CHUCK SICS' TOP 5 TIPS FOR SETTING UP A HOME STUDIO

Redo is out now!

Image: Tilly Langford.

Sydney multi-instrumentalist Chuck Sics has made his debut with Redo. To celebrate, the musician has shared with MILKY his top five tips for setting up a home studio.

Written, performed, recorded, produced and mixed by the musician, Redo was recorded the track in his home studio, and also sampled a friends drum kit to bring the crisp beats to life. “Everything on the song is all recorded in my house, rather haphazardly,” he says. “But I’m happy with how it turned out.”

He adds of the track, “the song is about the aftermath of confessing love for a friend who doesn’t share those feelings, and wishing everyone could forget it happened. Wishing you could disappear, or do it over again. The shame of rejection surely drives this need to forget it ever happened, but in the song I also tried to address that the way I dealt with the rejection at that time had not been fair. So the song is also about the pitfalls of self-victimising. Wallowing in sorrow and feeling as though everyone is out to get you - you manufacture this reality to justify your attitude, when really it’s your attitude that’s the problem. It’s a pretty high school problem, and I wish I’d been mature enough to handle the situation differently.”

ONE

Make sure you know what music is supposed to sound like in your room. Gear is important, particularly the kind that allows you to make, record, or hear sound; but that’s obvious. If you know what your room sounds like, you can make better sounding music that translates to other environments better. 

TWO

Make it a nice place to make music in, and make it easily accessible. You won’t wanna go in there otherwise. I’m all for having it all in your bedroom because every morning when you wake up, and every night when you go to bed, you will be confronted with the means to make music. Your sleeping habits might suffer though.

THREE

Candle Warmer Lamp. Look it up. I often make coffee with the intention of sipping it gradually while making some music. I often forget it exists 2 minutes in - great for the flow state, bad for my coffee. Now I put it in my Candle Warmer Lamp and my coffee stays warm. You can also put a candle in there for the nice smell.

FOUR

Have as many instruments/mics plugged in and ready to go as possible. The amount of times I am deterred from recording because I have to get my guitar out of its case and plug it in and tune it up and set up the DAW, is criminal. It’s a miracle I make anything at all. 

FIVE

Rugs. Rugs are good for the sound of the room, and they feel professional. I got one of those Persian rugs and now I feel like a real music guy. It’s been done before, but sometimes you wanna feel like you’re in a real studio. Getting a Persian rug is a surefire way to get that feeling sometimes.

Redo is out now!