Devin Vaughan on SoundBetter

I have engineered, mixed and played on a multitude of albums for artists such as; Band of Skulls, Caitlyn Smith, Marc Broussard, Bones Owens, Goodbye June, Matthew Mayfield, Sadler Vaden (Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit), Griffin House, Lovedrug, House of Heroes, Relient K, Anna Rose, Leagues and Hannah Wicklund to name a few. Let's Make some music!

My Name is Devin Vaughan and I am a Recording Engineer, Mixing Engineer and Drummer. I have been playing the drums for over 23 years. I have spent the past 9 years as the Head Engineer and Studio manager for The Smoakstack Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. As a kid that went to an Arts high school I spent my youth playing drums for punk/rock/cover bands with friends. Music started getting more serious for me when I got into college and started playing in more serious bands. I decided to move to Nashville Tennessee in 2009 where I graduated from SAE Institute at the top of my class and immediately started working at The Smoakstack under producer/owner Paul Moak. I forged my way into the Head Engineer position after a very short time. After 9 years of working for Paul Moak I decided it was time for Me, my wife, and my daughter to move back to our hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. I have a professional relationship with Hybrid Audio Solutions Studio and am available for your tracking, mixing or drumming needs. I primarily focus on music that involves bands. Rock/punk/country.

I'd love to hear about your project. Click the 'Contact' button above to get in touch.

Credits

AllMusic verified credits for Devin Vaughan

Rhett Walker
Michael W. Smith
Rhett Walker Band
Rhett Walker
Caitlyn Smith
Caitlyn Smith
Stu Garrard
Goodbye June
Green River Ordinance
Gabe Dixon
Matt Maher
Marc Broussard
Marc Broussard
Marc Broussard
Rhett Walker Band
Rhett Walker
Marit Larsen
The Neverclaim
Rhett Walker Band
Rhett Walker
Drew Scholl
The Vespers
Seabird
Lovedrug

7 Reviews

Endorse Devin Vaughan

by shin
Verified
Best of Best
by Anna Rose
Devin engineered my latest record, The Light Between. He is absolutely phenomenal & truly one of the best I have ever worked with. He’s passionate, encouraging & creative, not to mention incredibly quick & efficient. An all-around, gold star human. You’d be lucky to have him on your project.
by Bones Owens
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Devaughan over the last several years on projects at the Smoakstack in Nashville. He engineered my EP ‘Make Me No King’, later engineered another collection of songs including the single ‘Keep it Close’, and played drums on a demo or two along the way as well. You won’t be disappointed with what you get when you hire this guy to work on your project - take it from a repeat customer.
by Paul Moak
Devin was my personal employee for 9 years at the Smoakstack in nashville TN. In that time not only did he engineer on several Billboard and ITunes number 1 records, he interacted with hundreds of artists and musicians and always made people smile. He is a Swiss Army knife in the studio with the ability to engineer, fix problems, play instruments, and edit and mix projects. I highly recommend Devin for your project.
by Caitlyn Smith
Devin is an amazing human and engineer. I had the privilege of working with him on my last record (Starfire)... He has an incredible ear and the ability to make people feel comfortable and confident. If you’re looking for a great engineer with super good energy and someone who’s a hard worker - look no further - Devin’s the man.
by Tyler Baker
Devin engineered my first record, Magic Valley (Interscope Records), and has played drums on many of my bands (Goodbye June) demos. He is a standout engineer, incredible musician, and a great hang! I highly recommend him for producing, engineering, or as a musician. Just research his catalog of work at The Smoakstack in Nashville, TN and you’ll see for yourself.
by Aneel James
Devin is an amazing drummer and one hell of an engineer!

Interview with Devin Vaughan

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I tracked drums and engineered on a record for Marc Broussard. That man is a brilliant artist and I was just happy to have multiple roles on that record.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: personal band
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both. In this day and age it's very hard to work without digital technology. I enjoy analog for it's flavor and digital for it's time management abilities.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I won't release anything I'm not proud of.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I am a complete and total creative and I enjoy making things.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: what's your rate? Depends on the project.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: I think people think that because I am in the music business that I must be lazy. It's the opposite. You can't be lazy. I also, don't think artists realize how much editing can go into their project. A lot of the magic happens behind the scenes.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: Have you worked in a studio environment before? Are you ready to commit to finishing your project? Do you have money?
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Go with your gut.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: A computer, drum kit, 2 sm57's, apollo interface
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I have been professionally making records for 9 years. I have been drumming for 23 years and that led me to where I am now.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: uh... music guy.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Queens of the Stone Age. I mean....
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Don't overthink everything. It's just music. If it feels good and makes you happy then it's right. It doesn't matter what gear you have if the song isn't right.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Rock
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: I consider myself very efficient in Pro Tools and I can be a jack of all trades.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I'd like to think I bring an "edge" to a project or song. I grew up in the punk/hardcore scene and I would rather something a little off tempo and have energy than be perfectly quantized and lackluster.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: depends on the project. For drum tracks I usually try and communicate with the artist on what they are looking for in style of playing and sounds. For engineer projects I usually like to know how many musicians I'm tracking at once and get everything set up before hand. I run a tight ship once we start tracking and pride myself on being quick. Mixing projects take a little more of a slowed down approach. I like to only mix one or two songs a day as to not burn myself out (ear fatigue).
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I am currently working out of Hybrid Audio Solutions in Charleston, South Carolina. It consists of two control rooms and one large live room and an isolation room for guitar cabinets. Pro Tools is being used with Universal Audio Apollo conversion along side a good amount of outboard gear for both live tracking and mixing.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: drummer: Jon Theodore, Dave Grohl, John Bonham, Ilan Rubin. Engineers: Eric Valentine, Joe Barresi, Andrew Schepps, Ken Andrews
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Drum tracks, Mixing, Recording, Editing, Vocal tuning