With over 15 years of experience in both live and studio settings, I’ve had the privilege of recording more than 1,800 songs at my studio in the UK. Renowned for playing a diverse selection of genres and working with an extensive collection of high-end modern and vintage equipment, I offer a truly unique remote service. Let's make a record!
Over the years, I've accumulated extensive live and studio experience as a professional drummer, performing globally with a wide variety of bands and artists. A highlight of my career was playing as the full-time drummer for the LA-based rap/metal band Crazy Town in 2017, known for their #1 single "Butterfly." I toured extensively across Europe, the USA, India, and more during my time with them.
I record remote drum tracks from my studio in the north of England, UK. I have a large selection of studio equipment and drum kits to use for each session. Here is a list of what I have to offer:
DRUM KITS:
• Ludwig 1970s Classic Maple Kit
• DW Collectors Series Cherry/Spruce Kit
• North Custom Mahogany Kit
• Ludwig Black Beauty Snare
• Ludwig Supraphonic Snare
• DW Collectors Brass Snare
• North Custom Maple Snare
• Pearl Steel Snare
MICROPHONES:
• KICK IN D6/BETA 52A
• KICK OUT FET47
• SNARE TOP SM57/C451
• SNARE BOTTOM SM57
• OVERHEADS COLES 4038
• HI HAT & RIDE C451
• TOMS E604/C414/D112
• AMBIENT MIC C414
• STERO ROOM SPHERE DLX
PREAMPS
• UAD Apollo x8p
• Audient ASP880
I'd love to hear about your project. Click the 'Contact' button above to get in touch.
36 Reviews - 8 Repeat Clients
Endorse Chris Barber Drums
check_circleVerifiedChris was very easy to work with. Fast turnaround, great drum tracks, couldn't have asked for more. Thanks Chris!
check_circleVerifiedChris is a phenomenal drummer, who never seizes to impress. I am recording the second full-length indie rock album with Chris this year. The sound, the style, the details - everything is turned up to the max. The room sounds open and big, the choice of kits and snare is broad, the microphone collection (including the smooth-as-butter Coles ribbon mics for overheads) is ever-expanding. With Chris it is all about the little details in the song - he hears them right away and plays to them. Stunning
check_circleVerifiedGreat drummer, great sounding drums and room, awesome comping speed. What else do we need to have the work done?
Cool vibes, mate, thanks for the effort and i'll come back again for some more rock for sure!!!
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The ABSOLUTE BEST.
check_circleVerifiedChris was a pro - quick turnarond, listened to what I asked for, and produced top-notch results. Excellent.
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Chris is both an incredible drummer and knows how to record like a first rate engineer/producer.
Very fast and a pleasure to work with.
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Chris is a world-class drummer who can give Travis Barker (and other drummers) a run for their money! He is great to work with and gives you 3 awesome takes! If you're looking for an awesome drummer for any genre (and especially in the style of rock/alternative), Chris is your drummer!
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A true professional! Delivered a powerful, unique performance for my song and brought it to life. Excellent communication and quick turnaround as well.
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Chris is a truly stellar drummer with such acute attention to detail and incredible feel. He can amplify every aspect of the song arrangement with his beautifully crafted drum parts - and his studio sounds like a million bucks, especially after the addition of the iconic Coles ribbon overhead microphones.
Chris provides multiple takes with slightly different fills and details, so there's always choice in the mixing stage. And he is a really lovely person as well!
Truly Amazing!
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Chris is a wonderful Drummer, that’s what made me approach him. The results were absolutely great and made the song so much better. He is patient and accommodating and a pleasure to work with.
Highly recommended. - check_circleVerified
Chris is a true professional. He got back to me with 3 different takes in a quick and timely manner. All 3 takes were great and Chris brought the energy and feel of the song that I was looking for! Chris welcomed any notes that I had and I told him that I was looking for 1 specific thing so he was more than happy to try 1 more take and it was great! Both performance and quality of recording were great. He also provided all the individual stems for each take. I would highly recommend Chris!
check_circleVerifiedChris rawks! He basically played on my entire album and I couldn't be happier with his work.
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This is my third time working with Chris. We have always been able to find the perfect drum parts for the songs. If you want to know if he is the best drummer for your project: he is.
check_circleVerifiedChris Barber's drumming skills and his studio, equipped with Coles mics, resulted in an outstanding track. The precision, energy, and sonic quality were exceptional. Highly recommend his expertise. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
check_circleVerifiedChris was professional and easy to work with! Gave me the stems I needed with great sounding recordings. Would recommend him to you and I hope to work with him again on my future tracks.
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Chris made an awesome drum track for my rock song. He did multiple revisions and tweaks at my request and was super easy to work with. Would recommend!
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Chris absolutely rocked this track. I could not have dreamed up a better beat than what he gave me.
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Incredible drummer. He was able to hone in on what I wanted with very little direction. He sent me three different takes and all of them were on point.
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Amazingly quick turnaround and the drums sound incredible, a great choice of mics and preamps from Chris, three very solid takes to choose from. It was very hard to pick the ones I liked because they were all so good! I dropped the Drums straight into the track no trouble. The playing style is amazing and perfect for the track. All-round great experience would highly recommend Chris
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Wow! Just wow! Drummers of such caliber are extremely rare! I've sent Chris all kinds of songs, some of them initially written to triple-layered drum-machines and he managed to nail absolutely every one of them. I cannot believe how detailed the recordings are and how much energy is injected into every song. TOP LEVEL musician with a very very bright future!
Interview with Chris Barber Drums
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I was the drummer for the LA-band Crazy Town. I toured the world with them for a year and made plenty of new friends and experiences.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I'm working on a 12 track album for a client in Chile.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I will work extremely hard to deliver the drum sound you're looking for, no matter how long it takes.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: Doing what I love for a living and being able to work when I want!
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: There is no work... There is always work available you just have to work hard to find it and be persistent.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: Do you have any demo drum parts to listen to? Can you provide the BPM for your song? What kind of sound are you after?
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Be sure to select a drummer that is suited to your style of music. For example, you can check out my Youtube or Instagram videos to get an idea of the sound I get from my playing and studio - watch these first and if you like what you see we're good to go!
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: Chris is a top UK session drummer with years of experience touring the world and recording with many different bands & artists including the LA-based rap/rock band Crazy Town, Manchester-based metal band Empires Fade & many more. Currently playing for Nottingham-based rock band Fast Car To Florence, Chris also runs an online drum recording service from his recording studio in the north of England, providing acoustic drum tracks remotely to bands, songwriters & producers worldwide.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Versatile, lots of energy and power when needed.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Angels & Airwaves because I love playing to their songs and my style is perfect for their sound!
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: When recording drums be sure to check the phase of EVERY microphone with the others by flipping the phase and listening out for any bass that's missing.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Rock, Pop, Indie, Metal, Alternative, Gospel.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Rock drumming is my strongest skill aside from drum recording, I'm also a very confident audio engineer, experienced in mixing drums especially.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I specialise in rock drumming, but I'm also confident playing metal and pop music. My sound is very versatile and I own custom drum gear which means the kit I'm using is totally unique. I'm an experienced session drummer with years of experience playing live and recording with several different artists.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: The usual process begins with you getting in touch with me online to discuss your music and the kind of service you're wanting. You can send your songs in whatever format works for you (mp3, WAV, MIDI) and include any demo drum parts that exist on your track, if you like. We can then go over the project together and negotiate a price that suits your budget, making sure that we are both happy before continuing. Next, I'll start working on the drum parts for your songs in the studio and have a few takes sent back within a couple of days. It's up to you whether you want me to follow a demo drum track you already have or create something completely fresh. Three revisions will be inclusive for each track which is easily enough 99% of the time, so don't be afraid to ask for things to be changed! When you're satisfied with the drums, I'll export each track individually in WAV format and send them to you via an email link. If you are using Logic and would prefer to receive the Logic session instead I can do that too. Finally, download your tracks online and drag the files straight into your DAW.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I have a dedicated recording studio that is built specifically for drum recording. It has been acoustically treated and optimised to achieve an amazing drum sound. Featuring a selection of drum kits and microphones, with industry-standard AD converters and digital processing.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Drummers such as Taylor Hawkins, Atom Willard and Eric Moore inspire me to be a better drummer. Music production-wise, I'd say Ash Soan inspires me to improve my drum production.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Remote Drum Recording for Bands, Songwriters & Producers Worldwide.
I was the Drummer & Engineer in this production
- Live drum trackAverage price - $150 per song
- PercussionAverage price - $125 per song
- Mixing EngineerAverage price - $150 per song
- EditingAverage price - $50 per track
- Time alignment - QuantizingAverage price - $50 per track
- YouTube Cover RecordingAverage price - $500 per song
- Programmed drumAverage price - $125 per song
Multiple drum takes with multiple revisions. Up to 30 multi-track stems at sample rates of up to 96kHZ. Additional services include editing and mixing, filming of the session and more.
- Foo Fighters
- Taylor Hawkins
- Travis Barker
- Vintage Ludwig Kit
- Ludwig Snare Drums
- DW Collectors Series Cherry/Spruce Kit
- UA Apollo X8P
- Coles 4038 Ribbons
- North Custom Drums
- Sabian Cymbals
- Remo Drum Heads
- DW Drums
- Shure Microphones
- AKG Microphones
- Audient Pre Amps
- Logic Pro X
- 70s Ludwig Maple KitDec 02, 2024
I have just purchased a 1970s Ludwig classic maple kit, which sounds glorious!
- New Room Mic!Jun 02, 2023
I’ve recently added a pair of Coles 4038 ribbon mics to my collection, starting by using these as stereo room mics!
- Spotify PortfolioApr 21, 2023
I've made a Spotify playlist featuring some of the songs I've recorded drums for at my studio. Check it out here - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7Ekk6goCC91wKK73qNUIZI?si=f77f107a657e4555
- On Tour until mid FebruaryJan 27, 2023
Currently on tour in Europe until the middle of February, so I won’t be back in the studio until then. Feel free to send submissions before then though!
- New DW Collectors series kitJan 06, 2023
I’m so excited to have my brand new DW collectors series kit in the studio! It’s a 4 piece Cherry/Spruce shell set which sounds incredible, especially for recording.
The sizes are: 22x16 kick 10x8 rack Tom 12x9 rack Tom 16x16 Floor Tom
Head over to my Instagram or YouTube channel to see videos!
- Coronavirus UpdateAug 19, 2020
Since the start of Covid-19 I realised remote recording would become my main source of income for the foreseeable future, so I have embraced it and I'm loving it!
