Who is Pen Cap Chew?
A Music Rehearsal, Production and Recording Facility in Walyalup / Fremantle
Pen Cap Chew Studios is a professional music rehearsal and production facility in the City of Fremantle owned and operated by Dan and Frances. We pride ourselves on providing a safe and inclusive space based on respect for all in the music community.
We offer 9 large air-conditioned rooms equipment with the latest from leading brands including Allen and Heath, Yamaha, EV, Shure, Neumann and Sennheisser.
Whilst we boast one of, if not THE, most isolated rehearsal / production facilities in Australia (a proven DnTw of 65db) with the acoustic treatments to match , we believe (biasedly perhaps) that it is the small things that set us apart - our intensive cleaning regime, the use of air purifiers in all rooms, quality surge protected power boards, high quality leads, keyboard and wall-mounted guitar stands and our community-oriented contributions. And of course, we would be nothing without our friendly staff.
We also offer affordable high-end backline hire for your jam or recording sessions - Ludwig drumkits including vintage models, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and Vox AC30 guitar amps, to Mark Bass bass amps and Bergatino and Marsall cabs - legendary sounds and reliability.
COMMUNITY
Yes, owning a music studio is pretty special.
But aside from being able to accommodate all the amazing bands residing in Perth (Australia and the world) , we genuinely get as much a kick out of being able to help others in our community - working NFP organisations and charities particularly in the mental health space, providing backline hire for community events, connecting musicians with recording engineers, providing access to others to run their arts-oriented businesses, putting on gigs for bands that are starting out. We even help others design and build their own studios!
Have you got a community event idea or concept you believe we can contribute to?
Our Story
Pen Cap Chew was initially borne from a need to escape a toxic 9-5 workplace environment, an entry into father / motherhood and the recognition that music rehearsal studios are often forgotten but important cornerstones of the music scene; facilities that are notoriously grungy, run-down or poorly planned - mattress / carpet on the walls, exposed wiring, mics that don't work, anyone?
The boring stuff…
Borrowing from our experience from our respective careers in engineering project management and architecture, we custom designed and built a modular rehearsal studio - one that could be packed up and moved should our circumstances change and we needed to move or redesign the studio. A happy accident: the near-millimetre perfection required of a modular system meant that we landed upon an extremely acoustically-isolated product.
A non-negotiable for Pen Cap Chew: do it properly.
One would be surprised how many studios don't have planning or building approval (potentially voiding their insurance policy that covers YOUR gear or person); most don't have appropriate fire-fighting equipment, emergency access / egress routes or emergency lighting. And unfortunately, most cannot appropriately accommodate people with a disability. At the risk of sounding cliché, we have incorporated all the above, not because we had to, but because we wanted to.
We aligned ourselves early on with the amazing team at MegaMusic who have specced and supplied nearly all the equipment that resides within the studio - "nearly" because we have acquired a whole bunch of vintage gear that you won't find in most music shops.
And in case you were curious…. "Pen Cap Chew" https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/no-apologies-all-102-nirvana-songs-ranked-26796/pen-cap-chew-26831/
