I'd have thought the same, Phriq, but for familiarity with the mixer he's using from another thread (and 'cause I have an older, lower end version of the same one). The Xenyx1832USB is a fully functional interface unit with built-in pres on the mic channels.
OP...
What kind of mic are you using and what kind of cable? (Mainly looking to find out where you are plugging it in.)
Ideally, you are using an XLR mic cable (on both ends), which will guarantee you are plugging it into one of the preamps. If your mic is a condenser mic, you need to make sure you turn on the 48V power. Can't tell in the pictures where the switch is on your mixer. Maybe on the back panel. It will be labelled 48v.
Next you need to make sure your trim/channel gain and routings are setup right right:
1 - Straight down from the phones/ctrl room volume knob, and up and to the left from the main fader, find the Mode button. Press it 'In' to engage "Pre-Fader Listen" or PFL mode.
2 - On the channel you are plugged into, make sure the Mute button (just to the right of the channel number above the channel fader at the bottom of the row of controls for the channel you are using) is 'Out'.
3 - Just to the right of the channel fader find the Solo button. Press it 'In'. Look across this row of buttons for all the other channels, monitor, FX, etc. and make sure their Solo buttons are all 'Out'.
4 - Just above the main faders (double slider in the lower right corner) you'll find your level meters. In PFL Mode (which you are in now, only the left one is on.) Since the Solo button for your channel is engaged and you are in PFL mode, it is directly displaying the strength of your signal coming into the mixer section from the pre-amp. Find the small black knob labelled Gain up near the top of the row of controls for the channel you are using. That's the knob you need to adjust. Watch the left channel of the meter while you are playing and adjust the gain knob until your peaks just barely reach zero db. (Don't worry about zero dB being "taboo" in the software. zero db on your board is a lower level than zero dB in the software. Aim for zero db peaks on your board. They'll be lower than that in the software).
5 - Once you have the level set, click the Mode button and your channel's Solo button back 'out'. This will put your meter back in stereo mode looking at the main output level instead of the input level from your channel.
6 - Now bring the channel fader (slider at the very bottom of the channel) up to zero db (look at the markings. zero will be about 3/4 of the way up).
7 - Your board has a built in compressor on each channel. I recommend you don't use it until you've played with it enough and read about compression enough to know what you are doing. For now, crank this knob all the way counterclockwise to disengage the compressor.
8 - Now set the routing controls. You want the Sub button 'up' and the Main button 'down'. (These two are just below the solo button. to the right of the channel fader)
9 - Now bring the main faders (double slider in the lower right corner) up to zero db. (same spot as the channel fader, ~3/4 of the way up).
10 - OK, there is no 10, but who ever heard of "9 point plan"? Ten steps has a better ring to it.
Your board is now 'set'. This may have seemed like a lot because I spelled it out in such detail. In reality it only takes a few seconds.
Now look at your software. Your "zero dB peaks" on the board SHOULD be showing up in the software as somewhere in the range of -12dB peaks on your recording level meter, which is just what you want (some folks aim for a little hotter (-9dbfs?), which is fine. If it's waaay lower than this or waaay higher than this, something is wrong that I'm not sure I can help with. If it's off by a little, or you want to run a little hotter, you can tweak the main faders up a touch on your board. (or very carefully adjust the gain knob a teeny bit. Be careful with this.) With experience you will learn exactly what level you need on your board in step 4 above to get the right level in your software.
Give all that a go and post back how you make out.
BTW . . . Nothing against Audacity per se but I strooooongly recommend upgrading to Reaper. You can try it will a fully functional version for free and it is only $40 when you decide you like it and need to pay for it. It is MUCH better, and much better known. You can get help with it a lot easier than with Audacity question. Ask and Audacity question and the answer you are likely to get (and the one I will give) is ... Switch to Reaper!
J
