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The right guitar stool or chair can make huge differences in your playing and your practicing. And since portability is an issue almost everyone faces, you want your guitar stool to be able to travel with you relatively easily.
The best guitar stools offer adjustability and comfort for those extended periods you spend sitting, as well as quality and durability that allow you to pay attention to your guitar and what you’re playing rather than worrying about the chair supporting you.
Finding the best guitar stool for you goes beyond having the best guitar gadgets. Let’s jump in and look at the five of the best guitar stools, including what makes them quality pieces of equipment and what drawbacks each might bring to the table.
What Are The Best Guitar Stools And Chairs?
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Guitar Stools And Chairs Reviews
Gator Frameworks GFW-GTR-SEAT Combination Guitar Seat
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Gator Frameworks GFW-GTR-SEAT Combination Guitar Seat Review
The best thing about the Gator Frameworks GFW-GTR-SEAT and others on this list is that there are no armrests to get in the way of your guitar. Since that’s often the biggest problem with finding a guitar chair, the absence of armrests is a big plus.
But the Gator goes way past meeting the bare minimum.
The big draw to this one is the built-in guitar rest. With two arms at the bottom of the seat to hold your guitar and a small notch cut out of the seat for your guitar’s neck to rest, you have no reason to worry about your instrument taking a tumble.
What’s more, with no need to haul a guitar stand to your performance, that’s less equipment to load in and out of a venue, and since this seat only weighs 13.2 pounds, it’s not a burden to transport.
The seat boasts a weight limit of 300 pounds and sits 44 inches high. It isn’t adjustable, though, but the seatback is removable. Perhaps you don’t want a seat back, or maybe you want to make the unit more portable. There’s also a crossbar footrest for comfort or for classical guitarists who don’t want to deal with a separate footrest.
Pros
- Folds up quickly and easily
- Feels very sturdy to sit on
- It weighs just over 13 pounds, making it one of your lighter pieces of gear.
Cons
- Height isn’t adjustable, so shorter-legged players might not sit comfortably.
Gator Frameworks GFW-GTRSTOOL Guitar Stool With Integrated Guitar Stand
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Gator Frameworks GFW-GTRSTOOL Guitar Stool With Integrated Guitar Stand Review
When searching for the best chair for guitar playing, this one (also from Gator) may work for you due to the absence of a backrest. As I alluded to earlier, some of us prefer playing without a seatback.
Like its brother mentioned above, the Gator Frameworks GFW-GTRSTOOL Guitar Stool has a built-in guitar stand. It folds up nice and flat for portability, and without the seatback, the whole unit only weighs nine pounds. As it’s a smaller stool than the other Gator on this list, it stands at 28 inches tall.
The footrest appears in the same spot as the GFW-GTR-SEAT, and the pad on which you sit is thick and comfortable and offers a 250-pound weight limit, so you won’t feel the need to squirm around much when you’re into your fourth set of the night.
Pros
- The footrest is at a great height for most players
- The lightweight frame increases portability
- With no backrest, this is a stool as opposed to a chair
Cons
- Lack of adjustability (seat height and footrest height) means this isn’t a universal product
Fender Red and Black Logo Barstool
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Fender Red and Black Logo Barstool Review
As guitarists, we almost have to have something Fender in our possession, right? The Fender Red and Black Logo Barstool takes a minimalist approach.
With the Fender logo sitting atop a good amount of padding, Fender’s guitar stool offers comfort when you’re on it and good looks when you’re not.
Some assembly is required, and the stool isn’t adjustable, but it’s available in 24- and 30-inch heights. Putting it together isn’t difficult in the least, so it’s not like you’re building something from Ikea.
The 24-inch stool weighs in at 4.57 pounds and the 30-inch is 5.13 pounds. Both support up to 250 pounds.
This is a bare-bones guitar stool, but that’s not a bad thing. If one of the heights works for you, this could be the only guitar stool you ever need. A circular bar running around the lower third of the stool gives you a good footrest, too. Fender also offers a three-year limited warranty.
Pros
- Rock-solid construction
- Ease of assembly
- Very comfortable on your backside
Cons
- It doesn’t collapse to a more portable size
- Height isn’t adjustable
Fender 351 Studio Seat/Stand Combo
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Fender 351 Studio Seat/Stand Combo Review
Fender’s other entry here is much more versatile and less decorative than the barstool above. When searching for the best guitar chair, Fender fans especially may not need to look any further.
The Fender 351 Studio Seat/Stand Combo has a built-in instrument stand, soft padding in the 44-inch tall seat, and a removable backrest. That removability means you can play with or without it (make it a stool or a chair), and it means the whole unit is much more portable than the barstool.
If you play multiple shows around town, this will be much easier to take from venue to venue, especially considering that it’s just a little over 13 pounds. Despite that, it supports up to 300 pounds, so most players will be able to make good use of this solid piece of equipment.
Pros
- The seatback is shaped like a pick, which is a nice touch
- Lightweight and quite portable
- Good padding for long periods on the stool
Cons
- The height isn’t adjustable.
Gator Frameworks GFW-GTR-SEATDLX Deluxe Guitar Seat With Single Hanging Guitar Stand
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Gator Frameworks GFW-GTR-SEATDLX Deluxe Guitar Seat With Single Hanging Guitar Stand Review
If money is no object, the Gator Frameworks GFW-GTR-SEATDLX Deluxe Guitar Seat is hands-down the choice for a guitar playing stool. Gator has combined many great features into one unit, addressing the cons of some other stools.
First of all, it’s fully adjustable—the seat height (with a maximum of 42.25 inches), footrest height, and the position of the seatback. Plus, it supports up to 300 pounds.
Second, instead of an instrument stand on the front, this seat features a hanger on the back of it built on the same principle as guitar wall mounts, so you can hang your guitar rather than rest it on its body (some of us are trepid about stands without a cradle for the neck to hang from).
It folds up flat, and since the seatback doesn’t need to be removed to make it take up less space in your trunk, that’s one less step you have to take with setting up and breaking down.
At 25 pounds, this guitar stool is heavier than others, and it’s also a bit more expensive, but it’s a solid, quality piece.
Pros
- Very small footprint on stage and in your vehicle when it’s folded for transport
- Solid, rugged construction brings durability to the stool
- Adjustability means increased comfort while playing
Cons
- Price—this is a costly stand, but you get what you pay for
Guitar Stool Buyer’s Guide
Often, we overlook things past our instruments and amps, but a player’s guitar stool can be almost as important to his playing as the strings on the guitar.
The best guitar playing stool is one you can rely on, that meets your needs, and doesn’t require much attention from you. It just does its job quietly.
Before you buy a chair for guitar playing, you need to have in mind a few things about your playing and performance needs. Anybody can grab a wooden barstool from a superstore near you, but that’s not always going to be best for what you need.
Probably most important to your decision is actually sitting and playing on a stool before you make your decision.
If that’s not an option, you can at least make some educated assumptions about a stool and how it’ll work with you and the way you play.
How To Choose the Best Guitar Stool for Your Needs
- Know what it’s for. If you need something to sit on toward the end of a marathon rehearsal, that’s one thing. You just need stools like the Gator Frameworks GFW-GTR-SEATDLX and the Fender 351 Studio Seat/Stand Combo which don’t have armrests to get in the way. But if you’re a classical guitarist, you need a chair or stool and a guitar foot stool. In that case, you can cut down on equipment by finding a guitar stool with a built-in footrest just like the Gator Frameworks GFW-GTR-SEAT, the Fender Red and Black Logo Barstool, or the Gator Frameworks GFW-GTRSTOOL.
- Understand your own portability needs. A stool that folds up to just a slightly smaller version of itself may not work for you if you’re driving a Mini Cooper to your shows. You know how much room you’ve got available to you in your gear storage, and if you don’t, get a measuring tape. The best guitar playing stool in the world won’t do you much good if you don’t have the room to take it with you to the show.
- Choose a stool that physically fits you. Do research before you buy. That’s a given, but we often overlook things. Take into consideration your height and build. If you’re shorter than average, a non-adjustable guitar stool may not work best for you because if you’re not comfortable while playing, you won’t play your best. Also, if you’re on the heavier side, be sure and note the stands’ weight limits.
Final Thoughts
The right guitarist stool can make a big difference in your playing and the entire live performance experience. Don’t rush in and buy the first least expensive chair you find. Spend some time online and on some stools with your guitar or bass in hand.
Buying the wrong stool can end up being a waste of money. Getting the right one means you’ve got the comfort you need and can sit and play without needing to worry or think about anything but the music. That’s what we all want, anyway, isn’t it?
