I have to say, I have an old Roland Unit that I use everyday (an RE-101) but I am still finding myself reading every thread and watching all the videos of these new pedals
They really sound great. Being able to control the tape "age" and the modulation is cool. Those are things that a tape unit just does and you can't change. Well, you can, but not with the flick of a switch or push of a button. It's neat to have those options when you want/ need them.
It is interesting, I never even thought about the preamps. They definitely add color to the sound. I generally have the input cranked on mine. It overdrives with a hotter signal from pickups, boosters, etc. On the tape units though, you really have to run a buffer immediately before them or they sound like crap. Some people mod the inputs to add one right in the unit. It's nice with the pedals to, not have to do that and also be able to turn it off.