Corey May
Corey May
Hey everyone, I’m Corey May. I am a multi-instrumentalist with an emphasis on electric bass and vocals. I have been performing and studying for as long as I can remember, all the way back to being about five years old when my uncle started teaching me how to play the guitar. I performed live for roughly 15 years, and after my first son was born, I moved into the studio, mixing local bands and podcasts. I have been a drum tech, guitar tech, guitarist, bassist, front man, backing vocalist, manager, and producer for many metal, rock, funk, alternative, and hybrid projects throughout the years, which has given me more of a drive to help other artists with their sound. I went to Full Sail to expand on my experience and eventually ended up here at Sweetwater, working with artists all over the world.
As your personal contact here at Sweetwater, please let me know anytime I can offer help or advice.
(800) 222-4700 ext 3731
E-mail Corey-
Education/Certifications:
I am a classically trained musician who expanded into hard rock on guitars early on. I continued to take music and band classes from elementary school to high school, from jazz and concert band to orchestra and the marching drumline. I have also attended many individual clinic courses through Capital University Conservatory of Music throughout the years while continuing to refine the skills I had learned prior. After a while, I realized I wanted to help others make music they loved, so I attended Full Sail University as an audio production major in 2019, earning my BS in 2022.
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Where are you from originally?
I’m just a dad from Akron, Ohio, raised in the inner city. As I grew up, I knew I wanted to leave and explore the rest of the country and the world if it was possible. I joined the US Army at 18 years old and moved out of Ohio for the first time. I lived in Georgia, Virginia, Louisiana, and even Arizona for a short while during this time but ultimately ended up back in Ohio. Being from Ohio has its perks, though. The Ohio State University football and Cedar Point are a couple, but my favorite was ultimately Blossom Music Center.
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Why did you first apply for a job at Sweetwater?
Well, this is a little bit of a loaded question. I love Sweetwater, flat out. I have been buying my gear exclusively through Sweetwater for as long as I can remember. When I came to the end of my degree program at Full Sail, I started applying for every studio that I could find, blindly sending my resume to places and hoping for the best. Well, as it turns out, there are not many studio options in the good ol’ Rubber City, Ohio. Throughout this time, I found myself directing all of my friends who were also artists to get their gear through Sweetwater. The reason was simple. I always had an amazing experience, and they always made sure I was on the right track with my setup. That’s something that has always stuck with me. I wanted to help artists shape their music into art, and from the relationship that Sweetwater built with me, I knew that was something that I could do here.
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Technical strengths:
Well, for starters, I have some seriously extensive training in electrical routing and mechanical repairs. From fixing random amp problems to rebuilding guitars, building speaker systems, and even rewiring effect pedals. I thrive in chaos on the road, and that know-how has carried on with me in every aspect of my life.
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Instruments you play:
Guitar, bass, contrabass, trumpet, saxophone, clarinet, drums, piano, baritone. Ultimately, I couldn’t decide which one I liked the most, so I landed on bass, like most of us do! lol
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Gear you own:
I mostly do everything inside my DAW with plug-ins these days. I own a custom-shop Dean Dime Razorback and a few other interesting guitars. I also own a Fender Custom 5-string bass, a Peavey 5650 clone that was built by a close friend of mine, and a Marshall MX series half stack. I use AT4040s and SM57s quite a bit, SM7Bs and AT2035s, as well. I just recently fixed my old Bellari MP105 tube pre, and I’m curious how it will sound in an abstract context.
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Family info:
My wife and I ironically met at one of my shows. We started dating shortly after and were engaged not much later. Throughout our relationship, we decided we wanted to have a huge family, somewhere around six kids. So far, we only have two (and we thought we wanted six, haha). My oldest has a love for anything superheroes and villains with a little lean toward the villains. My youngest is only a baby even though he’s almost as big as his older brother. Both boys are ultimately lost without the other, no matter how much they try to push each other off the bed and steal each other’s stuff. They are my motivation.
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What did you dream about doing for a living when you were growing up?
To be completely honest, I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do for the longest time. I started out with my uncle, working on building some sort of computer for audio editing when I was a young child. He taught me guitar and generally how music and sound work. Ever since that point, I’ve been basically obsessed with the art behind creating music and sound. I wanted to perform when I was younger, and as I grew up, I wanted to produce hard rock and metal bands. By high school, I basically decided the best spot for my drive would be as a studio engineer. That’s the best place for me to help the artists around me put their art on paper and make it the way they want it to be heard.
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What in your background prepared you most to help your customers with their audio needs?
I have a great deal of experience in many different fields. Some are useless, and others are more useful. I have had to fix guitars, amps, and even drum sets on the fly, even in the middle of a set. I have performed as an artist and engineered as front of house as well as in a studio as a recording/mix engineer. That being said, I have experience with many different kinds of gear and a wide variety of genres and a strong understanding of each sound palette. It’s YOUR art, it’s MY job to help you make it.
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Who are some of the notable artists you've worked with?
I’ve played shows with so many amazing artists, honestly. For about four years, I worked very closely with Mushroomhead and their affiliates. Bands like Mettal Maffia, Sykosis, and A Killer’s Confession became like mentors to me as we worked together more. I had the pleasure of featuring as a vocalist on a solo album by Church, formerly of MRH, and another with the Maffia camp.
Through the years, we performed with artists like Motionless in White, Asking Alexandria, Spite, Oceano, Suicide Silence, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, and Chelsea Grin.
