[linux-audio-user] Peak Level Monitor/Limiting

As many of you will know I principally use ZynAddSubFX to generate most
of my sounds, so I can't really be sure if this is a Zyn problem or a
general one with software synths and mixing.

Very occasionally I get high amplitude spikes typically 6dB above the
'normal' peaks. These give a false idea of the signal level so that if
I'm not watchful I end up recording at a much lower level that I need
to.

I have found that if I let these peaks go into limiting, there is no
detectable audio effect, and displaying the waveform very stretched in
Audacity shows just these occasional spikes neatly clipped.

Can anyone suggest a way I can effectively suppress these peaks while
actually recording (rather than going back later, checking, then
re-recording) or is there a VU type metering program that can be tacked
on to jack?

-- 
Will J G