Kyle May

Drummer, Producer, and Mixer

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463 Reviews (456 Verified)
Kyle May on SoundBetter

Hello! My name is Kyle and I am a session drummer, producer, and engineer based out of Nashville, TN.

I will record high quality drum tracks from my home studio! All I need is the song with & without temp drums (if applicable), tempo, and any instruction regarding parts & tones and I will deliver tracks to you within 1-3 days! I typically cut up to 3 takes of the song to send over for review and then we can discuss revisions, edits, punches, etc. if necessary. I play on many sessions and tour professionally. I've appeared on Good Morning America, The TODAY show, CMT's Hot 20 Countdown, Pickler and Ben, the Grand Ole Opry and more.

Drums
Gretsch Broadkaster
Gretsch USA Custom
Gretsch Renown
Mapex Bop

Snares
Craviotto Ash
Ludwig Black Beauty
Ludwig Aluminum Acrolite
Gretsch Hand Hammered COB
Ludwig Bronze Acrolite
Pearl Masters Maple
Gretsch Maple
Gretsch Brooklyn COB
Vintage Marching

Cymbals
Over 3 dozen Meinl Cymbals - Foundry Reserve, Traditional, Polyphonic, Sand, Brilliant, Jazz, Dry, etc.

Mics
1. Kick in (sE electronic vKick)
2. Kick out (Fet 47)
3. Snare Top (Beyerdynamic M201)
4. Snare Top (sE8)
5. Snare btm (akg 451)
6. hat (oktava mk-012)
7. tom 1 (414 b-uls)
8. tom 2 (414 b-uls)
9. Overheads (sE Rupert Neve RN17's)
10. Rooms (Coles 4038)
11. Knee (sE v7)
12. Mono Crush (WA44)

Gear
Heritage Audio, API, Grace Designs, Focusrite, SSL, Neve, Apollo x16 (x2), Midas, Neumann, Dangerous Audio, Warm Audio, DBX.

Send me an email through 'Contact' button above and I'll get back to you asap.

Endorse Kyle May463 Reviews - 71 Repeat Clients

  1. Review by Tony T.
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    Kyle is the best! Brings out the best in every song, highly recommended

  2. Review by Tony T.
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    Kyle is an excellent musician, always a pleasure to work with, he brings a great vibe and energy to every track, highly recommended

  3. Review by Fredrik F.
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    I'm a returning customer who left a review recently, but Kyle deserves another 5 stars for his outstanding work. If you need drums for your track, do not hesitate to contact him.

  4. Review by Factory11
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    Great turnaround, a true musican, great tones, perfectly labeled files

  5. Review by Tony T.
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    Kyle is one powerhouse drummer highly recommended

  6. Review by Sam Verdugo
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    Working with Kyle was a great experience. He delivered a fantastic final product in a short period of time. I look forward to working with him again.

  7. Review by Caleb Kennedy
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    KYLE CANT MISS

  8. Review by Tony T.
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    Kyle is an excellent drummer, always adds the right touch. He plays like a producer, you can start a song with him or have him jump in, on a close to finished track, seamless either way. Highly recommend!

  9. Review by Jordan S.
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    Kyle was professional, speedy, and his parts were fantastic! Giving multiple takes with different approaches to review was a really nice touch. Would definitely recommend!

  10. Review by Andy J.
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    Fantastic experience from start to finish. The turnaround was even faster than expected, the performance was excellent, and I really appreciated the thoughtful alternative takes provided. Friendly, professional, and easy to work with. I would absolutely hire him again.

  11. Review by Tony T.
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    Kyle is awesome! Great to work with and an incredible drummer! Highly recommended

  12. Review by FreddieF
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    Kyle delivered in all categories: communication, professionalism, and musicianship. Great attention to detail, so there was no need for any revisions despite me not providing much instruction. Very fast turnaround without ever compromising on quality. Easily 5 stars!

  13. Review by jm
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    Amazing musician and super fun to work with. Gets great sounds and has amazing feel. 100% recommend!

  14. Review by Keegan Ferrell
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    Another song with simply outrageous tones and feel. There's a reason Kyle is my go to right hand man

  15. Review by Keegan Ferrell
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    I always appreciate not only Kyle's talent, but his professionalism and care to get it done the way you want it, on every detail, big and small!

  16. Review by Keegan Ferrell
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    This was a song that at the outset, I did not think called for or needed drums. Sometimes your artist throws you a curveball and asks for drums after you've sort of built the production without drums in mind. So I sent to Kyle to see if he could find a lane for them, and sure enough, he found a perfect groove that sat into the production I had built. Exceptional musician and ear!

  17. Review by Keegan Ferrell
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    Spot on perfection tone wise for the song. And the cool part is Kyle's playing is so good that it sparks other ideas down the line in production for me and expands my thinking a ton!

  18. Review by Tony T.
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    Kyle hit it out of the park again! always brings great artistry to my project, highly recommend

  19. Review by Keegan Ferrell
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    I was actually blown away by how good the tones were. I'm used to that with Kyle but sometimes they're just so perfect it's crazy.

  20. Review by Tony T.
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    Kyle is awesome to work with, always delivers, his style and sound are radio ready, Highly recommended!

Interview with Kyle May

  1. Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

  2. A: I love working with Zachariah Witcher on bass. I would also recommend Peter Ferguson for guitar. A few other notable folks on here are Keegan Ferrell for production, Mark Prentice for Bass, Brian Seligman for utility, and Abbie Parker for vocals.

  3. Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

  4. A: Folks typically ask how many tracks they'll get. It's around 12-16 tracks. I have a mic or 2 on every drum, 2 pairs of overheads in different configurations as well as room mics and I'll print my drum bus compression so they can use it if they like. I also get asked about turn around time which is typically 1-3 days.

  5. Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

  6. A: I have been playing drums and producing for over a decade now. I've toured with Maddie & Tae to Billy Ray Cyrus and have cut on songs for Walker Hays, Clay Walker, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Runaway June, to name a few.

  7. Q: Can you share one music production tip?

  8. A: I try to never stop learning. There's alway something new to discover, so I encourage folks to constantly be on the lookout for ways to grow.

  9. Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

  10. A: Country, Rock, Singer/Songwriter, Indie

  11. Q: What's your strongest skill?

  12. A: Communication and timeliness. Professionalism for me starts with punctuality.

  13. Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

  14. A: I currently have a Protools rig with all UAD, Soundtoys, Safari Pedals, Plugin Alliance, Native Instrument Komplete Ultimate and WAVEs plugins. My mics include sE Electronics, Neumann, AKG, AEA, Coles, Shure, Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser and Miktek. I have various Gretsch drum kits and an assortment of snares from Craviotto, Ludwig, Gretsch, Pearl, and more.

  15. Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

  16. A: I'm really inspired by drummers like Aaron Sterling, Jerry Roe, Paul Mabury, Nir Z and incredible sound chaser drummers like Dan Mayo and Brody Simpson. My producer inspirations are Busbee, Jay Joyce, and Dann Huff.

  17. Q: Analog or digital and why?

  18. A: Both. Each is extremely valuable.

  19. Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

  20. A: That they'll be 100% satisfied. I can back it up too with every review and money back guarantee as well as my flexibility when it comes to revisions

  21. Q: What do you like most about your job?

  22. A: That it's different every day.

  23. Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

  24. A: I typically ask for references so that I can have a clearer understanding of their background and what they're looking for.

  25. Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

  26. A: I've loved everything Sabrina Carpenter has put out. I love the acoustic and electronic elements in her music.

  27. Q: What do you bring to a song?

  28. A: Familiarity. Artists always have an idea of what they're looking for even if they can't describe it and I try to find that reference and make it feel like it's their own.

  29. Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

  30. A: I am working on sampling all of my drums. They'll be released in a package for use with Trigger, Native Instruments, Logic and ProTools samplers and many more. I'm really excited because we got to do some of it at The Tracking Room Studio in Nashville that is going to be torn down soon. It's one of the best rooms in town and I'm so grateful to have recorded so many amazing sounds there.

  31. Q: What are you working on at the moment?

  32. A: I'm cutting drums on a few projects that I recorded from my home studio and it'll be exciting to hear them on the radio.

  33. Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

  34. A: Just be as clear and concise as possible in terms of what you need from me! I'm very flexible and always willing to work until you're happy.

  35. Q: What's your typical work process?

  36. A: I'll typically import the files from the producer and start to map the song out in ProTools. Then I'll look at the temp drum track and have a listen to the references that may have been sent along with the song. After that, I'll begin the kit, snare, and cymbal selection along with any other mic or gear changes that need to be made. I'll typically cut a couple of takes and then send them over for approval. Once everything is finished, I'll print and export files to send the client!

  37. Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

  38. A: My most common work is recording drums on songs for clients.

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Terms Of Service

Drums: Almost unlimited revisions. Fast turn around.
Producing: Minimal revisions. Fast turn around.
Mixing: 2 revisions (½ rate per revision after) Fast turn around.

GenresSounds Like
  • Kelsea Ballerini
  • Elevation Worship
  • Morgan Wallen
Gear Highlights
  • Distressor
  • API 3124
  • BAE 1073
  • HA 1081
  • DBX 560
  • Neve 5043 & 5015
  • SSL UVEQ
  • Midas 512
  • API 560
  • WA Bus-Comp
  • Tubesessor
  • Dangerous Audio
  • Focusrite ISA
  • Grace Designs
  • Apollo x16 (x2)
  • Neumann
  • Coles
  • sE Electronics
  • AKG
  • Shure
  • Miktek
  • Telefunken
More Photos
More SamplesDrums
SoundBetter Deal

Please contact for flexible pricing! Willing to work with any budget.