Hello Allanblissett,
Welcome to the wonderful world of Supratek! I own a Cortese with the Sheoak wood and black top. It is absolutely beautiful. The Sheoak looks much better in person than it does in pictures. Mick told me when I ordered mine that the pictures don't do it justice and he was right. It has a beautiful lace look to the wood. I owned a Syrah before I got my Cortese and it had the Jarrah and Chrome top. I like the Sheoak much better (although the Jarrah is very nice too). These preamps look like pieces of art! But, better than that, they sound fantastic. I have had my Cortese for over 3 months now and I still have the stock tubes in it. I have plenty of NOS tubes, but it sounds so great, I have not had the desire to try the NOS tubes yet. Don't worry, your preamp will look beautiful. One note, the chrome tops are harder to keep clean and free of fingerprints.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Supratek! I own a Cortese with the Sheoak wood and black top. It is absolutely beautiful. The Sheoak looks much better in person than it does in pictures. Mick told me when I ordered mine that the pictures don't do it justice and he was right. It has a beautiful lace look to the wood. I owned a Syrah before I got my Cortese and it had the Jarrah and Chrome top. I like the Sheoak much better (although the Jarrah is very nice too). These preamps look like pieces of art! But, better than that, they sound fantastic. I have had my Cortese for over 3 months now and I still have the stock tubes in it. I have plenty of NOS tubes, but it sounds so great, I have not had the desire to try the NOS tubes yet. Don't worry, your preamp will look beautiful. One note, the chrome tops are harder to keep clean and free of fingerprints.