Trash provides three types of meters for viewing the dynamics in
the Squash module.
You can set options for these meters by right-clicking (under OS X you can also ctrl-click) on any of these dynamics meters.
Level Histograms
Level histograms provide a view of the audio level as a function of time.
As Trash processes audio, it calculates the level and displays it on the level histogram. Unlike a standard level meter, the level histogram provides a view of the history of the level over time. The height of the histogram represents the high and low levels of the audio, while the width of the bar indicates the most frequent levels. In the example above, most of the time the level of the audio was around -32 dB, although in a few cases the level was as high as -14 dB or so.
This meter is a powerful tool for applying dynamics. In the case above, we could apply some limiting or compression around -14 dB to bring down the edges of the top levels.
You can zoom in on the level histogram by holding down the Ctrl key under Windows or the Command key under OS X and clicking on the meter. Left clicks zoom in the meter and right clicks zoom back out. Under OS X you can also Command-ctrl-click to zoom out.
Reduction Meters
The gain reduction meter provides you with a readout of how much the dynamics is changing the level of the signal. You can set this to display the amount of compression and/or the amount of gating by right-clicking (under OS X you can also ctrl-click) on the meter.
In the screen above, the compressor at that point in time is compressing
or reducing the level of the input signal by 4.2 dB.
Curve Level Meter
The meter on the far right in the screenshot above is a traditional dynamics curve, where the x or horizontal axis is the signal going into the dynamics module, and the y or vertical axis is the signal coming out. Flatter compression curves means the signal is being flattened (compressed) more.
Squash Meter Options
You can set all of the options for the squash meters by accessing the Meter Options tab or by right-clicking (under OS X you can also ctrl-click) any squash meter.
Note: This help file is a quick reference for basic Trash functions and controls. We have separate "how to" guides that provide tips and techniques for getting the most out of Trash. You can download these guides from http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/trash/guides.html