doesn't SP just take the caps and make their own pre's, then match them and terminate them in a 1/8 end? I could be wrong though. I got my 853's from SP, and I'm much happier w/ my matched mk012's, but I keep my 853's around for stealthing. So like everyone else... mk012's for stand/clamp taping, 831's for stealthing. You should do some tests to see how matched your mk012's are as well since you just got them from guitar center.