Dirk Schulz on SoundBetter

I am a producer, mix & mastering engineer with a full range of skills and experience. As a singer/songwriter/guitarist myself I have a deep understanding for harmonies and arrangements.

I love sound and music with a certain emotional depth. I like to think out of the box to bring more excitement and drive into any given music.

My musical bottom line is Indie, Folk, World, Pop, TripHop, Gospel, Chillout etc...

The emotional content is always the center of my work and needs to be at present all the time. I can support your music with a certain sound of intimacy, supreme sounding effects, inaudible vocal tunings and much more.

I have a vast network of musicians and backing vocalists. Always right at hand and ready to record.

I have mixed and mastered the gold awarded MTV Unplugged - Mando Diao "Above and Beyond" and recently accomplished Michael Patrick Kelly´s " iD Live " with the same credits.

Visit www.ds-soundworks.com for more info on tracks and credits.

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

Credits

8 Reviews - 1 Repeat Client

Endorse Dirk Schulz

by David and Tiffany Spencer
Verified (Client)
This was a great song. The arrangement was moving and complete- easy to add our contribute to it.
by Tom M.
Verified
Great start with Dirk as we had a number of conversations before moving foraward. He seemed like the right man for the job.

Unfortunately he was quite difficult to work with and refused to do a third reversion becuase it was too much work - however the first mix that he sent was ver far off what I had originally sent, so after two reversions, the track still was not perfect. It was then a big struggle to get him to send the stems so I could finish the track myself. No refund.
by Nadège O.
Verified
Another masterful job by Dirk. Sooo happy with the arrangements he has designed for this song and the final outcome sounds great. Just love it!
by Nadège O.
Verified
Another fantastic job from Dirk. Beautiful arrangements and production. Very thankful for the fact that he was always so patient and accomodating.
by Nadège O.
Verified
This is the fourth track that I have done with Dirk and working with him has been a really rewarding process. I have very much valued his work on each song, both in terms of his professionalism and attention to detail and in terms of his creative input and willingness to work, rework, modify or add until he had fully captured the vision I had for the song. I love the way each track has turned out.
by Nadège O.
Verified
Third track I worked on with Dirk with great outcomes again. Dirk kept working on the track until I was 100% happy with it. Very pleased with the result, which sounds just as I had imagined it.
by Nadège O.
Verified
I'm really thrilled with the way Dirk has brought my vision to life for this song. I was very happy with the process and love the final result.
by Nadège O.
Verified
It was great working with Dirk on my first project! He was receptive to my vision and created intricate arrangements that brought a new dimension to the song. He payed attention to detail and kept the dialogue open to take the song in the direction that I would be 100% happy with. Dirk's strength lies in his professional expertise in mixing and mastering combined with his creative flair and experience as a multi-instrumentalist. I highly recommend Dirk and will be working with him again.

Interview with Dirk Schulz

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: MTV Unplugged "Above and Beyond" by Mando Diao (Sweden). Sound design, live mix, recording engineer, post mix and mastering. The whole project was magically insane.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: Modern Rock Album, World/Folk Album , Soundtrack
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Yes but this depends on the requierements.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: Soundwise you will be able to compete with anyone in your genre.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: Making my living with what I love the most.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: Can you make it sound like "this or that" ? Yes I can but what´s wrong with unique ?
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: None.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What´s your all time favourite artist or genre.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: If you look for the extraordinary, you need to hire extraordinary.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: Macbook, Apollo, Sphere L22, Phones, Acoustic Guitar
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: For almost 30 years. Been through all stages in the studio and live business.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Warm, Emotional, Wide, Simple but Epic
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Kate Bush because of her extraordinary talent and her unique vocal skills.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Keep the vocal not too much over the playback so it stays overall musical and wide.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Pop, Acoustic, Singer/Songwriter, Modern Rock
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Creating a certain emotional depth to a track that keeps the magic flowing...
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Musical skills in all kind of genres and a thinking that is "out of the box" to make sure thing stay interesting and creative
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: Most important: Reference listening for the desired outcome
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: 28 UAD DSP´s, KS C-88 coaxial reference monitors, high level daws, pulgins and instruments, guitar and bass collection, top class microphones, etc...
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Peter Gabriel, Chad Blake, Tom Elmhirst
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Mix & Master studio and live recordings. Producing, recording and arranging tracks from song ideas.