Pedal Steel Posture

[James Lewis]

I’ve got a bad problem with slouching and my back has been hurting from long hours of practice. I try to be mindful of it but after a while I find myself slouching again.

Are there any pedal steel seats that help this?

I know there are wedges I can get to put in a seat that help posture.

Currently sitting on a drum throne.

[Donny Hinson]

Pedal steel seats are little more than a box with a cushion. For the most part, they're totally non-adjustable, and their back support is too small and too low (for me, anyway), and it's also non-adjustable.

Drummer's thrones are a joke.

Given my druthers, I'd rather sit in a comfy chair and play.

[Stu Schulman]

James,Jimmy Day slouched,and very well,I could never get a drum throne to work for me,I use a "Steel Seat.Com seat every now and then I still have to stand up and wiggle a bit.

[Steve Spitz]

For decades, I cheaped out on a seat.

It was a box with a cushion and a back. It held my gear, and kept my butt off the floor. It did the job, and I played a ton of jobs on it.

I recently changed my opinion. I got a seat from Joe Naylor at steelseat.com, and learned the following:

The firmness of the foam forced me to maintain the correct posture, which was consistently repeatable , every time. I believe that’s important, or so I’m told by players I’ve taken lessons from. I might add I am/was a major sloucher. This helped me correct that.

The firmer foam is also much more comfortable than my previous seat.

If you buy one, measure carefully, I think you want you thighs parallel tp the ground. Most builders will make it the height you want if you need over or under standard..

You can put a shim on the bottom of the seat ( where the legs attach), to make an existing seat taller, or you can buy threaded inserts that can be used to extend or level a seat, but They are a bit pricey.

Joe has a wait time of about 2 months or so, so there’s that. I got the impression from speaking with him in Dallas that he was looking to retire before he started building seats, so if you wanted one, I’d order it.

For me , it’s been a great investment. I wish I had done it twenty years ago.

[David Mitchell]

At home and studio I always use a nice office chair. It's adjustable up and down. It swivels side to side and the back is adjustable. You can make the back stiff or you can make it springy. Of course it is not practical for out of the house gigs and for that I carry two nice steel guitar pack-a-seat. I use to play a gig every day of the week and 2 gigs on Friday and Sat. but I've retired now at 65 and the office chair works great for that.

[Johnie King]

I like this

[Russ Tkac]

I read the topic title as - Pedal Steel Posers - and thought it was about me!

[Charley Bond]

The center part of that Seat oughta be good for your hemorrhoids...

[David Mitchell]

Tractor seat probably fits the bottom well but like he said the hemorrhoids might be a huge problem.

[Richard Stoops]

James, check the post I made last week. I had the same problem and made a backrest for one of my Steelers Choice seats. Works great.

[Bryan Daste]

I'm the oddball who doesn't use a pack seat. I like my ROC-N-SOC Original Saddle Drum Throne (with added backrest) - the seat shape lets my legs move freely, the height is adjustable, the stability is good, and the backrest really helps. It breaks down for transport too.

https://www.amazon.com/ROC-N-SOC-Origin ... B003L7Z0MW
https://www.amazon.com/ROC-N-SOC-W-B-R- ... B003L8H2AE

I keep the backrest set as low as possible and as forward toward the steel as possible. More like a lumbar support.

[Doug Palmer]

Don't underestimate the importance of a seat. I use a pack-a-seat on most gigs but have an adjustable piano bench for home practice or house gigs. It is great to change the height a little in an instant and makes the back feel better.

[Joe Naylor]

I have some Chiropractors that are steel players or other musicians that the firm foam on my seats PLUS the same firm foam on the back rest help with back problems.


The back rest is usually not used while playing but between songs or to rest your back even if you do not have back problems.


Recently I had customers that started using my seat after using an old one for a long time and after they sat on it for a gig, jam or extended time have emailed me and told me that they could definitely tell the difference.


But I hope some more of my customers chime in here.


Joe Naylor
steelseat.com

[Barry Blackwood]

I believe I would prefer a zero-gravity seat. Hard to play from that position, though...

[Steve Spitz]

If your looking for the seat hinges, i bought a walmart replacement bass boat seat. Ditched the seat, kept the hinges. Identical to the ones some steel seat builders use.

It was really cheap if I recall.

[John Goux]

In a perfect world I prefer a steel seat.
Downside, it’s heavy to transport, the small legs sink into grass or carpet. I’m tired of dragging that thing around. The pedalboard is gone now as well.

I practice on the Steel seat. It stays at home. For gigs I take a folding keyboard bench that I bought at GC. Light and easy to move. Adjustable height. Decent support.

Posture is important. I plan on hanging a photo of Buddy Emmons in my practice room. His posture at the steel was upright and relaxed, as near perfect as his playing.

John

[Jeremy Threlfall]

https://www.facebook.com/StartupSelfieO ... 793140256/