Hello! I'm Darrell and I have been a session drummer, producer, and mix engineer for 20+ years. I provide high quality Drum Tracks and Mix and Master music for artists and songwriters all over the world. My top clients are members of Steely Dan and AC/DC. Check out the other drum examples at the bottom right of this page. Thanks!
"I play for the song!" As a producer, I want what is best to convey the message of the song - instrumentally and lyrically. This is very important to my musical concept! My services are rendered from my studio located in Southwest Florida.
A friend once said to me, "It's not always the gear, but it is ALWAYS the EAR!" My studio rig is mostly in the box. I use Waves, Slate Digital, and Izotope plugins. Cubase Pro 11 is my main DAW but I can export audio tracks to your specifications. I use high quality Focusrite RED preamps and interface. I proudly endorse Amedia Cymbals and use Yamaha drums and Goodwood drumsticks. As a drummer, my specialty is recording drum tracks for singer/songwriters for their songs.
I have worked with members of Steely Dan, AC/DC, Yes, The Moody Blues, Bad Company, Goo Goo Dolls, Parliament, Rickie Lee Jones, and many other hard working, lesser known artists. I also really enjoy mixing material that I didn't record. I have mixed hundreds of songs for artists that I haven't met in person - only via Soundbetter and social media and almost ALL of them have been repeat customers! I am proud of that!
Let's work together! Attach your demo to the job offer & note the tempo & sample rate so I can send a fair proposal.
Here is a Spotify Playlist of songs I have played on: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3H39UeOmOIwOEfAMNvsAf7?si=cb608fe591c14eb8
Click the 'Contact' above to get in touch. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Credits
Discogs verified credits for Darrell Nutt- Margaret Cerniglia, Darrell Nutt, Willie "Mix" Correa*
- Willie* And Darrell*
- Kat Epple, Chuck Grinnell, Ted Myerson, Nathan Dyke, Darrell Nutt
- Ascension / Willie Mix & Darrell Nutt
- Willie "Mix"* & Doc Roc
- Various
- John Beltran
- Various
- Zen Experience
- The Muzic Den
- Willie "Mix"* & Doc Roc
- DJ Mondo
- DJ Chus & David Penn
- Nearfield feat. Anthony Williams (2)
- Father Jerry Kaywell
- Various
- Zen Experience
- Various
- Various
- The Muzic Den
- Various
- Various
- Electro Body Rockers*
- DJ Doc Roc*
- Willie "Mix"* & Doc Roc
- The Electro Body Rockers Featuring Willie "Mix"*, K-OBA & Tony Tomei
- Willie "Mix"*
- Emir & Frozen Camels
- Dave London
- Father Jerry Kaywell
- Various
- John Beltran vs. Fantasista
- John Beltran
- Father Jerry Kaywell
- John Beltran
- DJ Chus & David Penn
- Various
- John Beltran
- Various
- John Beltran
- Tim McGeary
- Victor Samalot*
- Essra Mohawk
- Sol Set
- Nearfield feat. Anthony Williams (2)
- Various
- DJ Sandy
- PK*
- Dave London
- DJ Mondo
- Various
- Eric Berretta
- Various
- Infiniti*
- Various
- Various
- Various
214 Reviews - 37 Repeat Clients
Endorse Darrell Nutt- check_circleVerified
My favorite drummer to work with. Darrell needs no direction and ALWAYS plays exactly what the song needs!!!!!
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Darrel always delivers, quick, creative, incredible sound, always a pleasure!
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Darrell did a nice job with time-alignment of 2 tracks of an instrumental, and also added some drum dynamics, which I requested. I am now able to easily add in other instruments to complete my song. Darrell does great work!
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Darrell's tracks keep everything lined up, and I like the style he puts into each of my songs...very steady and appropriate!
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Great drummer, Bigband experience always present, communicating fast and precise, was a pleasure to work together. Hope for having Darell on my projects again soon.
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Completed 2 songs with Darrell now, an absolute pleasure to work with him. He certainly does play for the song!
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If you need a drummer, Darrell is your guy! Darrell understood what I needed with ease and returned his quality work very quickly.
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WooHoo! - got some great drum tracks from Darrell! He provided just what I wanted for my instrumental...fills and dynamics in all the right places! So excited to mix these tracks in...it's going to be awesome!
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Slam dunk Darrell does it again. Feels like he can read my mind and I’d say 99.9% of the time he does it on the first take (which is kind of annoying cause he’s so damn good).
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Once again the man, the legend does an amazing job on a new tune I sent him. He’s just amazing as usual !
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I've hired Darrell to play on like six of my songs now, I'm always happy with the results and exited to see what he comes up with. Highly recommended!
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Darrel Nutt is a fantastic drummer and a great guy to work with. I have had him design the drums for three songs now, and the tracking he did is outstanding. He is a true professional drummer. I would recommend him to anyone and will be using him on my next song for sure.
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As always, Darrell is great! he just reads my mind every single time.
I highly recommend him to anyone - check_circleVerified
Darrell is an excellent drummer and a pleasure to work with!
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Darrell hits it every time.
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Another fantastic job with Darrell! Total pro, every time. Creative, but precise. Excellent!
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Darrell plays exactly what the song calls for. I never have to give Darrell any direction he plays exactly what I hear in my head, it's such a privilege to have Darrell play on my stuff!
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Darell is amazing as always!
He understands your musical intentions perfectly…
what a gift - check_circleVerified
Darrell is great,
The true professional...always on time and on target with whatever might be required for your track. - check_circleVerified
THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Interview with Darrell Nutt
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: I work quick and I try to understand what the client wants. I tend to hear the final mix in my head - as a drummer and producer.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Drumming - Producing, editing, time aligning, and mixing. Okay, that is more than one...
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: As a drummer cutting a drum track, I like to know the direction the song will go in. Specific genre or samples of styles that are similar. Well, then sometimes - we just go for it! As a producer or mix engineer, I like to be able to add to the mix via percussion or keys and fx when necessary to complete a song or mix.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I use Cubase 11 Pro on iMac with Slate Digital and Waves plugins. Preamps are Focusrite Clarett 8PreX and Clarett Octopre. Sennheiser, AKG, Shure mics.
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I wrote a music cue for Oprah's Next chapter tv series and played drums on the theme song.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: Just finished a release that is heavily influenced as if Steely Dan meets broadway.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Steve Reich, Victor Samalot. Pretty much anyone I've worked with with good reviews.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: A little of both. Analog for the traditional reason. Digital for the modern benefits.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: Do the best I can for you time after time!
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: The journey of a recording project. Beginning to end.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: Most of my clients have let me just play on their track and we make subtle adjustments as needed.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: Public persona because I'm always in the studio.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: I can usually tell what they need from their inquiring questions.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: iMac, Generator, Steely Dan cd's (x3)
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I started early in my family band at 14 playing clubs. From 18-26 I toured the US and Europe with country artists and played the Opry and many country tv shows. I settled in florida at 26. At 35 I started my own studio producing artists and recording drums for people all over the world. 36 years in the business.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Grooving, funky, and soulful.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Jonny Lang. Because he was a prodigy and he has matured in his last few albums.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Always pull OUT the "bad" frequencies in a track or mix.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Singer songwriter, Rock, Country
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Over 30 years of drumming and 20 years of producing.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: I am influenced by the technical recordings of Steely Dan and Roger Nichols, the vast artistry of producers Tommy LiPuma, Russ Titelman, Quincy Jones and many others.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: First and foremost, I am a drummer. I play most types of music live and in the studio. I have a drum kit ready to record at any time. Over the last 15 years I've been producing releases for clients, artists and record labels. I love it all!
I was the Drummer in this production
- Live drum trackAverage price - $150 per song
- Mixing EngineerAverage price - $300 per song
- Mastering EngineerAverage price - $100 per song
- EditingAverage price - $20 per track
- PercussionAverage price - $100 per song
Drum tracks come with one revision in a 24 hour period. If you want two full drum takes of your song, additional funds will be required for the second take. Let's make some great music!
- Focal
- Dynaudio
- Avantone
- Warm Audio
- Earthworks
- Neumann
- AKG
- Sennheiser
- Focusrite
- Octava
- Presonus
- Shure
- Waves
- Slate Digital
- Audio Technica
- Mackie
- Digidesign
- Yamaha
- Steinberg
- Meinl
- Amedia
- Paiste
- Zildjian
- LP
- Buffalo Music Hall of FameNov 14, 2022
In October 2022, I was inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame. It is a big honor to be recognized by your peers in your home town! Other Buffalo Music Hall of Fame inductees are: Goo Goo Dolls, Ani Difranco, Aretha Franklin, Rick James, Brian McKnight, Natalie Merchant, Lucky Peterson, Billy Sheehan, Spyro Gyra, Take 6, Grover Washington, Jr., and Tommy Tedesco.
- 1400+ drum tracksApr 19, 2021
I'm excited to announce that I have surpassed 1400 drum track sessions in my career! A few hundred of those were directly through SOUNDBETTER.com! Thank you!
Darrell