That's normal. That's the case without preamp. You have to max out the volume to get close to 0db. If you use the channels with a preamp, it'd get louder but add preamp noise. Chi ----- Original Message ----- From: Omar Binno To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Friday, January 23, 2009 6:58 PM Subject: [ddots-l] input strength from external module Hello, When I record a drum sound from my external roland module, I have to have it play really loud to get a meter reading of -7. One would think that at the volume I'm playing the drum that I'd get a reading of 0 on the meter, but that's not the case. I have all the input gains on my audio card set at 0. What could be the reason? Thanks. OMAR BINNO AIM: LOD1116 SKYPE: obinno1 WEBSITE: www.omarbinno.com