WaterBear Sheffield Campus
Studio & Venue Partner Facilities
Connect with Sheffield’s independent music community through professional studio partnerships. Studio Tecna, Hybrid 3, Spring Tank Studios, and Corporation offer real-world environments where you’ll develop skills alongside working musicians.
Access Sheffield studios and venues citywide
WaterBear – The College of Music Sheffield provides extensive citywide studio and venue partner facilities including professional recording studios, rehearsal spaces, and our own performance space at the Gatecrasher building. We also believe in preparing you for the realities of working across the wider music industry.
By partnering with Sheffield’s established studios and venues, we extend your learning environment across the city. You’ll experience how different studios operate, learn to adapt to varied equipment setups, and understand the commercial realities of session work. This approach mirrors how professional musicians actually work: moving between studios, adapting to different workflows, and building relationships across multiple facilities.
These partnerships give you access to specialist equipment, diverse recording environments, live performance stages, and real-world industry experience. Working across multiple studios and venues teaches you to navigate the professional studio landscape and live performance spaces with confidence. You’ll understand booking procedures, studio etiquette, session dynamics, backline setup, stage management, and how to get the best results in any recording or performance environment. These skills matter whether you’re recording your own projects, performing live, working as a session musician, managing backline as a tech, or building a career as a producer or engineer.
Sheffield Partner studio and venue benefits
Professional Studio Navigation Skills
Professional musicians work across multiple studios throughout their careers. Session players adapt to different facilities. Producers choose studios based on gear, acoustics, and creative atmosphere. By working across WaterBear’s own studios and partner facilities, you’ll develop the flexibility and confidence to walk into any recording environment and deliver great work.
Industry Experience and Commercial Pathways
Partner studios are commercial operations with regular client bookings, staff teams, and professional workflows giving you invaluable insights and experience within the industry. You might assist on sessions, help with studio maintenance, support live events, or shadow experienced engineers. These opportunities often lead to paid freelance work, industry contacts, and pathways into employment after graduation.
Experience Different Equipment and Recording Workflows
Different studios solve problems differently. Studio Tecna’s analogue/digital hybrid workflow teaches vintage tone-shaping alongside modern recall capabilities. Hybrid 3’s acoustically optimised rooms show how space affects sound. Spring Tank’s electronic focus develops digital production and DJ skills. Corporation’s live environment builds real-time performance confidence. Combined with WaterBear’s own facilities, you’ll experience the full spectrum of modern recording and performance environments.
Free Professional Studio Access Worth Thousands
Commercial studio time is expensive, often £30 to £50+ per hour. As a WaterBear student, you access all partner studios free of charge through the online booking system during term time. That’s thousands of pounds worth of professional studio access included in your degree, letting you focus on developing your craft rather than worrying about session costs.
Network With Sheffield’s Music Community
Sheffield’s music scene includes 70+ live venues and a thriving independent community. Partner studios connect you to this ecosystem. Between your own sessions, you’ll encounter local bands, independent producers, and working artists navigating the same creative challenges you face. These spaces aren’t just technical facilities. They’re where collaborations form and opportunities emerge organically within Sheffield’s respected music culture.
Performance Students
Rehearse at Hybrid 3’s equipped rooms. Develop live skills on Corporation’s stage. Learn how different venues affect your performance. Gain industry experience in live sound and backline support across Sheffield’s venues.
Songwriting Students
Access Studio Tecna’s recording facilities for demos. Experience how room acoustics and equipment choices affect your songs. Build relationships with studios where you might record future projects professionally.
Production Students
Work on Studio Tecna’s analogue/digital hybrid workflows. Learn how different studios approach signal flow, monitoring, and mix environments. Shadow experienced engineers in commercial sessions. Develop adaptability essential for freelance production work.
Electronic Music Students
Specialise at Spring Tank Studios with CDJs, synthesisers, and electronic production setups. Understand how live electronic performance translates across venues. Experience professional DJ equipment and digital performance systems essential for contemporary electronic careers.
Music Business Students
Witness venue operations at Corporation, studio logistics at Studio Tecna, and facility management across Sheffield’s network. Understand equipment riders, technical specifications, and artist requirements. Learn how professional bookings, client relations, and commercial operations work in real contexts.
Partner studios create pathways into professional practice:
Studio Assistant Roles
- Session preparation and equipment maintenance at Studio Tecna
- Client liaison and booking coordination
- Recording session observation and assistance
- Mix room setup and technical support
Live Sound & Venue Work
- Sound check support at Corporation
- Backline management and stage setup
- FOH and monitor mixing assistance during events
- Lighting and visual production support
Electronic Music & DJ Work
- DJ practice and technique development at Spring Tank
- Electronic production session support
- Live set preparation and performance assistance
- Equipment setup and technical support
Commercial Session Exposure
- Observe professional engineers at work
- Learn session dynamics and client management
- Understand studio economics and booking systems
- Build industry contacts for future freelance opportunities
These aren’t formal placements. They’re organic opportunities that emerge from being active in professional environments. The music industries team can help identify and secure work experience that aligns with your career goals.
Studio Tecna Facilities
Located 1.2 miles from WaterBear HQ, Studio Tecna is where WaterBear students access professional recording sessions for bands, vocals, and acoustic projects. Run by producers David Glover and Mathew Doxey, this independent studio offers analogue and digital workflows in a spacious Victorian workshop setting.
Studio Tecna has worked with artists including Self Esteem and Reverend and the Makers. The facility’s combination of vintage analogue warmth and modern digital precision teaches you how professional studios balance character and flexibility across full-length albums, EPs, and singles.
Hybrid3 Facilities
Situated 1.2 miles from WaterBear HQ, Hybrid 3 provides acoustically treated rehearsal rooms equipped with PA systems, amps, and drum kits. The facility features natural light, air conditioning, and Wi-Fi throughout, creating comfortable spaces for focused rehearsal and recording work.
Hybrid 3’s custom-built spaces offer low-latency audio through analogue signal paths, making it ideal for tight rehearsals where timing and feel matter. The facility’s blend of rehearsal and recording capabilities shows you how modern multi-purpose studios operate commercially.
Spring Tank Studios Facilities
Just 0.3 miles from WaterBear HQ (10-minute walk), Spring Tank Studios specialises in electronic music production and DJ performance. This new facility provides dedicated DJ practice areas, synthesizers, and multiple rehearsal rooms in spacious, welcoming environments.
Spring Tank’s electronic focus complements WaterBear’s facilities by providing specialist DJ equipment and electronic production tools in a city centre location. You’ll develop skills in electronic performance, live set preparation, and modern production techniques essential for contemporary music careers.
Corporation Live venue Facilities
Just 8 minutes’ walk from WaterBear HQ, Corporation is an independent live music venue and alternative nightclub used for WaterBear’s performance classes, student gigs, and events. The venue’s professional stage and backline create authentic live performance training environments.
Corporation offers the experience of performing in Sheffield’s live music scene. You’ll learn sound check procedures, stage presence, and audience engagement in a venue that hosts touring acts and local events, preparing you for real-world performance situations beyond graduation. As well as working with Corporation, we collaborate with many other venues across Sheffield such as Yellow Arch and Sidney & Matilda to deliver regular WaterBear and student-led events, as well as work experience opportunities.
Please note: The use of outside venues and studios is subject to change. They are selected based on the positive impact we believe they will have on student experience and review the facilities we use on a regular basis, considering student feedback. If working with a particular venue or studio is important to you, please contact the Programme Manager to discuss.