If you have a decent amp...

[msb]

I’ve been using a Bergantino Forte , a very simple , straightforward set and forget amp. Modern , clean hifi. And absolutely loved the sound. The 4 band eq is almost surgical. Beautiful.
And then I spotted a Monique by Jule tube preamp , something I had spent some years lusting after. I had hoped to pick one up last year but it just didn’t happen. This year it happened.

So I’m going in the effect return and completely bypassing the front end , and tone stack of the Berg. And Monique gives me that thick , warm , buttery , old school thump. My modern hifi has completely reverted to old school . But with some serious slam behind it. And it’s not a backbreaker to lug around.
I just did a 180° spin.

Edited February 18, 2023 by msb

[BassAdder60]

I think a Pre Amp be it on an active bass or floor pedal adds another possibility of EQ which can make some amps sound even better 

 

My CTM100 all valve head is a bass heavy amp but running a pedal into the front I can dial back bass add mids etc and push the valve front end even more. 
 

As I run my master volume fully open on the amp with the gain turned lower it gives so much flexibility going from valve clean to valve dirty by standing on a pedal 

[msb]

It’s nice to understand the character of an amp before you plug in a bunch of pedals, but some players demand a heavily processed sound and might have five or six preamps on their pedalboard.

I play around with a Darkglass Exponent at home , there’s twenty two pedals and effects in the software. Sometimes I go for the dirt but I mostly create relatively clean presets. And I do have a mid sized pedalboard to goof around on. 
And there are hybrid amps that contain a tube preamp stage along wth gain and volume stages. The catch is that where there’s more knobs , there’s more time tweaking.
There is a lot to be said for a simple tone stack , and a single pickup bass with just two knobs.

That is much of the beauty of Monique , a simple three band eq with fairly broad bands , so it’s a very simple and easy tone stack to set up. More time playing , less time fiddling.