Re: Poll: Does the Phase Inverter tube affect tone?
Fair enough. That said, I don't see how the phase inverter tube couldn't affect the amp's tone. Trying both current production and old production tubes in my amp, I've noticed that there's an audible, if sometimes subtle difference from one tube to the next. In the phase inverter, the audio signal goes through the tube, so yeah, that tube will color the signal a bit. However, I don't think the same tube would color the sound as much in the PI position as it would in V1, at least, not in the same manner. If anything, I think Rich S has it. The hotter the PI, the harder you're going to drive your the power section. Whether that's good or bad is up to your ears.