Originally Posted by Guitarhacker
You should always check the box to Normalize the files being exported. If they arrive in Cakewalk and are still wimpy, you can use the Normalize function there.
I would avoid normalizing a track twice. When normalizing exports from BB, they're normalized to the "peak", meaning that the volume is increased so that the loudest peak of the track is at 0dbfs. If you normalize the track again using a "peak" reference, it would do nothing - however, if you normalize again using an "average" or "RMS" reference, there's the possibility of clipping or distorting the output. At best you'd end up with the exact same volume.

If the tracks exported from BB are still too quiet even when normalized, it's better to turn down the other tracks to compensate. I personally mix my songs so that the peaks are around -12dbfs, which allows for a good bit of headroom before the master limiter to prevent distortion.

If you really need to increase the volume of a track that's been normalized, and you can't turn other tracks down, use a compressor or limiter plugin on the track in question.

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