Campuses & Gear

Iconic studios, state-of-the-art equipment, and comfortable classrooms in the heart of the city.

Main Campus

Broadway & Granville

Feel The Buzz

Our campus at Broadway and Granville is at the centre of it all. Located at one of the most energetic intersections of South Granville, there’s loads going on here. From high street shopping to great cafes, street murals and art galleries, students will be able to channel their creativity. The campus is well-connected by public transportation, with the 99 Translink bus running from UBC to Commercial Drive. Additionally, there are routes going to downtown Vancouver and the world-famous Granville Island.

The Nimbus Broadway & Granville campus is housed in a beautiful, updated heritage building. Inside of our learning studio you will find 4 classrooms, 2 sound booths and 2 Whisper Booths. With a combination of in-class and hands-on learning, using top industry equipment and a student lounge to relax and contemplate in, students will be sure to find the academic fulfillment they seek as well as the social feel of a small supportive community.

Studio A

Our biggest studio classroom at the Nimbus Broadway Campus. The room includes an SSL AWS Hybrid console which can control digital and analog sounds. The room also includes a Whisper Booth, so you can record vocals, guitars, bass, etc. Classes in the space include music business, ProTools, Basic Engineering, Microphones, Vocal Booth and much more.

  • Has an SSL AWS 900+ as its centrepiece. 
  • Can bounce between being a 24-channel full analog console or a DAW controller to really help students take their mixes to the next level with automation. 
  • Outfitted with classic outboard gear and industry-standard plugins –  this room is capable of getting any sound imaginable.
  • Offers an MX-80 24 track 2” tape machine for all analog tape recording.
  • Equipped with an AVID HDX system and a Focusrite RedNet HD32R. This studio offers the best a/d conversion and advanced routing workflows using Dante. 
  • This room also provides access to two separate whisper rooms  for a variety of setups.

Studio B

This studio space is primarily for our music business courses. The room doesn’t include any analog gear. Many artist development classes including songwriting, music law/business, and professional development take place in this, the most flexible space on campus.

Studio C

This is a perfect overdub room. The room includes a fantastic API console – which is great for guitar and vocal overdubs.

  • The centre is an API The Box mk2 recording console. 
  • Carries other studio staples such as the Teletronix LA2A, Empirical Labs Distressor, and Universal Audio 6176.
  • This room is perfect for recording and mixing any genre of music.
  • Has other effects processors that students can use in the analog realm or choose from some of the industry’s top plugins from Izotope to UAD. 
  • Connected to the 16’x8’ Whisper Room so students can record anything from vocals to a drum kit or small band setup. 
  • This room will soon have a Focusrite RedNet HD32R so it can access any point in any of our studios over an ethernet cable.

Studio D

This studio is a producer’s dream! A great studio for any student who wants to focus mostly on electronic music. There are a number of keyboards and instruments available to students, including a modular synth. Classes taught include Ableton, Pro Tools, Sound Design, and more.

  • Equipped with an Avalon 737 Tube Preamp, this room is perfect for tracking radio-ready vocals. 
  • Hosting classic synths such as the Moog MiniMoog, Roland Juno 106 and Dave Smith Prophet 8, this room is great for getting creative with sound. 
  • The Focusrite Red16Line provides superior conversion and expanded connectivity to the other studios through Dante. 
  • Equipped with Pioneer CDJ’s for DJ-ing as well as a Stanton vinyl record player for sampling the extensive vinyl collection Nimbus has. 
  • There is no shortage of MIDI controllers as this studio has a Roland Tr-8 and Ableton Push 2. 
  • Diving deeper into the sound design world, this studio has its own Modular Synth so students can find endless ways to create unique sounds. 
  • Also featured in this room is an Avid Artist Mix, perfect for taking mixes to the next level and getting hands-on with your music.

Sound Booths

All studios are wired into 2 additional large Whisper Booths (Sound Insulation Enclosure) where students can track all instruments: vocals, drums, guitars, bass, etc.

Nimbus campuses, NIMBUS School of Recording & Media

recording equipment

Nimbus has no shortage of all the equipment required to record at a professional level. 

All of our studios are/will be equipped with the FocusRite RedNet line. This allows any control room to access any Whisper Room over an ethernet cable. Once the RedNet channel mic pres  is connected to an ethernet port, students  can record audio over IP to any studio.

  •  With studio staples such as Neumann U87s, AKG 414s, Royer 121s, Sennheiser 421s and many more, our mic locker is on par with some of the best studios in the city. 
  •  Great instruments – Fender Precision and Jazz basses, Fender Stratocasters and Telecasters, a Gibson SG and Epiphone 335 are a few of our comprehensive guitar inventory. 
  • Some choice amps we have to play these through are a Marshall Super Leadi Mk2, Roland Jazz Chorus, Vox AC30, Orange Dark Terror, Ampeg B15s and SVT PRO. 
  • Pianos – Nimbus has a baby grand and upright piano at LMA as well as a Fender Rhodes electric piano and Hammond B3 organ. 
  • We also are home to some of the most iconic synthesizers like the Mini Moog and Juno 106.
Nimbus campuses, NIMBUS School of Recording & Media
Nimbus campuses, NIMBUS School of Recording & Media

NIMBUS Nine Studio

formerly known as “Little Mountain Sound”

Nimbus campuses, NIMBUS School of Recording & Media
Nimbus campuses, NIMBUS School of Recording & Media
Nimbus campuses, NIMBUS School of Recording & Media
Nimbus campuses, NIMBUS School of Recording & Media
Nimbus campuses, NIMBUS School of Recording & Media
Nimbus campuses, NIMBUS School of Recording & Media
Nimbus campuses, NIMBUS School of Recording & Media
Nimbus campuses, NIMBUS School of Recording & Media
Nimbus campuses, NIMBUS School of Recording & Media
Nimbus campuses, NIMBUS School of Recording & Media
Nimbus campuses, NIMBUS School of Recording & Media
Nimbus campuses, NIMBUS School of Recording & Media

Create & Collaborate in a Legendary Space

From the 1970’s through to the 90’s, Little Mountain Sound developed into Vancouver’s go-to studio. Aerosmith, Mötley Crüe, AC/DC, Bryan Adams, Metallica…and that iconic Skytrain chime were all recorded here. With its centrepiece being the massive Live Room, this is a place where you just itch to play. 

The studio had a brief stint as an equipment and services company, but was brought back to its glory in 2008. Nimbus took over the studio a few years later so it could provide its students with an awe-inspiring place to create.  

“I wanted to bring back a great studio with a huge history of incredible music that was recorded in Vancouver and have students understand the rich history on the grounds they walk” – GGGarth Richardson

Nimbus Nine Studios is located in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood of Vancouver, the city’s creative hub. With amazing coffee houses nearby to keep you going, a park across the way offering stellar views of the city to offer grounding, and awesome murals to keep your head looking up, you’ll be excited to call this your space. The studio is easily served by excellent public transit and is close to landmarks such as the Olympic Village as well as downtown Vancouver.

Nimbus campuses, NIMBUS School of Recording & Media

Studio LMA

If you need to record an orchestra, it’s been done here. This room is perfect for full band setups of every kind. With the sheer amount of albums that have been recorded here, LMA is an iconic studio, producing legendary music. Nimbus students are now a part of this legacy.

  • This is our flagship studio. 
  • The heart of this studio is the classic SSL SL4000 G Plus 48-channel recording console. 
  • Hosts some truly iconic pieces of gear such as multiple 1176’s, DBX 160 Vu’s, Pultec EPQ1As, Neve 1073s, API 512V’s and a very rare AMS RMX16 Digital Reverb. 
  • The AVID HDX system supports 48 channels in-and-out so this studio can handle massive sessions. 
  • This studio also has a 24-channel Studer A827 2” tape machine so students are able to record and mix like the days of old, completely analog. 

Studio LMX

With its centerpiece being an AVID S6 DAW Controller Console, used in many of the top post-production rooms around the world, this room is meant to get students really engaged in their mixing. Step into the shoes of the acclaimed producers who recorded some of the best known rock anthems and let the energy take over. 

  • The centerpiece of LMX is an AVID S6 DAW Controller Console. This is arguably the most advanced controller on the market with endless ways to really get hands-on with mixing. This is used in some of the top post-production rooms around the world. Whether you’re mixing music or audio for movies and video games, the S6 helps take your work to the next level.
  • Uses an AVID HDX system so conversion is professional quality. 
  • Has an AVID XMON which allows you to mix in 7.1 surround sound.
  • Features a custom-built recording booth capable of recording anything from a drum kit to vocals

"

There’s something that happened at Nimbus that changed everything for me. I didn’t consider myself a singer or a lyricist, I always thought that I was just a producer. Nimbus really helped me write music. It helped me deal with my problems in ways I never thought I could because the more I spoke about them, the more I wrote music and beats behind the stories.”
Joseph Point,
Chehalis First Nation
Alumnus
Nimbus campuses, NIMBUS School of Recording & Media