Chris Whitten

Experienced Studio Drummer

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21 Reviews (20 Verified)
Chris Whitten on SoundBetter

I played on hit albums by Paul McCartney, Dire Straits, Edie Brickell, The Waterboys and many others. Studio drummer with Multi-Platinum recordings over 35 years. Iconic tracks such as 'What I Am' and 'The Whole Of The Moon'. I love popular music from the 1960's to present day, singer-songwriter to contemporary electronica.

Just back from a successful world tour with The The.
As well as a long list of studio credits from 1982 to present day, since 2005 I've been involved in several drum sample projects with companies like Toontrack and Roland. So I have studied in depth drum sounds and drum recording.
I generally deliver separate audio wav files for each kit piece and often a rough stereo mix I have lightly processed.
I have many high end, boutique and vintage kits, snares and cymbals. My recording gear includes modern software from UAD, plus vintage outboard. Industry standard microphones by Neumann, AKG, Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser, as well as BAE and Daking mic-pres and vintage Api, Telefunken and Quad Eight mic-pre/eq's.
I tend to work at 96khz/24 bit but can deliver files at any quality you require.
Having already achieved many things, my current ambition is to just work with great people on great music.

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

21 Reviews - 5 Repeat Clients

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  1. Review by Russell B.
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    Chris always goes to work for me quickly. His diverse skill set and professionalism are second to none. I enjoy many genres and he always delivers regardless of style. Never any regrets.

  2. Review by Russell B.
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    The best! Glad to have another opportunity to work with Chris. Different style of music this time. No problem, nailed it.

  3. Review by Andy Lagomarsino
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    Chris is a total professional that goes above and beyond to give the best drum and percussion tracks possible. He's easy to work with, understands the direction and objective of the producer and is able to execute and deliver.

  4. Review by Richard W.
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    Quality drums
    What a talent
    Thank you

  5. Review by Rosetone D.
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    Very professional and timely delivery of drum tracks. He has great feel, great drum sound and is very easy to communicate with.

  6. Review by Torben M.
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    Great sound, great feel, attention to detail.
    Master drummer.

  7. Review by Torben M.
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    Another song done with Chris, great performance, great sound, well recorded, super tight drumming.

  8. Review by Torben M.
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    Chris has recorded and toured with some of the all-time greatest artist's on this planet, you don't get to do that unless you are able to ad something very special to the music.

    Top Drummer, very professional, great sound, very communicative, a pleasure and an honor to have him on one of my songs.

  9. Review by Van
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    by Van
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    I don't know how many times I've listened to those classic albums Chris recorded. It's like dreams come true working with him. His drums took me back to the golden age. Hope we'll work together again!

  10. Review by Phil H.
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    Chris is truly a great recording artist! Thank you!

  11. Review by Phil H.
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    Chris is a great musician / recording artist!. If you are looking for the best… Find Chris Whitten!

  12. Review by sherif K.
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    great artist! loved his classic taste in my music.

  13. Review by Richard W.
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    I would highly recommend Chris - his drumming really helps bring the right energy to the songs - many Tnx

  14. Review by Richard W.
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    The drums sounds fab - thank you for your attention to detail - much appreciated

  15. Review by Russell B.
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    Chris is a tenured professional artist of the highest quality who is also pleasure to work with. The project was completed quickly requiring only one take and no edits for my psychedelic rock song. Chris was a great listener and able to stylize his instrument to my vision after a short description. I could not be more pleased with his professionalism, quality of work and service!

  16. Review by Richard W.
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    Very happy
    Great drummer
    Track sounds great
    Clear concise communication
    Tnx

  17. Review by Johannes M.
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    Another song done with Chris. Amazing skills, I'm very happy to have his sound on my album.

  18. Review by Johannes M.
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    Chris helped me with another four songs for my album. Everything was excellent, communication, musical skills and the final product. Thank you Chris for everything and hope to work with you again soon...

  19. Review by Johannes M.
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    Chris is an extremely impressive drummer and he was able to help me to improve my songs considerably. He took into consideration all of my requests and delivered an excellent result in a very short amount of time. I decided to continue working with him on more of my songs...

  20. Review by Erin W.
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    Amazing player

Interview with Chris Whitten

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

  2. A: Well it has to be McCartney. I worked for him for three years. Three years that were a turning point for him. He had released a couple of albums that weren't received well. His manager at the time wanted Paul to form a proper band again ,are a great album and tour, as he hadn't toured for nearly a decade. On the 'Flowers In The Dirt' album we worked with many of the leading record producers at the time. The tour was a huge success, breaking all kinds of sales figures and attendance records. Playing the music of The Beatles in huge American football stadiums was an experience never to be forgotten.

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

  4. A: Recently I have worked with a couple of American songwriters. Nothing released yet. Every couple of months I shoot a video for Youtube, explaining and demonstrating a well known song I played on.

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

  6. A: I ask them to describe their goals, do they have any pointers regarding other artists, other albums, their favourite drummers.

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

  8. A: For remote recording we almost certainly need to work to a common pulse, ideally a click or a loop, or a steady synth part.

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

  10. A: I will import the clients mp3 of their song. Ideally like two, one without drums that I can work on, and one with some kind of guide drums, whether a loop, something roughly programmed, or VST drums, so I can hear the direction the client wants to go in. I need a bpm. Then I make my own click track. I map out the song arrangement on paper, then I probably make a couple of rough recordings to check my sounds and the performance. Once happy I will record a couple of takes, then choose the best one to export back to the client.

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

  12. A: Yes, Rob Harris, amazing guitarist, Dylan Wissing, cool drummer.

  13. Q: Analog or digital and why?

  14. A: Both. Recording is digital, but I'm completely hybrid, with lot's of old gear, analog synths, pedal and fx. My drums are 'analog' of course!

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

  16. A: If I don't think I can add value to your project, I won't offer my services.

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

  18. A: I love making artists and song writers happy. I take pride in delivering drums that take their productions to the next level.

  19. Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

  20. A: That it's easy.

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

  22. A: I've been a full time musician since 1980. I spent time in New York City at the tail end of punk, playing shows at CBGB and Max's Kansas City. Returning to London I worked with a number of up and coming indie style artists like The Waterboys, World Party and Julian Cope. At the same time I started to work in the studio scene, playing on hit pop records. Everything changed when I was hired by Paul McCartney in 1987. We made two studio albums and undertook a major world tour. Afterwards I was asked to join Dire Straits on their final world tour.

  23. Q: How would you describe your style?

  24. A: Classic studio drumming. I admire drummers like Jeff Porcaro, Andy Newmark, Gregg Bissonette and Abe Laboriel jr.

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

  26. A: Rock, pop, singer-songwriter, contemporary electronica.

  27. Q: What's your strongest skill?

  28. A: Playing for the song. I have a lot of experience, so my benchmark of what I allow out of my studio is the same as any top production. The drums have to sound good, have to groove and I don't like sloppy, out of time drumming.

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

  30. A: I have a lot of experience playing songs. I am known for having a great feel and delivering world class drum sounds. I enjoy music from 1960's pop and rock to modern electronica, so have at the minimum a basic understanding of many genres.

  31. Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

  32. A: I have a home studio set up in an outbuilding. I can create dry intimate drum sounds as well as roomier rock sounds. I have the latest digital technology by Apple computers, UAD and Cranborne Audio, plus collections of esoteric and vintage outboard processing and some rare modular synths.

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

  34. A: Beck. Great songs and the production is right up my street.

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

  36. A: I play drums on their songs. I deliver them edited and sometimes processed to be mix ready.

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Recent Work

I was the Drummer in this production


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    Recent Work
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    Dire Straits
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    1980's Hits
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    Paul McCartney
Terms Of Service

I expect to record your drums within a couple of days, depending on other sessions.
I will forward an mp3 for you to check and comment on, within 36 hours please. I offer up to a couple of revisions

GenresSounds Like
  • Beck
  • Paul McCartney
  • Coldplay
Gear Highlights
  • Camco Drums
  • Noble & Cooley
  • Pork Pie
  • Ludwig
  • Istanbul Agop Cymbals
  • UAD Apollo
  • Cranborne Audio
  • BAE
  • Api
  • Quad Eight
  • Spectrosonics
  • Helios
  • MXR
  • Neumann and Sennheiser
More Photos