I wanted this as it has the lowest gain of the preamp tubes, 16.94 so that I can try it in different positions in my amps. (12AY7 43.75, 12AX7 100) This is just the thing to clean up a rather wild amp. It all depends on YOUR favourite sound from an amp! This is the ultimate for a clean sound. I just like the amp to be on the verge of distortion. so far my favourite position is in V2 (Valve 2), but of course the overall gain is lower. Just turn up the volume a bit more than you would normally.