About Will Jones

Starting out

I knew I wanted to be a drummer at the age of fourteen, when I started air-drumming with a couple of remote controls while watching Top Of The Pops! I received my first kit for my fifteenth birthday and after 25 years of recording, gigging and carting my tubs about…I’m still at it!

My goal is to ensure that musicians are happy, time after time, by providing drum tracks that meet or hopefully exceed their expectations in completing the final part of the jigsaw.

Recording online

I began recording online in 2000 and have been doing so ever since. There were few opportunities to form a band in my hometown when I was starting out, so being able to record with musicians all over the world at the click of a button was amazing – I wouldn’t have had the chance pre-internet.

After two years drumming, I studied for a BTEC National Diploma in Contemporary Popular Music and the course provided me with valuable tuition in recording, production and music business. Four years later, I studied for a BSc in New Media Production Technology, which helped widen my understanding of production techniques and process.

In recent years, I have learned to read and write drum music, which has been a life-changer in my approach to drumming. No longer does everything have to be in my head or remembered using little code-phrases. I can write the song out, read it back and see it for what it is.

Playing in bands

Drumming has taken me through many bands, in all of which I’ve gigged and recorded. I’ve learned from playing with other musicians about the relationship between the instruments – when to hold back, when to up the intensity and even when not to play. Playing live took me to 14 countries across Europe and the Middle East.

I’ve been lucky enough to experience the pressure of recording in professional studios – where the clock is running and I’m first under the mics. Touring has taught me that even if you’re stumbling around with a thousand yard stare after a long ride in the van, you’ve still got to go out there and produce your best!

My extensive cover and tribute band experience further expanded my knowhow of how to take the original drum parts and adapt them to the situation.

My inspirations and goals

Music, and the emotions it stirs, is what inspires me to play the drums. Whether I am recording a pre-arranged track or my own interpretation, I am aware of the sound and feel needed to serve the song.

My goal is to ensure that musicians are happy, time after time, by providing drum tracks that meet or hopefully exceed their expectations in completing the final part of the jigsaw.

I launched Drum Tracks Direct in September 2011, after nearly a year of preparation and learning. There was an anxious wait to get my first customer on board, but one by one they came, from all over the world and the word spread through the internet.

I continue to learn an incredible amount along the way and I’m always improving my playing, thanks to always being kept on my toes by the songwriters who enlist my services. Receiving many positive testimonials has been fantastic and they mean the world to me.