soundhaspriority wrote:

I'm not worried . I do not believe in the magic power of tubes. A tube is
simply an analog effects processor.

No, it's not.

It's a gain stage.

You can build effects devices with tubes. But you can also build very
transparent-sounding electronics with tubes.

If you build effects devices with tubes, you can make them sound all sorts
of different ways. You can make harsh tube circuits and mellow tube circuits.
In fact, most of the sound of a typical tube circuit comes from the required
transformers, not from the gain stages themselves.

The above is a good argument for decoupling the tube and the mic.

Not really, because you can build a mike with a tube front end that is
just frighteningly transparent and accurate. This is a good thing. You
won't find it for $100 at Guitar Center, mind you, but it's been done and
it's out there.

The way I'm inclined to use your advice is to use a tube preamp, so that I
can apply it's "effect" to more than one mic.

If you get a good clean tube preamp, it won't have any "effect" at all.
If you get a colored one, you need to pick one with coloration that you
like. The UA reissue, for instance, sounds very different than the Manley.
Mostly because they use different transformers and all of the actual
coloration is coming from the input and output transformers.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."