Erik Steffl wrote:
  what program can I use to dump midi 
amidi --port hw:0,0 --dump
  in a sort of human readable format? 
I guess hex values qualify as "sort of human readable format".  ;-)
  when I hit the pad the sound is VERY soft, I can
barely hear it
 (at normal volume I can only barely hear crash cymbal and hi-hat).
 So I'd like to check what is being sent out by the drum pad
 (whether the volume is so low or there's some other problem). 
Note-On messages are "9x nn vv", where x is the channel, nn is the
note, and vv is the velocity (=volume).
HTH
Clemens