My son is a very talented drummer, and wanted to upgrade his throne. He picked this one out, and has loved it ever since. He said is extremely comfortable, and does not feel like he's working to move around. When I asked him if he would buy it again, with his own money, he said yes. In my opinion, that says it's perfect. I'm a percussionist also, and when I sat in it, quite frankly, it was probably the most comfortable thrones I've ever sat in. I was used to the old school round type that you had to screw up and down. This one is so easy and comfortable to adjust.

I replaced my old torn up throne with this Gibraltar throne, and it's great ! The bigger motorcycle style seat is very comfortable, and the stand in general seems solid and well made. The hydraulic height adjustment is great for quick changes. . . .I'm a happy drummer !

This seat is fabulous and makes it really easy to adjust the seat for different drummers during the service! ;) Fabulous and comfortable.

I have the R&S nitro and just purchased this tank and I can say it is worth every penny. I do not know what the other reviewer is talking about and why he gave 3 starts but here's my breakdown.
Saying this thing is fragile is quite an overstatement, if it broke during transport something heavy probably fell on it. Also you can unscrew the handle before transport as it sticks out a bit. (more on that later). When transporting I would make sure to remove the seat from the base, fold it up and remove the lever.
Swivels? Yeah it swivels but that should be common knowledge as do all hydraulic throne/chairs do. I think it would be a lot more surprising to people if it didn't swivel.
The last complaint about bumping the adjustment lever while playing is absolutely unwarranted and flat out ridiculous. IF you happen to bump the lever you can either unscrew/remove it which makes it shorter and unreachable while playing. And you can also install the seat portion of the throne so the lever is out of the way. The lever is fixed to the tripod and the seat can be installed and tightened in any position where the lever is out of the way. Can even have the lever directly behind you if you like.
Compared to my nitro I would say this seat is pound for pound as good if not better than the nitro. Definitely seems beefier which some might not like but I like the more solid feel. The base is rock solid. No creaking or rocking what so ever.
Both the nitro and the 9608 are comfy and get the job done. The one thing I like about the nitro is it can go about an inch lower than the 9608 but I believe its due to the HUGE rubber feet that comes with the 9608. If anyone is on the fence between the two thrones I would save the money and get the 9608 all day

This has been my 'go to' throne five plus years now. Really performs well. Comfortable through three sets, or 4 hour practice sessions and long recording sessions. My only complaint is it is heavy, and bulky when trying to fit in trap cases with your other hardware. That's the only reason I'm giving this 4 stars. Whoever ends up making an affordable 'ultralight' throne with the comfort and stability of this unit will be very successful. Until that day comes, this is a great buy that will serve you well.