Recording - November 2017 - 58

In the mix

Trick Out
YOUR STUDIO

ErgoLab
StealthPRO Chair
$549 (Stealth Standard version $449); www.ergolab.com
By Paul Vnuk Jr.
What are you sitting on? For many of us, our studio chair is an
afterthought, a cast-off from our basement, a find at a yard sale, or
the coolest looking (yet cheapest) chair at the local office supply store.
Or perhaps you bit the bullet and got the famous pricey chair that all
the studios use... you know the one!
Last year at NAMM I was introduced to a third option, the ErgoLab Stealth Chair, designed for the studio. It's available in Standard
and StealthPRO versions. Both models are functionally the same and
ship with a foot ring, standard office chair casters, and a choice of two
hydraulic height cylinders. Each model also comes with a pair of arm
wrests that can be adjusted for height, width, and inward-outward tilt.
The Stealth Standard chair is 18.5" x 16.75" with a seat height
of 19.5" to 25", and a 57 lb. weight. The StealthPRO model has a
larger seat base and the option of large industrial casters; it is 20.5"
x 21.75", has a seat height of 22.5" to 30", and weighs 60 lbs. For
review I was sent the StealthPRO, which I configured with the foot
ring, the office casters and the shorter tube.

The Zen of Waves

The Stealth chairs use a webbed mesh for both the seat
and backrest that ErgoLabs calls ZenWave Technology. It is
a high-strength fiber-reinforced body frame with precise yet
variably-tensioned mesh support. It optimally disperses your
weight and eases stress on your pressure points, regardless of
how you sit, shift or fidget.
In addition to the adjustable arm wrests, you can adjust the
hydraulic height, the forward and rear tilt of the seat, and the
height and tilt of the backrest. The backrest on the Stealth is
not a full-sized shoulder-height back like on many office style
chairs. It's a small contoured lumbar-style backrest. Not only is
it height and tilt adjustable to hit the perfect spot on your back,
it is also spring-tensioned and can be left unlocked to move
with you as you lean forward or back.
58

RECORDING November 2017

The Stealth lives up to its name and is lower profile and
takes up very minimal real estate. I instantly appreciated this
smaller footprint when rolling around my room to adjust gear.
This chair is also perfect for guitarists to use when tracking in
the control room; just put the arms at the lowest setting and it's
not much bigger than a stool... and much more comfortable.
One thing to note is that the Stealth chair is not a lounge chair.
While it can tilt back slightly, this is not a "kick back, listen, and/
or doze off" chair (which I have done more than a few times in my
Aeron chair). This is by design-the Stealth is made specifically
for the mixing/computing world, where 80% of our time is spent
hunched forward. The Stealth chair retrains you to sit properly;
it's intentionally focused on proper posture and spinal alignment.
I have been suffering from a herniated L4-L5 disk for 15 years.
The chair I use in the studio is of utmost importance, not only to
me but to my physical therapist... who actually came over to
inspect the Stealth and approved of it! I have spent long sessions
in this chair and it might be the least fatiguing chair I have used.

But don't just take my word for it

As I was writing the review of the GIK Impression Panel on
page 16, I noticed a photo on GIK's website of renowned
mastering engineer Stephen Marsh's studio space (we interviewed
him in October 2014). He had a Stealth chair! I contacted
him for his opinion, and he had this to say:
"The Stealth Chair is a must-have item, in my opinion. What sold
me was the articulating lower back support. I spend my day oldschool: hunched over an analog console. The Stealth is the only chair
I've ever used that hunches with me. Seat time equals billable hours,
so it literally pays not to be getting up every 30 minutes to stretch."
A good chair is never as exciting as shiny new gear, and
good-quality seating will certainly impact your hard-earned gear
budget. That may be, but when you consider that many of us spend
long hours hunched over our gear, this is an expense that should be
a priority. You can't work effectively if you're hurting.

http://www.ergolab.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - November 2017