automating the gain of one input with another…

hi there. i apologise in advance if my problem is badly explained, i only use max/msp for simple operations and therefor have not got a good overall knowledge.
i have been using max/msp to automate the gain of one input/soundfile using another, simply by multiplying the first signal by the second using the *~ object.
the trouble i am having is that quick changes in volume, especially with bassy sounds, result in unwanted noise (digital clipping like sounds)
i believe this is because max cannot deal with fluctuations quicker than one millisecond??
the problem is solved by using the smooth~ object to smooth the numbers however, the extent to which this needs to be done results in dynamics being lost to a great extent.
i expect there is a simple solution to this problem but like i said i am quite the novice so if anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated

thanks
ben