ummm...make sure you got the inputs selected correctly, thats under the VST Inputs menu, you'll need to make sure your mics are mapped to the right inputs in your soundcard (if you got 4 inputs on ur soundcard or mixer, for example, they are labelled 1L,1R, 2L, 2R in VST; let's say your mic is plugged into the very first slot of your soundcard, you'd be picking 1L). Also, for the meter to show up, make sure you unhighlight the lil "LN" that shows up above it. hope that makes some sense...