Presonus Inspire Clipping/overdriven By Elec. Bass, Is this typical of this product? Options

[billoetjen]

Hi,
I just got into digital recording and decided to try a cheap but well-recommended interface first.
I got a Presonus Inspire to go with my upgraded Pismo laptop (originally a G3, hotrodded to 550 MHz G4, 40 gig 5400 rpm hard drive with 16 MB cache, 100 MHz system bus).

Using Garageband and the Inspire control panel, I keep the effects to a minimum, and just try recording rehearsals, etc. Nothing too fancy. My band's a trio of mic'd voice, pup'd acoustic, and passive electric bass. Whether directly into the inputs or through my Yamaha powered mixer first, everything is nice and clean and quiet - except the bass. the lower strings tend to overdrive the inputs and clip really badly at the normal levels. Did I get a bad box?
Should I switch to the Firebox which has better pre's?

Thanks,
Bill Oetjen
billoetjen@fastermac.net