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Hi all - does anyone know if there's a suitable forum here where they talk about piano stools and benches?

Looking to buy one and wondered if anyone could recommend any manufacturers.

Greetings,
If you buy a Jansen, you will never need another one, and it will be looked at in future years as the best investment you could have made. Adjustable, comfortable, and durable. I see a lot of much cheaper benches that look just like them, but nothing else holds up as well. I take care of over 30 of them at a music school and there is no one else in comparison when you get to the adjustable artist benches.
Regards,

My most common thought after reading a post by Ed Foote is... Ditto!

I've used expensive office chairs for the last 20+ years and will never go back to a piano bench or piano stool. I go for comfort and back support.

Jansen.

Jansen - If you are looking for an adjustable bench.

For fixed position benches, there are many good options.

I bought a Jansen bench a couple years ago and thought it was a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a bench, but now that I have one...I consider it the best investment ever. Totally worth the money. If you have the money, I would not hesitate to buy one and be done. Last bench you will ever buy.

I have several artist benches. One I believe is a Jansen (came with my Petrof) and I love it. The others are cheaper versions and one tilts a bit when you lean to one side to reach the keys, which can be quite disconcerting. The other is fine, but not as comfortable. You get what you pay for.

Don't know if you many Jansen benches make it to the UK, so a more available alternative I am fond of are benches from Hidrau Model.

There are other excellent benches as well. Concertmaster comes to mind.

In Europe, you have access to high quality benches from Italy and Spain with pneumatic height adjustments etc.

Jansen.

is there a certain model jansen that is popular?

Any discussion about benches always brings out the Jansen fanboys

Hidrau Model makes excellent benches including the pneumatic BM45H.

Jansen benches are well made but not trouble free. They have such ubiquity here because they are, as far as I know, the only domestic bench maker.

Actually, the Hidrau pneumatic bench IS awfuly cool and we have sold them to some very high line piano buyers.

I am not sure why I did not mention them as well.

amazon got a whole bunch. seem like budget friendly option.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_seeall_3?rh=k%3Aartist+bench%2Ci%3Ami&keywords=artist+bench&ie=UTF8&qid=1362755272
reviews are positive

I believe mine was made in Spain, but I don't know the manufacturer. Not quite as massive and far from as pricey as a Jansen, but it is a nice size duet bench, adjustable, and sturdy enough for all purposes so far. I don't like the fabric on top and now that it is showing some wear I am planning to have it reupholstered with leather.

Italian benches "Collezione Lanzani" are great, too. And expensive!

A good Jansen bench will set you back around $600 to $850, depending on if you get the standard one person bench or the duet bench. I highly recommend the duet bench for a couple hundred dollars more. Even if you never play a duet with someone, having the extra bench space is comfy. My cat sits by me when I play, so that gives us both room, and sometimes I sit music or something on the bench instead of up on the music desk (less risk of things falling into the piano). It really is a SOLID bench with a mechanism that is smooth and built to last literally a lifetime. Sure, if you go to a music school, there may be a few that have taken a beating and are no longer rock solid, but if those were any other bench, they'd have been matchwood with the beating a Jansen can take.

I bought a Jansen Artist Duet with leather upholstery, which my cat promptly custom perforated. In retrospect, I don't see the need for spending the extra for leather, as all the naugahyde Jansens I've seen look wonderful and endure a beating better than natural leather. It will set you back $800-$850 these days, but you will NEVER regret it. Amortize that $850 over a lifetime and it's cheaper by far than buying multiple "settle-for" benches that are not as solid, comfortable, or enduring as a Jansen. I have a friend that bought a Jansen after having spent nearly $700 over 15 years on knock-off benches that were flimsy and fell apart in 5 years or so.

Splurge, and get yourself a Jansen.

Jansen makes good piano benches of course. But to think that all others fall apart in five years is not true.

I have an artist bench that I don't even know the brand of that cost me hundreds less. I expect the mechanism is not as smooth but then I NEVER readjusted it after I first got it so I couldn't care less. It does not rock, is solid and heavy and has lasted about 20 years so far and shows no signs of falling apart. In fact it looks as good as new and I play about 2 hours a day.

If you can afford it, go for it. However, there are other options just as comfortable and satisfying for much less money. Not everyone has $600 to $800 to spend on a bench to sit on.