So I earned my first ADA Depot sticker and completed the noise mod to my stock unit.
thank you to MarshallJMP for all of the support, parts and instructions (and fast shipping).
I had planned on doing a before and after recording to post here, but the pre-mod recording failed and I didn't know it.
Here is what I think I hear:
1. Significantly more and cleaner definition and highs with the new components. My stock board sounded dull compared to this.
2. My Bass EQ has to be set much higher than ever before.
3. Probably less noise...but as I said I cannot make a direct before and after comparison. I'll post a comment once I get a chance to crank it.
4. When pushing V1 to 6.0+, I still need to run a noise gate as I can still hear the tube snow.
5. Is it solid state quiet without a noise gate? No...but that is too much to expect.
Now I know why people send their boards to someone else...lots of tiny soldering and lots of patience required.