[catastrofe]

I'm a tube novice, but I want to add a preamp to my system. 

How important is gain, and what's the impact of too much?  The ST-1000 has 27DB of gain, and a preamp I was looking at has 20DB.  Is this too much?  If so, what should I be looking for?

TIA!!!

[face]

W4S amps don't need a lot of gain.

I'm using a modded Mapletree Line 2A with Sonic Cap Platinum and Jensen caps, upgraded balance and volume pots, and Vampire copper RCA jacks with my ST-500.  I also have a STI-500 and prefer the Mapletree/ST500 combo.