My r-09 is on the way back to Roland for a look-see into my recent input-level woes, but it occurred to me this morning to ask my betters here what, in the case of the r-09, automatic gain control might be used for? i know it's *supposed* function -- to capture sources that might be both near and far, as in an interview situation with people talking from different distances. as far as that goes, within its very limited parameters, the agc in my $35 sony tape recorder does a great job. as far as i recall from my early look at agc on the r-09, however, it sucked beyond words, or at least it reduced the recording capability to less than my sony, as i recall. i haven't experimented with it since that early disappointment. but i'm wondering: is there any way to make it better? is it just an on/off setting with no other options available in the menu? i'd look myself but as i say my unit is in the mail. thanks for any thoughts you might have!