What is it with a lot of softsynths, you have to gainstage them by -15dB or more before they stop clipping.
 
I'm glad of the Cakewalk Live broadcasts which I believe introduced me to gainstage adjustments.
 
Hmmm....any more broadcasts planned?

They're all set up to demo well as solo instruments  with even individual notes peaking near 0dBfs. Plus the S/N ratio is optimized by recording raw samples hot.

I find it weird that some of the NI synths have presets that output at above 0dBFS sometimes. Perhaps that's because I'm playing chords on presets that were designed for lead lines. Still, there is usually some internal output level that you can adjust so that when Sonar gets the audio it's at a decent level.

BFD (2 & 3) also output at insanely high levels.
 
My first job whenever I start building a new kit, or loading up a stock one is to reduce all the levels in BFD's mixer by 12 dB