hi rcprince,
yust fyi, the sha-gold *and* the ma-333 are both older versions of melos' most recent preamps - the sha-maestro replaced the sha-gold, & the music-director replaced the ma-333. while they both have upgraded parts, the older wersions actually had a better-sounding wolume-pot - those photentiometers. but, they were so sensitive to shipping-damage, melos had to go to a conventional alps pot. the ma-333 was basically a true dual-mono, two-box (3-box, w/fono) wersion of the sha-gold...
regards, doug