Drum Thrones...

Hands up those of you who have spent a small (or not so small) fortune on your cymbals, drums, accessories etc but are still sitting on the �10 drum stool you got with your first kit. This always fascinates us because the one thing that dicates your health whilst sitting at the drum kit is you stool (or drum throne if you're feeling regal). Following on from our article on hearing protection for drummers, we thought we'd address another health issue aimed at drummers, namely their stools (no laughing please).

Cheap drum stools do not lend themselves towards a healthy posture whilst playing and can seriously promote slouching. Maybe you think that you don't need to worry about it, you're young healthy and back problems are years off. Well actually, sitting on a poorly constructed drum stool can actually increase the risk of back problems at an early age (i.e. 16+). Do you want to have a dodgy back before you hit 20? We didn't think so, here are a few of our tips/recommendations when buying a drum stool.

Budget - Don't skimp, a decent drum stool will last you years(literally) and repay the investment in no time at all. We'd recommend a budget of at least �100 to get you a nice solid drum throne, although increasing this budget to ~�150 will get you a very nice stool with a back rest (which are fantastic btw). There are plenty of stools for less money and no matter what you spend, anything will be an improvement.

Comfort - It doesn't matter what brand name it is, but you're going to have to sit on this drum stool for hours on end. Make sure you choose a stool that is comfortable for YOU. Look for a drum throne with a back on it for extra comfort when playing for long periods.

Stability - The last thing you want is a drum stool that is prone to falling over because it's not stable, falling off your stool at a gig is a sure way to get some laughs (especially off the back of a 6ft stage). Always make sure one leg is facing backwards so you can lean back into it if necessary. You can get 3 feet or four feet on the base of the stands, try them out and see which you prefer.

Height Adjustment - Buy a drum stool that is easy to adjust (i.e. doesn't require any tools) and quick to adjust. We prefer mechanical adjustments rather than gas lifters (i.e. what you get on office chair) purely because there's less to go wrong.

So you may be asking what do we recommend? I'm personally using a Tama HT530C stool with the optional HT5B back rest which has handled everything we've thrown at it. As with most Tama gear, it's superbly engineered and has never given us a single problem despite weekly trips to the practice room/gigs. There are plenty of great drum stools out there, check out this page for a pretty decent list of drum thrones.

Back problems can be a serious problem for a drummer (well, they're serious for anyone but we do a lot of lifting/twisting while setting up etc) and the last thing you want is a back problem that could be fixed by spending a relatively small amount of money on a good drum stool.