Advice on Crate Palomino 8 retube?

[crate_eight]

I recently purchased a Crate Palomino 8 at GC and really want to retube it. I have selected JJ Tubes for the retubing, and want to know if anyone had any advice. Stick with the same tubes? Change the pre tube? Higher or lower gain? I like the sound, so I'll likely keep the specs straight, but if anyone has had a notable experience swapping preamp tube types with this amp or style of amp (EL84 Power, 12AX7 pre), I would be open to suggestion.
Also, I have heard the tubes in this amp are notoriously hard to get to. If anyone has had any experience retubing this particular amp, I would love to hear some tips you have.

[OldFarb]

Just bought one and put a 12AT7 in the preamp, I like it better. Maybe a bit more cleans available and still plenty of overdrive. You can reach the preamp tube without taking anything apart, but the power tube is locked down with a tube saver device that is held on with screws, so you need to take the amp out of the cab to get to it. I've been using JJ's lately with good results.