Deftones - (L)MIRL (Dynamic Edit)

This is what I like to call a ‘dynamic edit’ of “(L)MIRL” by Deftones! I would posit that much, if not all, of the digital release of Gore suffers from clipping by its mastering engineer, Howie Weinberg. Sections where I think the clipping is easiest to detect would be during the big drum waves throughout the last third of “(L)MIRL”, and during the tail-end of the title track. As an audiophile, I particularly despise clipping during mastering, not only due to the sound it produces, but also due to the fact that it introduces elements that were not present in a band’s mix to begin with. Perhaps in some cases, the mastering engineer is advised to clip the signal by the band or producer, but I find that unlikely. I attempted to fix up the compression on this release with a program called “Perfect Declipper”, can not only help alleviate clipping, but also much of the dynamic range compression that occurs during mastering! As such, many of the artifacts of dynamic range compression and clipping, including hiss, are much less noticeable, and the result is much more dynamic. In this case, I was able to turn the dynamic range of the album from 5 into 10! In my edits, it’s important to note that the dynamics are not being restored with the "Perfect Declipper" program that I use, but rather, they are being approximated. While one may not be able to "declip" an album as one would be unable to "unbake a cake", I find the results here to be a convincible attempt at doing so. Only in the most extreme examples have I heard the program produce odd artifacts that would appear unintended in the album’s mix. I also want to present this all with the caveat that dynamic range compression is not inherently a bad thing. Compression can be used to tighten up performances, provide color to mixes, and to achieve hard, punchy sounds. I produce many more dynamic edits on this channel as well as further descriptions in posts over on Reddit!   / posts