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Hi folks,
i am in the UK and am looking for a good studio chair. I have a new one room space in my back garden (20m2) in which I write and record and know (after years of suffering with rubbish office chairs) that I need a good chair.
I have been researching on forums etc and have whitled my options down to the hermann Miller Aeron or Mirra which seems to be an industry standard. I don't doubt it is a fantastic chair but as I often need to record guitar I need one with adjustable or removable armrests as i want to avoid having 2 chairs, one for mixing etc at the desk and 1 (armless chair) for recording guitar as this would reduce available space.
so far one option which gets great reviews is the Humanscale freedom which has armrests that are adjustable downwards but am wondering if anyone has experience of these chairs for this dual purpose?
I know to ideally not buy a chair without trying it out but this also seems to be very difficult, there are many outlets that can supply these chairs by buying online but none so far have showrooms where i can actually sit in them! I am not in London where there may be more options to try chairs but could get there if no choice (about a 2 hour drive). The other option I have explored is to buy a chair online from a store closer to home (already checked and none in store to try), try it at home and return it i person if not suitable. This is far from ideal as I would like to compare several chairs by sitting in them but this seems to be impossible nowadays! It feels like buying a car without a test drive!
incidentally another chair I have seen reccomended and may be able to actually try out is the Hag05 but again I don't think the armrests do what I need.
Any thoughts are much appreciated.
many thanks
José

Jose, I guess it's been 20-25 yrs?? I felt like you do about chairs. I went to a regular office furniture shop and tried them out. I would recommend you do also. They aren't cheap, and what they appear is not at all how they sit from looking at brochures. And everyone has a different ass,lol! I ended up buying a steelcase, and have been extremely pleased with it. It's similar to this one
https://www.steelcase.com/products/offi ... criterion/
The arms come off, the arms flip inside or outside, there are many levers and adjustments. I was worried about the fabric, it didn't look that sturdy, but it has held up well, even with all the cigarette and cigar burns,lol! I don't remember it being the one I chose from the "brochure", but it fit me better. I don't remember what I paid for it, but it seems like it was in the 300 dollar range, expensive back then.

Here's the dealers in England, maybe one's closer than London? It's also likely the dealers carry other name brand chairs as well.
https://www.steelcase.com/find-us/where ... 20Kingdom/

As far as removing the armrests, you should be able to remove them, mine is a much older model and all I have to do is keep the button depressed and remove the armrest and an attached bar. Depending on the make and model it might be a more involved task. You might not even need to remove the armrests, either lower them all the way, or where you can actually rest your guitar on them. If I lower mine all the way, they are even with my leg, your guitar isn't going down lower than the top of your leg. Hope that helps.

After looking around the internet, the model of my chair was a Steelcase Think, But such an old one I couldn't find a picture,lol! The ones I saw looked newer. I did see a review where a guy bought used chairs, which is something to look into. Some features seemed ridiculous imo, like a head rest, might be useful for whiplash like in a car if someone rear ends you,lol! Or a rocker? Imo you want a chair that is supportive and comfortable to sit for hours and work on the computer or read... not go to sleep in,lol!

This is one very similar to what I have, similar adjustments, you notice the armrests are even with the guys leg in the lowest position.
https://youtu.be/xJ3hzHGsosY

Hi Len911 , I really appreciate your reply and especially for your reccomendations and effort to find and pass on the UK dealers for the Steelcase chairs! Amazing!!
Co-incidentally, although not near where I live, one of their dealers is pretty close to where I am going this week!! I will try and check out their chairs, your reccomendation nd the youtube vid are really helpful and much appreciated!
will let you know how it goes.
many thanks
José

Yw Jose! Yes, keep me posted! Yikes, chairs are really expensive now, I guess it was the mid to late 80's I must've bought this chair. Yes, definitely do check them out in person and find the one that fits you best. Good luck!