The term industry standard is often overused but in nearly every professional recording studio and edit suite I have ever set foot in, there is almost always a Herman Miller Aeron chair sat gracing the desk or console. It’s like they are the industry standard studio seating option and for as long as I have had a studio I have wanted one. But at £1200 new they are at the top end of the price bracket for something you sit on. However, there is another way…
Studio Chairs Or Office Chairs
In the last 10 years, my studio has gone from being a place I like to spend my free time, to being somewhere I spend 50% of my working life to now spending nearly all day every day. My first studio chair was about £30 from an office reclamation store. The second was from an on-line office warehouse for about £220 and right now as I type this article I’m sitting in what could be called the Rolls Royce of studio furniture the Herman Miller Aeron chair.
Black Friday Or Should It Be Back Friday
We all know that the cyber weekend has become synonymous with great deals even when we don’t go looking for then. This Black Friday I happened across a deal from a company called 2ndHnd.com who deal in reconditioned office furniture. They offered a reconditioned Herman Miller Aeron Size B for £399 which is around 2/3 of the list price of a new chair, but the deal got even sweeter as over the cyber weekend they were offering the same chair for £364.99 with free delivery. I have never before got my credit card out so fast to make a purchase.
Setting Up Your Studio Chair
It goes without saying that there is a correct way to sit on a chair if you want to maintain good posture and not give yourself back and spine issues in later life. This is not specific to Aeron chairs but they do offer a very good range of adjustment and motion meaning you can really tailor the chair to your own anthropometrics.
Height Adjustment: Use the height adjustment lever to make sure your body is not being crushed over overstretched with your feet flat on the floor. Not resting on the legs or kicked back under the seat and definitely not with your legs crossed. The angles in your body should be between 90 and 100 degrees meaning that the angle at your hips between your torso and your thigh should be between 90 and 100 degrees. This should also be the same for the angle at your knee.
The Tilt Tension: This adjustment allows you to vary the pressure it takes to recline the chair. This is very much to personal taste and will be different depending on the weight of the person sitting in the chair. I like the chair balanced so I have to push back in order to get the chain to fully recline.
The Tilt Locks: The two Tilt Locks on the left side of the chair mean you entirely lock the chair and disable the tilt feature. Allow just recline or forward tilt or allow both. I like the chair to follow me as I lean in or push back. It really is very comfortable and with the forward tilt engaged the chair almost helps you to get up.
The Arm Rests: If your chair has armrests they should be adjusted so when your arms are at rest they form an L shape. Too high or too low and you risk damaging your neck or shoulders.
But don’t just take our word for it, take a look at the video below.
Buying Reconditioned
When the chair arrived I gave it a good going over to make sure it was in tip-top condition and other than a couple of scuffs in the legs and a couple of minor scratches on the armrest adjustment it was as good as new. The mesh back and seat look like they have hardly been sat in. The armrests are also in perfect, as new condition. I really can’t recommend 2ndHnd.com highly enough.
Good Posture
All too often we think about the now and forget about the later. Well, your back, posture and spine are not things to forget about if you want to be able to move in later life. I had been suffering with some lower back pain that I had been attributing to spending far too many hours on a drum throne. However, sitting in my new Aeron chain is making a massive difference. I’m not waking up in the morning and moving like a man twice my age, which is a bonus and something you can’t put a price on.
As studio professionals, we spend all too many long hours sat down, you owe it to yourself to make sure you are not only sat correctly but also sat comfortably. Hopefully, the information in this article will help.
If you have any posture or ergonomic advice to offer please do leave it in the comments section below.