Having trouble getting volume while recording

[mattshort]

I'm adding vocals to a session done at another facility. I'm having trouble getting any kind of volume out of my Mbox. Any vocals I record I have to crank up the gain to bring the levels up to the rest of the mix. I have the input on the Mbox turned up as loud as it will go (without introducing room noise). The mic is using phantom power and I have an Anteres Vocal Producer plugged into the insert (which makes it even worse). Would it help if I route it through a mix board first?

[tele_player]

'getting any kind of volume'? You mean in the monitors?
First responsibility is to get a clean track of what you're recording now. Without playing back the existing track, set your input gain correctly. There's not much reason to use a processing plugin while tracking, since it doesn't get recorded.

You mention that you crank the gain as much as you can 'without introducing room noise'. Raising the gain doesn't introduce room noise, though it might help you hear the noise. The ratio between your signal and the room noise isn't affected by the gain, so crank it up as needed to get your record level correct.

Once you've got the recording level right, reduce the level of the existing tracks to allow you to monitor the new stuff. Since you're on an Mbox, you might use the Mix knob for zero-latency monitoring, which is another reason to skip the Antares plugin during tracking, since it won't even be heard in the monitor mix.

[mattshort]

The Antares is the hardware version (not a plugin) plugged into the insert on the Mbox. When I record, I can hear the vocals but, it is much lower in volume than the other recorded vocals and instruments and the waveform is much smaller on the timeline.