Low Volume recording problems

Hi again,
 
I am involved in a project that involves the recording of a lullaby. Most of the tracks - particularly the vocal tracks - are recorded very softly and at low volume. This hasn't really presented a problem in terms of compression or noise because there is only moderate compression required and the tracks are fairly clean. So this is a very soft track overall - think along the lines of "Scarborough Fair" in terms of content and instrumentation.
Everything is exactly where I want it in my tracks. I use Bounce to Track only using Left and Right Out (I have a feeling that this may be where the problem lies) Mix Enables for the tracks are activated, 64 bit, automation, mutes, stereo, no dithering etc.. I've tried it with fast bounce and without but either way - the mixed track is clearly deficient. There is a noticeable flattening of depth in the track. The low mids seem a little squashed, the lead vocal has none of the presence and depth of the original tracks - which is really necessary to this project because, as I said, it's basically a lullaby.
I realize that I'm probably doing something fundamental wrong and I hope you can tell me what it is. I cannot live with the difference in quality and I'm unsure where the error lies.
Thank you.
btw I initially went through a process of trying to normalize the tracks to a more substantial volume (-2db) but it radically altered the sound of the project - which I don't want to do. It needs to be soft with a lot of space around it so I want to keep the overall volume where it is, I just want it to translate accurately to the mixed track. Thanks again.
 

Yeah... I don't see an export happening anywhere in that. I'd export to 24bit then toss it back into Sonar (or if you a have a mastering program) and then give it a final tweak before exporting to 16bit. You shouldn't lose any quality when exporting. I don't even know what all that fancy bounce stuff does yet.

Yeah... I have recorded a few acoustic things that were designed to be "softer" then other things I normally record. (Footsteps...on my soundclick page)  

You always want to record the parts at the proper levels to ensure the waves are robust enough. You can soften it later but initially, you need a good solid recording of the instruments and vocals to be able to get good results on the mix down/export. 

In projects  like this, you probably are going for a more intimate sound. This actually requires ( from my POV) a much closer vocal miking and instruments as well.... not further away and quieter as you might think. 

Although I used a condenser mic on Footsteps, it was really close in (just an inch or two with a pop filter) on the vocals and also pretty close on the acoustic as well to capture the sound I wanted. 

+1 for daveyny5. What you hear (monitor) while recording, the level of the signal on the track, and the final level you use in the mix are three different things. Recommend you get a strong signal going down on the track and then you can mix it however loudly or quietly you want later. You can turn the level of the monitor down while recording if it distracts you to hear a loud signal for something you eventually want quiet in the mix. I set the record levels strong but then get a rough monitor mix that approximates what I want to hear in the final product (although I usually make the instrument I am recording at the moment a little louder so I can hear any minor glitches or mistakes).

nickl23 . .  . also, make sure all the tracks are routed to a master bus, which is then routed to your soundcard output, so that when you do the export, your mix levels etc. . . will be more accurately exported.