Volume issues with playback! please help!

Ok, I have been advised to list my gear and setup to help troubleshoot problems. so here we go.
I am using Music Creator 5
on a Dell Optiplex 755 with an Intel dual core 2.33Ghz proc. I have 3325MB of memory installed. 
my soundcard  is a SoundMax Integrated Digital HD Audio
I am running Windows Vista Home Premium. 

I feel I should mention that this machine is dedicated to running Music creator. there are no other programs (other than the windows default stuff) loaded on this box

My Mixer is an Alesis Multimix 8 USB FX 8 channel mixer /usb recording interface
 
I run my vocals through a variety of low-mid range mics from Audix, Audio Technica, and Carvin straight into the board.

I run my instruments, mostly Fender basses and guitars with a few electric acoustics in the mix through an MXR bass D.I.+ box that also goes straight into the board. 

I have the Alesis mixer plugged via USB cable into the back of the PC. 
out of my sound card i have a cable with a stereo headphone type jack that splits into a red and white RCA.
The RCA end is plugged into the L+R ports of the RCA ports labeled "2 track in" on my Alesis mixer.
I have a 2 into one stereo adapter coming from my 1/4 inch "main out" ports to a small pre-amp that i plug my headphones or PC speakers into.

Now, on to my problem. When I am recording I turn the levels up on my instruments and mixer and the level indicators on the music creator screen typically show lights at just over half way to the limiter (wrong term maybe...next to the slider on the screen there is a stack of lights, mine only go about halfway up) but I hear whatever I am playing/singing very loud in my headphones (obviously I turn the phones down to a comfortable volume but the volume on my mixer is still cranked ( Id say the master is just past the 12:00 position and the individual track volume is at around 2:00 or more) so I play and record my piece but when I play it back I can hardly hear it! the level indicators are barely flickering and I have to max out the volume and gain settings to even have the recording be listenable. I feel like there is something that I missed or that I have made some crucial configuration error. 
If it would help I would be happy to provide pics of the setup as well.

any and all help, suggestions, or whatever are greatly appreciated!! Thanks

John  

the only software the Alesis mixer came with was a demo version of some other kind of recording sw. cubase maybe? Its in a box somewhere...

I have not even looked at the Windows mixer (assuming you mean the one that comes with Windows) ...didnt even think of it! that is the first thing I will check when I get home today. 

As far as using the mixer for both in and out: is that determined by what I select as my input/output when I add tracks to my project? right now it is set to input: usb stereo mic (can also be left or right mic)
output: main

or is there somewhere else I need to set this up?

First, I would take the SoundMax out of the equation. You should be using the Alesis for both in and out, all the time.

 
Regardless of if this fixes the immediate problem or not this is good advice.  I use the MONITOR OUT to go to my amplifier instead of the MAIN OUT.  That way I can use the MAIN TO MONITOR and USB TO MAIN buttons to keep me from feeding back internally in the mixer.  It could be that you are feeding back in the mixer and not getting the signal that you think you are into the DAW.
 
Glen

ok, so on my Audio options page the options on the Driver Mode are : 

WDM/KS (my playback and recording device options here are Soundmax card or USB Audio CODEC)
WASAPI (options are Soundmax card or  Speakers 2-USB Audio CODEC and Microphone 2-USB audio CODEC) 
ASIO (no I/O options here)
MME(32 Bit) (options are same as WASAPI here) 

Have you set your gain levels correctly on the multimix?

There should be a gain knob just under where the mic plugs in. You need to set that so that under normal singing/playing levels your meters are just starting to get close to the red, occasionally popping in but never maxing out at the top (clipping).

IIRC correctly the signal to Sonar is post fader on the multimix (I had an FW12) which can be a bit confusing, but you def need to make sure your gain is sorted before moving on to diagnosing other areas.

The mixer is the audio CODEX that is showing up in the list.  I did find that I had better performance using ASIO4ALL with the Alesis mixer (google ASIO4ALL).  This is particularly true if you are trying to record using the Alesis and play back using the PC (works but not the best of choices).  A better option would be to play back using the outputs from the mixer into a PA or even a home stereo.

It is just the regular USB mixer and not the USB 2.0 mixer right?  The setup is different for the USB 2.0 mixer which does need different drivers.