Is it possible that you have set the meters differently? The buss vs the tracks?

Can you post the project somewhere so we can download and test it? I mean the *.cwp file. It won't have your wav file attached, but it's easy enough to insert any wav file. This shouldn't make a difference.
 
Cheers, Peter.

John
Is it possible that you have set the meters differently? The buss vs the tracks?

I wondered that too. But AFAICS the numbers are always peak values regardless of how the meters are set.
Cheers, Peter.
 

Both track and bus are set to prefader and working correctly. Bus fader on drums changes when I set to post fader. All are set to peak + rms. I have to ask - if all are unity gain and unchanging in level, why would it matter which? I ask because I may not understand the inner workings. Thanks

OK that may be the problem Set everything to post fader. See what happens.  

All post fader setting drops level 6db by the time it outputs. Saved all prefader options. Restarted Sonar - project loads post fader settings.
 With all prefader settings, only Master bus is less than full output.
Here's the .cwp file. I appreciate everyone's assistance very much.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/djl8f3j4fup2adt/Audio%20Mixing%20Template.cwp?dl=0
 
 
 

Just what I suspected you have the meters set to different settings. Right click on the meters and set them to the same value. The level is the same on all three. The range is different. I would set them to 60dB. BTW you have been a very good poster here. You have answered all our questions and went so far to supply a project.  I wish all posters where as conscientious as you.

I appreciate your help (and quite a few others) very much, John. You have been here for us a very long time. Kudos for a level of patience and troubleshooting I can't fathom.  
Regarding  your 1st sentence, Craig Anderton uses different range meters in his projects, I've seen him speak to metering here. As well, no one seems to be able to say why a pre or post setting would change anything if unity is 100% and levels never automate. I'm totally perplexed by that.

Ooh, I love a good mystery. I downloaded Shep's template, inserted an audio file, and sure enough the volume drops about 3dB each time the signal goes to another bus. So then I created a new project from the Basic template and set it up the same way. No problems at all. There's something screwy going on here. Setting the track and bus meters to pre-fader fixes the Drums bus problem, but doesn't change the Master bus output being nearly 6dB down. Que?
 
Cheers, Peter.

Thanks much for looking at that, Peter. I have scoured every last place I can think to look. I find no thing that could be causing it. Maybe I need to send it to Cake and let the masters of all things SPLAT have a go.
 
EDIT - I just did what you did, and that works. I had made my new project from blank, just added tracks and busses. I changed every meter to 42db range. saved project and restarted SPLAT. Still screwed up. If in fact the difference in meter ranges or pre/post fader at perfect unity causes this, I'd have to consider that a bit buggy. Confounded outta my ever lovin' mind.