Replacing Tubes In Tube Mics?

[danevaz]

Hi All,

With the approach of the holiday sales season, I'm in the market for a vocal mic for my baritone/tenor (James Taylor meets Jobim) voice. At AES last month in NYC I got to demo some of the WARM tube mics. Their WA-47 clone seemed to flatter my voice and downplayed an annoying grit I have in my voice.

I asked their rep what happens when the tube goes - do I have to send it into them to get changed (as I had to do with a Mojave tube mic I own). He just shrugged and replied - "no, you're on your own with the tube change."

So, how do you guys handle tube replacements in your tube mics?

Given that many vendors trumpet their use of NOS tubes and "custom" or hard to find tubes, might not it be difficult to find the same model replacement tube? And wouldn't replacing the original tube with one not provided by the original mic manufacturer, change the sound of the mic?

Thanks in advance for any insight into this matter.

Danny V.