Simone Lombardi

Great Sounding Mix & Master

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52 Reviews (37 Verified)
Simone Lombardi on SoundBetter

Sound engineers are artists too! My approach is free-form and instinctive, I see the sound engineer as a musician and the mix as a performance. Think of how a pianist plays a piano, or a drummer hits a drum kit; I use knobs, switches and buttons. Over 15 years of experience, I've worked for the BBC & released for top record labels (Sony, Virgin)

Mixing

Mixing music is like playing chess: it requires problem solving, high levels of concentration and creativity. In order to have a successful outcome, every move needs to be carefully thought through, every sound component must be analysed to determine its role and understand how it interacts with the rest of the track. My extensive experience of working with a large variety of musical genres makes way for producing great sounding mixes. Full analogue and digital options.

Production

I am passionate about record production. Releasing commercial records for leading record labels such as Sony, Virgin, BMG and Rough Trade has helped me to develop a good ear for well-produced tracks and to be on top of contemporary new music trends.

Broadcast Sound

With hundreds of hours on air under my belt, I’m equally at home in the music studio and in the broadcast gallery\OB truck. I can combine the complex technical knowledge and the advanced music production skills required to balance the most complex concerts and live music shows.

Tell me about your project and how I can help, through the 'Contact' button above.

Credits

Discogs verified credits for Simone Lombardi (3)
  • Various
  • Behemoth (3)
  • Slaves (3)
  • Om (8)
  • Slaves (3)
  • Various
  • Various
  • Gilles Peterson
  • Hard-Fi
  • Various
  • Various
  • CeeLo Green*
  • Various
  • Viva Brother
  • Chapel Club
  • Various
  • Various
  • Lucy Rose
  • Olly Murs
  • Various
  • Jarrod Lawson
  • Various
  • Laura Mvula
  • The Damned
  • Om (8)
  • The NJE* With Adrian Sherwood
  • Gilles Peterson
  • Crack Cloud
  • Griff (31)
  • Hozier

52 Reviews - 8 Repeat Clients

Endorse Simone Lombardi
  1. Review by Brendan
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    Simone goes the extra mile. He's super detailed. An excellent communicator and has tons of patience. The collaboration was a great experience. He's a total professional. Highly recommended!

  2. Review by Herman H.
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    I highly recommend collaborating with Simone. My project had a lot of moving pieces, and Simone helped give each one its place to make the song pop. He also was receptive to my request that he take creative liberties, and his inclusions and suggestions were transformative! As always, working with Simone has been a fantastic experience, and the results speak for themselves.

  3. Review by Herman H.
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    Through this project, Simone was extremely helpful drum production and recording, as well as helping me optimize the perfect sound for a unique mix. He's prompt and professional, and I would recommend him to anyone who wants their music to reach the next level.

  4. Review by Massimiliano C.
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    This is my second job with Simone and I confirm the positive first impression. High level delivery , despite the complexity of the song, great skills , professional approach, big patience and focus on the customer needs. Highly recommended!

  5. Review by Hugo Tromp
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    Simone was great to work with, he works fast and got the track to sound like I imagined it, and even better. Highly recommended!

  6. Review by Yaniv Brenner
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    Simone was a pleasure to work with. He was patient, gave great advice while we were sorting out the mixes and the final mastered tracks sounded great. I highly recommend him and look forward to working with him again in the future!

  7. Review by Yaniv Brenner
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    Amazing mix and master! I'm really happy with Simone work, he took the song to a another level. True professional!
    Hope to work with him again soon!

  8. Review by Yaniv Brenner
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    Once again always a pleasure working with Simone. He is very responsive, super fast and easy to communicate with. Highly recommended!.

  9. Review by Yaniv Brenner
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    Simone is easy to communicate with and provided exactly what I was looking for and more! He was really patient throughout the process. Looking forward to the next one.

  10. Review by Leanne (Annie Oaksong)
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    Simone provided a wonderful mix and was great to work with, as always. Highly recommended.

  11. Review by Josh R.
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    Simone was a great engineer for our project. He was patient and thoughtful and did an excellent job with our indie rock track. He provided the first mix promptly, and gave us his input when we asked. In all, would definitely recommend hiring Simone for a project!

  12. Review by Yaniv Brenner
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    Simone is great to work with. The mix and master came out beautiful!
    He was quick to start the project, and clear about his process.
    I highly recommend him, you won't be disappointed.

  13. Review by Leanne (Annie Oaksong)
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    Simone mixed a second song for me and did a great job again. He's very talented and understanding – highly recommend.

  14. Review by Leanne P.
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    Simone was wonderful! I loved his mix and attention to detail, and it was very easy to accomplish the (minor) revisions I wanted in order to get it exactly where I’d hoped for. I’m very happy with the process and result, and highly recommend Simone.

  15. Review by Massimiliano C.
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    Simone did a really great job with my song . Very patient , skilled and professional , I highly recommend him . He will be for sure the master for my next production.

  16. Review by Ahmedshawly
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    It was a great pleasure work with Simone on a bit of complicated track with many different layers and instruments, Simone managed to deliver a top notch mixing and mastering! Simone is flexible and patient, he will take all comments with ease and make sure to deliver the best, thanks a lot!

  17. Review by Mike S.
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    Simone is a professional with a great ear and always goes above and beyond on projects he works with. Would highly recommend him if you're looking for quality mixing, production, or mastering (or all three!)

  18. Review by Hunter M.
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    Simone delivers every time. Very professional and willing to work with the artist until the song is exactly what it needs to be.

  19. Review by Aaron Keeports
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    I highly recommend working with Simone! He is very professional, communicative, and of course talented! He provided me with an amazing mix with a very quick turnaround. It's very balanced, clear, and he made the chorus especially shine. I would definitely work with him again!

  20. Review by Hunter M.
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    Fantastic engineer and great to work with. Was an absolute 10/10.

Interview with Simone Lombardi

  1. Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

  2. A: I am a massive fan of reggae\dub engineers, like King Tubby and Lee Perry. They pioneered the use of the studio as an instrument and the mix as a performance through the use of effects and the mixing board. My approach is heavily influenced by this ethos, the mix engineer is part of the performance, not just a fader monkey!

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

  4. A: I'm a popular music sound engineer, I produce, record, mix and master music of all sorts. My main speciality is recording and mixing bands who perform "live" in the same room, retaining the energy of live takes and capturing special moments on record rather than manufacturing fake songs. It's a dying art!

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

  6. A: Heavy Metal is not my first choice of music but mixing Slipknot for the BBC Rock Show was incredible, the energy was just off the scale! There is nothing more satisfying for a sound engineer than fading up Clown's keg mics!

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

  8. A: Don't trust their gear, trust their ears, that's what you're ultimately paying for. Have a listen to their portfolio, if you like what you hear, you're on the right track towards choosing the right person.

  9. Q: Analog or digital and why?

  10. A: Horses for courses: analogue for the sound, digital for the workflow.

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

  12. A: I will take you on a sonic journey and will make your song sound not only great but best possible.

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

  14. A: The privilege of collaborating with extremely talented musicians, I never get bored of that.

  15. Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

  16. A: Can you take away the stress of finishing my song? Of course I can!

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

  18. A: What's your sonic vision for the song? Once I know that, I can help them getting there.

  19. Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

  20. A: A great pair of speakers, my headphones, my laptop, an echoplex tape echo and a fisher spring reverb, everything you need to dub it up!

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

  22. A: I joined the BBC very young, and was very fortunate to learn from an incredible group of pop-rock engineers known as "group 2", responsible for thousands of hours of music across all BBC stations. That was 16 years ago..

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

  24. A: James Brown, for his endless energy and funk power.

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

  26. A: A session for a band from Leeds, UK called Nubiyan Twist, a great 10 piece afro-jazz collective.

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

  28. A: That I'm a sound technician and not a musician.

  29. Q: How would you describe your style?

  30. A: Exciting, punchy, big. I believe good music has to make you move, that's why I spend a lot of time on the drum sound, it's the key to a successful song.

  31. Q: Can you share one music production tip?

  32. A: Gain structure, gain structure, gain structure! If you're disciplined with it and create a great balance right from the start, everything else will be easy, whether you're recording or mixing.

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

  34. A: My main pool of experience comes from my 15 years career at the BBC, where every year we service hundreds of bands across the whole musical spectrum. I can tell you what I don't work on: classical music, orchestral scores etc.

  35. Q: What's your strongest skill?

  36. A: Everyone can learn how to operate a complex console, edit and comp hundreds of vocal tracks etc. but sonic instinct can't be taught, you either have it or you don't. I have a natural feel for balance, perspective, tone and how those elements translate into a great mix, call it "good ears"!

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

  38. A: When you've worked for months on a song, it's easy to lose direction and either under or over produce. I bring fresh perspective and focus, helping your song to cross the finishing line.

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

  40. A: I am obsessed with gain structure, everything starts at the top of the channel strip and flows through the signal path as seamlessly as possible, maximising signal to noise ratio and making sure sounds are in the optimal working range. Unity gain is the name of my game!

  41. Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

  42. A: For analogue tracking and mixing, I have access to a full SSL 9K J Series large format studio, all bells and whistles, classic compressors, the lot. For digital workflow, I have a mac system fully loaded with all the industry standard software (Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Logic, etc.), all Waves and UAD plugins, Excel 301 Speakers, a bunch of analogue outboard (tape delay, spring reverb, analogue echo).

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Bastille\Craig David\London Grammar\Pale Seas\Rox\Nubiyan Twist\Deftones\Daughter

I was the Recording\mixing engineer in this production

Terms Of Service

5 Revisions. Mastering included. Additional Mixes and Stems available on request. Quick turn around for the first mix.

GenresSounds Like
  • London Grammar
  • Deftones
  • Bastille
Gear Highlights
  • Full SSL analogue studio or comprehensive digital mix options
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