Do you think there's a great advantage/disadvantage between class A verses A/B,B designs in tube mics and pres?
Pretty much most single tube devices that amplify have to be Class A, but there's good Class A design and bad Class A design. The other classes come into play when you need a lot of power and you want to split the work between two or more output devices, like a power amplifier.
Unfourtanatly,most of us around here could never afford a class A tube mic or pre.
Prices are dropping on these things, but again, there's good Class A design and bad Class A design.
Would it be better to stick with a non tube mic or pre that's class A,than go for an AB/B tube design?
There's no tube mic I know of that uses a Class A/B or B circuit. The best mics and pres will be the best sounding units that have well designed circuits and don't worry about the class - that's the designer's job - to figure out how to make the device sound good.
When people make these things, there are only two or three possible choices; Make them almost one at a time, using the best components possible, and sell them for enough money to make a decent profit. This is the way they build Manley, Brauner, Milinia Media, or when you send something to Stephen Paul for modifications.
Or you can setup a factory, hire knowledgeable people, use good components, build them very well, and sell a lot of them at a lower price.
The last way to lower your cost and lower the price is to have somebody else build something in a place that has very cheap labor and is set up to crank out a ton of products. In order to do that, you need to install a large amount of QC to insure the product does what it's supposed to and that the outside supplier hasn't screwed up somewhere.
Thanks.
Best to you,
Pete