Istyle the tooth man:
Thanks man for the freebie; however, the plane fair would be prohibitive but it would be a nice trip since I've never been to that part of the globe.
Try putting the vocal on two tracks as I mentioned or three tracks.
Are you doing the music? If so, you can experiment running the music, part by part, through the same pre-amp; if not what you have is a "balance" problem. If you go too loud then all you get is loud beside loud. If you get the right balance, put some horns left, some right, keyboard in the middle, you can create the stereo "largeness" you are seeking and fit in the vocal "up front" loud. Clipping won't solve your problem; but, there is a fine line between clip and large sound. You would also need a good reverb unit or a good tweak with the one you're using. Somewhere on this site someone mentioned how radio "pumps" up its broadcast sound; that is what you probably DON'T want. If you want CD sound, you need to record at the CD hertz levels and have the equipment to do it.
Keep twiddling the dials. And avoid over-using flouride.
Green Hornet