question about protools mix buss/inserts and peak levels

[soundispatch]

hey all,
posted this on the duc, to no avail --- a little question about protools mix buss/inserts and peak levels, for anyone who might be able to shed some light on this.
i have been trying to set up an insert on the master fader in protools (LE) for the obvious reasons, linking up an outboard compressor, limiter, etc. as necessary. the problem i$B!G(Bm running into is that i seem to be able to run the signal as loud as i want without any peaking. i mean, it$B!G(Bs obviously distorting, my ears can tell me that, but why is the peak meter not responding, no matter how extreme the level?
of course, the peak meter starts lighting up if i run the full submix out to the external unit then back into protools on an (record enabled) audio track, but there$B!G(Bs no response from the master fader peak meter unless i increase the (audio track) fader level past unity.
i know that the headroom in protools LE is something outrageous like 700dB (due to 32-bit floating point), so if this is the issue, how do i safeguard against clipping? my ears also work for the job, but surely there$B!G(Bs a protools workaround for this...
thanks,
cal

p.s. i'm using PTLE 5.2.1 w/ OS9.2 G4 (1.2GHz)

[tommyd]

Inserts on the master fader in PT are post fader. Is your metering preference set to pre or post fader? My guess is pre, which would explain why you can get distortion without peaking your master faders meter.
TommyD

I think I typed what I thought I meant to say..............

[soundispatch]

hi tommy,
thanks for the reply. i realize that inserts on the master are post fader, and my metering is definitely post-insert (i can reduce the meter level completely with the outboard unit).
as stated above, i run into the same issue if i run a submix out an aux, then back in. no peak metering from the master unless i move the input aux (or record-enabled audio track) past unity.
the workaround i was using last night was to send the same signal from the insert to a record-enabled track (output to a dummy channel) to check for peaks. to me, this seems slightly silly.
i'm sure someone will respond to this and make me feel very silly.
any suggestion are very welcome,
cal

[soundispatch]

Originally posted by tommyd
Inserts on the master fader in PT are post fader. Is your metering preference set to pre or post fader? My guess is pre, which would explain why you can get distortion without peaking your master faders meter.

i'm curious to know if there's a metering preference in TDM systems. LE master fader metering is always post fader, no matter how you've set your preference for all other channels.

cal

p.s. still looking for some insight --- is this a bug, or am i asleep at the wheel here?

[soundispatch]

hi all,
for anyone who's interested (or wants to contribute), this is being discussed in this thread on the DUC.
any insight regarding this issue would be appreciated.
best,
cal