I know when I've put chokes in amps that never originally had them in the past there has been a difference in the feel/response that is noticeable, and not just at high volumes. Thats my experience anyway.
I think a lot of people don't realize that the transient attack when you pick a string is at a
much higher level than the string vibrating after the pick, so even on "clean" settings at relatively low volumes and a 100W amp, the transients at the start of note will be clipping. You can see this easily on a 'scope.
Furthermore, the harmonics at the attack of a note are extremely important to defining the sound of an instrument.
Experiments have been conducted where subjects where asked to identify instruments where the attack had been removed. For most instruments this makes it very hard to identify the instrument correctly.
