Monarch Studios is a Vancouver recording studio specializing in music production. Designed with incredible attention to detail, we have built a modern studio facility from the ground up. Please have a look around, and feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
The recording studio features a large comfortable control room centered around a custom built desk that houses an API 1608 Analog console to the left, Pro Tools control with motorized faders in the center, and some of the most used outboard gear, preamps, and a patch bay to the right. Behind that, within reach, a center gear rack is filled with a wide variety of high-end boutique and classic outboard gear.
Acoustically the entire studio is built using room-within-a-room construction and has excellent isolation between the different spaces. The inside of the control room is treated with extensive bass trapping, absorption, diffusion, and angled walls creating an incredibly accurate sweet spot for listening.
Monitoring is provided by Barefoot MM27 mid-field speakers. They feature an innovative integrated subwoofer design where dual opposing subwoofers keep the monitor fixed in space and provide a rock solid image. Unlike some monitors, engineers are finding these speakers easy to learn and use almost immediately. We also have industry standard NS10 monitors powered by a Bryston amplifier for a second reference.
A dedicated air system feeds the control room, supplying fresh air and keeping it at any temperature you like. There is also a desk and a large couch at the back of the room making the control room a very comfortable place to work. The recording computer, console power supply, and 2″ Studer tape machine are all located in an isolated machine room, keeping all of the machine and fan noise outside and the control room silent.
All rooms of the studio are connected with instrument, speaker, and mic lines, making it possible to play guitar, bass, or keyboard in the control room while having amps isolated in the tracking rooms.
The studio features 4 more isolated rooms for tracking – a Live Room, big iso booth (called the Piano Room), Vocal Booth, and an Amp Room. The tracking rooms feature great sight lines, and all rooms are connected with speaker and instrument lines for flexible and creative setups.
The Live Room is the main tracking room, and has a large window that provides lots of natural light. It has a custom designed ceiling cloud made of diffusion and absorption, helping to make the room sound even bigger than it is.
The Piano Room is often home to our 6’6″ Yamaha Grand Piano and Hammond B3 Organ/Leslie cabinet. Because it is joined to the Live Room with double french doors, the piano can easily be moved into the Live Room for recording, or to free up the Piano Room for recording other things – whether that’s a horn section, string section, or whatever your session requires.
The Vocal Booth looks into both the Live Room and Piano Room and as its name implies, is a great place to isolate vocalists. There is also an Amp Room to isolate a guitar or bass amp while tracking live with a band.
Just outside the Control Room is the Machine Room. We fit a lot in this little space. This room houses our tape machine and doubles as our microphone locker and storage area for cables, tape echo’s, and other audio contraptions.
Headphones are controlled with an Aviom headphone system. This allows each musician to quickly dial in a personalized headphone mix so that they hear exactly what they need to perform their best.
There is also an assortment of vintage instruments and amplifiers included as part of the studio rental, including Wurlitzer, Rhodes, and Moog keyboards, and guitar and bass amps from Fender, Vox, and Ampeg.
The lounge is a bright space that artists can relax in. It features a kitchen with complimentary coffee and tea, microwave, toaster oven, and fridge. There is also cable television, video games and foosball, as well as a private covered patio. Wifi is available in the lounge and throughout the studio.