Double Bass Best Portable Stool?

[Richtofen]

I have become very attached to playing on stool, but lugging around a bar stool can almost be a handicap especially trying to leave through heavy doors. (Luckily my bass buggie helps with lugging around the essentials.)

I would like to be able to backpack the stool if at all possible, but yet be portable. All suggestions welcome.

 

[Don Hergert]

In my experience there is no perfect stool. They all have some fault(s), be it with expense, stability, weight, size or comfort. But, if you like or need to sit, you need to put up with something.

My favorite stool, which I use all the time at home, is the Franklin bar stool from Ikea. It is relatively inexpensive, very comfortable (especially with added cushions), is available in two heights, and is very wide and stable on solid ground. But, it is big even when folded and is pretty heavy, so I don't take this on gigs.

My favorite stool for gigs is the Vestil CPRO-800LP Ergonomic Worker Seat/Chair. These are very adjustable height, they are stoutly built, they are relatively stable for a narrow seat, they are fairly compact, but they are very pricey and not very comfortable -- although good enough if like me, you need to spend time both sitting and standing during a gig in order to keep your knees working. Also, when folded and being carried, these seats tend to try to pinch your hands, so I use a bungee chord to keep the parts solidly folded and safe.

I've used a number of different stools for other instruments, but for double bass these seem to be the best choices for me. And, none of them are setup for back-packing (and few seats are), so that's probably going to be up to you to check out.

 

[LouisF]

I use these (but it's a low, 24" stool):

Invalid Link Removed

 

[Michael Eisenman]

...
My favorite stool for gigs is the Vestil CPRO-800LP Ergonomic Worker Seat/Chair. These are very adjustable height, they are stoutly built, they are relatively stable for a narrow seat, they are fairly compact, but they are very pricey and not very comfortable -- although good enough if like me, you need to spend time both sitting and standing during a gig in order to keep your knees working. Also, when folded and being carried, these seats tend to try to pinch your hands, so I use a bungee chord to keep the parts solidly folded and safe.
...

I agree; my only beef is the cushion, or lack of enough of it. If you were to have it redone with better foam, it would be great. As I recall, it weighs only about 9 pounds.

 

[rickwolff]

I use the Ikea Franklin on all my gigs. Inexpensive, folds down nicely. Very stable, comfortable (I'm maybe going to add a cushion). FRANKLIN Bar stool with backrest, foldable - IKEA

 

[Richtofen]

My favorite stool, which I use all the time at home, is the Franklin bar stool from Ikea. It is relatively inexpensive, very comfortable (especially with added cushions), is available in two heights, and is very wide and stable on solid ground.

About the two heights, does it have a option for what height I want, or is that a separate listing?

 

[rickwolff]

About the two heights, does it have a option for what height I want, or is that a separate listing?

Just one fixed height. Your choice. I have and like the high one - 30 inches .

 

[bengreen]

I was surprised to find this on discoverdoublebass.com. Its a video so you can see them in action:

Double Bass Stool Review

My orchestra has the middle seat: very heavy, squeaky, and I hate motorcycle thrones: uncomfortable (for me) and the point of the seat butts into the back of the bass restricting where I can rest it.

Mostly I'd like to add a heavy guy warning about the Vestil, along with the "be very careful where you put your fingers" already mentioned. There is no way that chair can regularly support the 250 pounds Lemur and Gollihur spec it at, let alone the 300 pounds on the Vestil site. I've owned two of these now. The first one I used regularly when I weighed 206. Worked fine for a year or so but then the rear legs, where they hinge to the frame, fatigued, gradually bent and then failed entirely. Still I liked the chair so I bought a second one. Full disclosure, I was up to about 220 for the next one (I yo yo a lot). It didn't even wait a week. This time the two narrow beams underneath the seat which extend back to the rubber frame contact arms bent sideways, leaving the seat lopsided. I scavenged the seat from the first chair only to find those seat supports had similarly bent, only not as much. So if you're reasonably light and sit squarely on the seat all the time, you'll probably be okay. Me, I use it with my telescope for stargazing, where the lightness and the easy up and down make it handy as I move from one target to another. But no way would I trust it at a concert, unless I could get back down to college weight.

Gollihur sells a big brother to the Vestil with fixed adjustment heights which felt more solid and comfortable. It's pricier though and the height adjustments were a little too far apart for my liking.

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I did buy the Ikea but ended up donating it. Too tall. And maybe at my age and weight I'm over cautious, but it felt flimsy to me.

Nowadays I use a pneumatic adjustable stool meant for wood working at bench height. It's not as light as the Vestil and the rotating seat isn't ideal for bass, but it was on sale for $40, and even came in concert black! A year in and it's holding up fine. Being able to lift a lever and instantly park your butt at any height while you're holding the bass is great...at least as long as the seals hold up. I am slightly dreading the day when I'm playing a concert and with a sigh the cylinder gives out and I slowly sink down to low rider height.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

If I could justify the $700 I'd go for this one, either the 5 or 4 leg version:

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A teacher of mine had one. Comfortable, rock solid yet extremely light. So light, I wouldn't care that it doesn't fold. Maybe in another life.

 

[misterbadger]

K&M

 

[Reiska]

I have the reqular K&M bass stool and it`s bulky, heavy and not too easy to dismantle. It barely fits in a huge messenger backpack I have, but this combo kills the bloodflow in my shoulders in no time. Absolute no no for my car-free lifestyle, but it is a good stool to keep at the rehearsing cave. I`m propably buying the IKEA Franklin stool for lugging around. There might be a way to tie it on the luggage pulley that I use with my bass.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I've said it before, but IME when playing seated the stool is an integral part of your playing posture and therefore a part of your body and physical connection to the bass. Personally, I know I play best when sitting on a stool of an exact height that has a single rung around the bottom to rest my feet on (which keeps my hips and spine aligned), and a substantial cushion to keep my legs from falling asleep. I am fortunate enough to live in a place where I can drive to every gig, so it was just a matter of fitting the gig dolly together to be able to take the same sort of stool I practice on to the gigs. My body thanks me for this!

(will try to post a pic of the loaded gig dolly later).

 

[notabene]

Just one fixed height. Your choice. I have and like the high one - 30 inches .

I didn't know of two heights. Got one many years ago, cut off two inches from every leg with a hacksaw, perfect for many years. 10 minutes work, max.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Here are a couple of pics of the dolly part of the gig rig (click to expand):

In the car (bass lays on top of the dolly, headstock forward):


Out of the car 20 seconds later:


Works great for a one trip load in, and can play in comfort once in.

Wow, looks like the old car needs a vacuum. Heh...

 

[Reiska]

I've said it before, but IME when playing seated the stool is an integral part of your playing posture and therefore a part of your body and physical connection to the bass. Personally, I know I play best when sitting on a stool of an exact height that has a single rung around the bottom to rest my feet on (which keeps my hips and spine aligned), and a substantial cushion to keep my legs from falling asleep. I am fortunate enough to live in a place where I can drive to every gig, so it was just a matter of fitting the gig dolly together to be able to take the same sort of stool I practice on to the gigs. My body thanks me for this!

(will try to post a pic of the loaded gig dolly later).

I started very recently bowing only seated as I`ve been dealing with right shoulder / neck issues . It helps a lot but I want to continue playing pizz standing as this way I get best sound out of both without killing my right arm. I wanted to find as hassle free as possible -solution for playing like this on the occasional gigging, jamming, recording and rehearsing vs no car infrastructure. I experienced with endpin and stool heights and ended up with height that`s optimal compromise between left and right hands when standing, and sitting at reqular bar stool height, cello style and with my left knee supporting the edge of back plate without killing the resonance. I haven`t found a single way of combining both great arco and pizz tones when seated, and like to play pizz and a little slap here and there standing. I like my K&M stool and use it whenever there`s a ride involved, but for my getting out of the rehearsing cave -situations I need something that`s lightweight and collapsible, otherwise I`m in the wild with whatever there might be for my sorry a**.

Sorry for the partial derail

 

[Eric Hochberg]

I've been using this Invalid Link Removed for a number of years now. The padding could be better, and I wish a bag was available for protection, but it is a good unit. Looks similar to the Gollihur.

 

[TheCush]

Follow Eric's post, I've been using this Roc-n-Soc for something like 15 years now (maybe longer): Invalid Link Removed

The pic doesn't show it, but when the seat is lowered and the back/lumbar support is reversed, the whole thing is small enough to easily fit in my MINI along with my 7/8 double bass, small amp, etc. Have had no issues with it in all that time. If anyone is interested I can take a couple of pics set up and collapsed later to share.

 

[Maple]

I have been using a stool to practice at home for a while now. But just recently decided I should start using it at rehearsals and performances too. I quickly discovered that my "Lightweight Performance Chair" like [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] was too bulky and clumsy to carry along with my bass (and isn't that light). So I set off to find something easier to pack

I took an extended camping road trip this summer and began thinking about tripod "slacker" stools and wondered if one of those could work but they're all very short. I found a Swedish company called WalkStool that makes large versions that are nicely built. The WalkStool Comfort 75cm says its 30" high but has an effective seat height of about 26" which is what I have been using at home. It is sturdy but doesn't always feel stable -- I don't fear that I'd be thrown off it but it doesn't feel like it's solid and going to stay still. The legs are free to pivot - they are just held in position by my weight. So as I move around the bass, this changes the weighting on the legs and one-at-time, they tend to "walk" a little. This has been annoying but the more I've used it over the week, the sensation is bothering me a little less. The main appeal is that this thing weighs very little (37oz) and packs smaller than a bow case.

 

[Maple]

Update after several weeks of using the walkstool -
I've played several 3 hour gigs, a few 1 hour lessons and a few 1-1/2 hour workshops.

The good:
It's super light and is compact when packed.
It's just comfortable enough that I don't think about it while playing

The bad:
It's super light. It feels awkward when first setting it up (there's no lock in the open position so it could collapse if you knock a leg in).
The seat is a triangle shape and one of those triangles sticks out between your legs. That corner touches my bass (it's soft so I'm not worried that it will scratch the bass) which makes me move the bass about an inch or so from where it would be on a regular stool.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with it. Now that I'm used to its idiosyncrasies, I don't have to think much about it.

 

[Malten]

Does anyone have experience using the RobStool?
https://basscapos.com/other.html#robstool

I'm wondering why I don't see any mentions in this thread. It definetely looks portable!

I know Rob is also an active member on TB.

 

[Steve Freides]

I was about to start this thread and instead I find it - fantastic! One of my students switched to seated playing during the pandemic. He was here for his first in-person lesson today and I didn't have a stool for him, and the one he's been using is a big, metal, not-portable thing from his school.

My wife and I are going to head to IKEA today - for what they cost, I'm going to buy one in each size (assuming they have them in stock, of course) and that'll be a good beginning.

-S-