gaming headsets" in that they're usually overpriced and are style over substance. The business model for the chairs seems to be to give out free ones to streamers/YouTubers/influencers, sponsor some of them, then try and build an image of them being the "cool" thing to own. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHouse Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 Aight, the Aeron is back in the game. Will research them a bit more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottie(the)goonie Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 25 minutes ago, JHouse said: Aight, the Aeron is back in the game. Will research them a bit more. I found my Aeron the way @neks was mentioning - through a liquidator who had bought 100 of them. There are 3 waist sizes of them (A, B, C) and there is an updated version of the chair (which I don't have) with a "X-Brace" lubar support which is much more sturdy than the previous version. The guy let me sit in a few of them to compare the sizes. At this point in my life I would definitely spend $1000 on a chair that will last 10 years. You get to enjoy the quality everyday. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdiggla Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 Yeah that's right there are three sizes. IDK if this is still standard but with my work one there are dots on the back at the top. 1 dot is small and 3 is large. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 Yeah, the very latest version still has the dot(s) at the top on the underside of the frame. There's charts on the Herman Miller website you can use to see which one would be best for you. There's 2 main versions, the classic and the remastered, plus each has various options. Here's the main differences between the classic and remastered: - https://www.btod.com/blog/aeron-classic-vs-remastered/ A little tip - the mechanism that locks the armrest height in place is a dial on chairs made before 2005, and a lever on chairs made after then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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