Kyle Brian

Session Drummer & Engineer

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39 Reviews (38 Verified)
Kyle Brian on SoundBetter

Hard Hitting Session Drummer for hire! My go-to style is great for most contemporary music in rock, pop, and metal, but I also have experience and can cater my playing to country, jazz, reggae, and others.

Session Drums - Generally $200/song - Includes multitracks mixed and raw and a stereo drum bus. $250 if you want me to quantize them.

All I need to get started is a scratch track and tempo. More is more, but I've made a lot work with very little. I use a 16 mic set that consists of

Kick Out - Audix D6
Kick In - Shure SM57
Sub Kick - Avantone Subkick
Snare Top - Beyerdynamic M201
Snare Bottom - Shure SM57
Overheads - AEA R88a Stereo Ribbon
Rooms - AKG C414 (Stereo Pair)
Hi-Hat - Shure SM81
Ride - Shure SM81
Toms - Sennheiser MD-421 (x5)

Send me a note through the contact button above.

Credits

Discogs verified credits for Kyle Brian
  • Sik Oheso
  • Bulletproof (26)

Languages

  • English

39 Reviews - 11 Repeat Clients

Endorse Kyle Brian
  1. Review by 19af77
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    by 19af77
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    Kyle is a great singer with a great voice. Super professional and easy to work with.

  2. Review by Davide Gentilini
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    Very nice guy that provides you with the takes needed to reach what you are looking for. Took my song to the next level!

  3. Review by Kross Productions
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    Really went to bat to make this latest project work!

  4. Review by Kross Productions
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    Another job well done! Easy to work with and super professional work!

  5. Review by Kross Productions
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    Another job well done! Extremely good at matching parts, getting consistently excellent quality, and adding his own touch!

  6. Review by Chris F.
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    Working with Kyle was super efficient and he delivers top quality. He felt the song and accordingly used exactly the right fills and styles! Also the exchange is uncomplicated and a very pleasant contact at any time. I look forward to hopefully working with him soon! Thanks a lot, Kyle

  7. Review by Kristofer Dommin
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    I am so lucky I found Kyle to drum on my album. His talent is undeniable, his rates totally reasonable and his dedication to getting the project right with revisions was an absolute stress reliever. It was my first time using Sound Better and he made the experience easy.
    The quality of the files that he sent through is excellent.
    He was totally adaptable to my needs. Kyle was able to follow reference tracks as well as bust out the creativity when asked. I'm definitely going to hire him again.

  8. Review by Kross Productions
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    Great deal and incredible quality. Blown away by the drum sounds he got and how easy he was to work with!

  9. Review by Mike L.
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    Once again Kyle delivered a great performance! And super easy to work with! I will keep recomending Kyle to clients! Thanks again Kyle!

  10. Review by Mike L.
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    Kyle was super quick to respond and very profesional! I would and will recommend him for other projects with other clients whenever his skillset is required!!!!! I hope to work with Kyle again!

  11. Review by Andy Faunch
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    Kyle's the best. I love his playing and the attitude he's brought to my tracks- definitely has become part of 'the sound' of the album I'm working on. Also his stems are always top notch; well recorded and organized. Highly recommend. 5 Stars all the way..

  12. Review by CC G.
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    by CC G.
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    As expected Kyle came through again like a pro, can't wit to work with him again.

  13. Review by CC G.
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    by CC G.
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    Kyle did an awesome job. He's a 5 star pro, very easy to work with, you won't be disappointed. Can't wait to work with him again.

  14. Review by Mario Borgatta
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    Awesome music. Great communication. Highly recommended!

  15. Review by Casey H.
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    Great drums, had loads of cool ideas for my track. Would work with again

  16. Review by Kara Greskovic
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    Kyle is a joy to work with! It never takes us more than 1 to 2 takes to get exactly what I'm looking for. Amazing experience!

  17. Review by Nick C.
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    The pearl is in the river and the whooping crane flies at dawn.

  18. Review by Kara Greskovic
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    Awesome experience with Kyle as always!! Attention to detail and always delivers

  19. Review by Nelifedo
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    Great, reliable work. Will absolutely work with Kyle again (and again)

  20. Review by Kara Greskovic
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    Amazing experience with Kyle! Creative, fast, and friendly. Def will be working with him again!

Interview with Kyle Brian

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

  2. A: I released a solo album in 2016 that I wrote, recorded and mixed all of the parts starting in 2012. The only thing I didn't do was mastering - and it was my first top to bottom record and it was an extremely good way to learn how to do it all. I wrote and demoed 50 songs and then picked my favorite 10 and did the real recording of them.

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

  4. A: I get hired often time to record drums for rock, pop, and metal projects, but most of my production work comes from rock artists.

  5. Q: What's your strongest skill?

  6. A: I'm a drummer at my core, and while I've been playing guitar and singing and doing everything else for over a decade at this point, more than anything I'm a drummer.

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

  8. A: Generally, I will listen to the demo sent over to me and chart out the structure. I then play along to the song a couple of times and begin to record several takes. I then comp between the best 2 or 3 takes to get the performance I like the most.

  9. Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

  10. A: I have a large mic collection of various Shure, AKG, Blue, and EV microphones. My typical drum recordings are 16 tracks. 3 kick mics, 2 snare mics, stereo overheads, stereo rooms, and single close mics on all toms, hi-hat, and ride. I use two Focusrite Saffire Pro 40s with a UA 710-d connected via ADAT to the main Focusrite with my Lunchbox routing through the UA into the ADAT as well.

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

  12. A: Ken Andrews and Chris Lord Alge are two of my bigger production inspirations. Coincidentally they both worked on Paramore records - two very different sounding records that both sound phenomenal to me production-wise. The drummers that influence me the most are probably Portnoy, The Rev, and Bonham.

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

  14. A: The bulk of the work I do is recording drums for artists. A lot of the time, I also act as the mixing engineer for those projects. Artists will send me a track - sometimes with programmed drums, sometimes without - and I will record real drums and send them a mixed version of my drums, a stereo bus of my drums, as well as the raw tracks. When I also act as the mixing engineer - we will record a scratch vocal and primary instrument take, then add real drums and start to add all of the layers.

  15. Q: Analog or digital and why?

  16. A: Why not both??? I use real mics and real outboard gear going into the box...but once it's there, there are so many invaluable tools at our disposal that trying to re-reroute it back out afterward doesn't create any inspiration for me.

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

  18. A: I cater exactly to your needs - as no two clients I've ever had have been the same. It's a very individual personal work relationship.

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

  20. A: I set my own hours.

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

  22. A: How many songs are you looking to do, what is your time frame, how married to your midi drum parts are you?

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Drum Sample

I was the Session Drummer in this production

Terms Of Service

I work with artists until the project is complete. As long as I am in town, I can generally finish within 1 week.

GenresSounds Like
  • Axl Rose
  • Perry Farrell
  • Scott Weiland
Gear Highlights
  • UA 710-D. Avedis MA5
  • Portico 611
  • AKG C414
  • AEA R88a
  • Sennheiser 421
  • Pearl Session Custom Drum Set
  • Pearl Masters Maple Snare
  • Sabian HHX and AAX Cymbals
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