Sounds like there may be some confusion here...
Hippie162 wrote:I am using an AKG D5 Mic, going through a basic Behringer UMC22 interface with a midas pre amp, using ASIO4ALL driver in Cubase (on laptop). the interface connects to the laptop via USB and the mic has a 3 point pin into the interface.
When you say a midas pre amp, do you mean a separate unit or the preamp included in the interface?
Hippie162 wrote:I have been recording the vocals very close to the mic, right up to the pop shield approx 5cm from the mic. TBH I find this mic a little boomy but then recording so close wouldn't help, I couldn't get a great level singing softly further back without more hiss. I tried not to have the gain too high but found a decent level with the pre-amp at 2 o clock and the pre-gain set to about +13db. Too much?
The D5 is primarily designed as a stage microphone, it's expected to be used up close and has a deliberately non-flat response in order to cut through over a band/backing track. But they're good little mics and you should still be able to get a decent sound out of one providing you take a few things into account.
Firstly, because it's a dynamic and designed to be use up close, it will sound thin and quiet if you use it too far away. But because it's a cardiod pattern microphone, when you get up close you'll experience a more bass heavy sound (proximity effect). You can manage this with EQ post recording, don't worry about it. Try the mic around 3-6 inches from your mouth and see how that sounds to start with.
In terms of levels, when recording you want the general level to be bumbling around -18dB with peaks up to -12dB ish. This gives you plenty of headroom for unexpectedly loud bits and subsequent processing.
Hippie162 wrote:Where should my master fader be sitting in a perfect world to give headroom for mastering? I have been trying to achieve about -18db but this mix is currently sitting higher, would it help to lower the levels on the instrument tracks in order to lower the levels on the vocal to reduce that hiss?
Leave the master fader alone for now.

Good gain structuring comes before then.
If you record all your tracks around that -18 level then when you sum them together your master bus should still have some headroom there to allow for mastering. -18dB for the master channel is lower than I'd expect on one of my mixes. I'd generally expect that to be hovering around the -10dB mark.
But the key thing is to keep an eye on those levels all the way through the process, adding a bit of boost in an EQ, or a bit compression with make-up gain, or a bit of saturation (etc. etc. etc.) can all raise those levels. So use the output function on the plugin (if it has one) or add a gain plugin in between to make sure that those levels aren't creeping up with each bit of processing.
As suggested above, a sample recording would really help, you can host things on soundcloud as a private file and then share the restricted link here.