i went nuts to fine tune the attack on mine with a compressor in front, then putting BED in the loop of an APE preamp, then adding a secret pre on the back end!
i am obsessive with the way a tape delay is supposed to feel. for example the echoes in both the BED and el cap are excellent. i preferred the feel of the input of the BED but it still needed some help, and the rockett APE expands the fine tuning sensitivity of the input gain.
i used to hit the front with an xotix sp comp previously and upgraded to a revival cali 76 stacked for way lower noise.
and to add the OCD cherry on the sundae, the output is sent to the chase secret pre which can either brighten or darken the tone.