The value of the investment in components of a superior microphone recording signal chain becomes self-evident when you consider that all of your music will pass through this same equipment in the process of producing a modern recording. Coupled with a good studio microphone, Martech's MSS-10 Microphone Pre-amplifier provides the optimal audio signal chain for recording sources of all kinds of music directly to your master recorder.

The single-channel MSS-10 has two signal paths in a single unit. The microphone pre-amp section uses two stages of non-inverting amplification to provide wide bandwidth and stable operation. There is 20 to 65dB of gain switched in precise 5 dB steps with a -20dB pad, phase reverse and 48volt phantom powering. The second signal path is a line level driver which derives its source from either the mic section or from a separate balanced line input. There is 0 to +10dB Gain control for "gain-riding", a Cal switch for quick bypass of this level control, mic/line switch, and a mute switch. The separate line input to this amplifier allows for insertion of an equalizer or limiter after the microphone section and before the line amplifier. For the most pristine signal path, only the mic pre-amp section would be used to directly record any mic source to tape. In my use, I could not hear any difference with or without the line amplifier in the path. I like using the line amp for gain-riding, a process I continually obsess over.