Anyone with firsthand experience with the new Heil Sound PR-30, PR-40? Specifically how they compare to industry standard studio mics (SM57, 421, 414, 414TLII, U87 etc.)?

Any applications for which they are especially great for? Vocals, acoustic guitar, drums, amps, etc?

Hard to beat the prices and the reviews thusfar have been good.

Audy O

Pro Audio Review has a review of the Heil PR30 and PR40 by Russ Long this month. We have just started work with Heil, we believe this is the first new thing in dynamics we've seen in 20 years. We are just starting to set up dealers for this now. There haven't been many sold into recording, not many into live. But give us some time.

Brad

Hi Brad:

Yes, I saw the review and it looked very interesting! It's great to have some other dynamic mic options - the price is hard to beat too.

Best regards,
Audy O

That brand name just sounds too politically incorrect to not mention the aforementioned...

I guess they're designed to be broadcast mics and would be in the family of an RE-20.

-Mike

Hmm, from that post it sounds like they you think they are ONLY good for broadcast? Only work where an Re20 works?

We used them at Blackbird in the mic demo room against some major competition and they hung in there. On acoustic guitar they sounded very very good. I think this is the most interesting development in dynamics in a long long time. Three mics, all using a large diaphragms and neodymium magnets.

We have a lot of reviews coming so sit tight.

Brad

I said 'I guess' because I don't know too much about them but that was my understanding. Russ Long, who engineered Wilco's Summerteeth spoke very highly of them in the new EQ and a review he did for proaudioreview.com. I'm going to have to try one.

-Mike

has anyone tried these on percussion/drums, particularly snare and toms?

narco

Don't be ignorant. Bob Heil and Heil Sound have been around since the early days of rock n roll, and there are some amazing Bob Heil stories regarding his days doing PA with The Who before there was a sound reinforcement industry for rock music.

Not to mention that he created the Heil TalkBox that Frampton and Joe Walsh made famous - http://www.heilsound.com/

-g

I caught the Eagles at the Anaheim Pond last night. I believe that Joe had his amps mic'd with the PR-40. If not then it could have been AKG SOLIDTUBE. They look similar. Whatever mics they were, his simple rig sounded phenomenal as usual. I will find out and come back with a follow-up. And yes, that was me on the "helmet cam".

Been reading for a while. First post. The song I'm uploading is a rough mix of the band I am the live engineer for. The toms and hi-hat for this track were the heil mics. The 40's I believe. Also the close mics on the congos.

Corey

The giveaway would have been which part of the mic was pointing at the amp - the SolidTube is side-address, whereas the Heil mic is end-address.

matt

Joe says, "Yep- PR-40's on the amps- they may be 30's I forget (bass roll-off)".

GY

Brad Lunde and the rest of these folks that have heard Heil products are correct. It's a slow but sure movement they are making, but it proves there is room for change.
I have to admit that when I was first introduced to the line I was a bit skeptical, (aren't we all?), but then I heard the Pro 40 up against the lengendary RE20 and I was impressed. Russ Long's reviews were right on!

Seems there are plenty of on air talk mics being replaced by the Heil product line, because of the great performance and durability these mics present, not to mention their incredible affordability. Bob Heil's dedication to QC is second to none. I know when they were shooting them out at first, there were a few competitor mics that didn't even work, new from the box! We have yet to see any of Heil's products and accessories fail in any way.

Also, see Dave Letterman's 'new' desk mic as of several months ago. Having seen him with an RCA 77 for years, I noticed the first time they had the Heil mic on the show. I think its the PR 40. Regardless, if it's a prop mic or not, it says a lot about someone thinking enough of them to put it there on such a prominent display. Bob Heil told me there was no fanfare or arm twisting to get it there either. It "just showed up" and he knew nothing about how it actually got there.

There's still hope for great new products everyday!

Rock on!
Rolff
Blackbird Audio Rentals

P.S. > This is not a paid endorsement. We bought all of the Heil mics we stock!

The desk mic is indeed a PR 40 and is a prop. They just like the way it looks, and it is on the desk as if it is side address. I suppose it could be used that way if they want to use it to mic the upper balcony...

They do have other Heil mics though, actually in use.

PR30s have found a lot of success in front of guitar cabs. I guess the midrange characteristics really smooth out the sound. Some like the 40's but the 30's seem to be preferred by more for that application-- probably because of the rolloff.

any european distribution known yet?
how do these measure up to Sennheiser 441 and Beyerdynamic M88? (RE20 are just too expensive over here), anybody did an ABX test yet with those obvious contenders?
I'm expanding the dynamic collection, for on location recording, and these Heil mics just look very promising... but google points me torwards ridiculous low quality home recording shops.

I bought a PR-40 last week to replace my RE-20 on permanent loan. I got it for the guitar amp and loaned the RE-20 out for vocals. I like it but it does seem brighter than what I remember the RE-20 was like. It's definately much brighter than the Gefell 940 I have.

I'm guessing, since I don't have too much recording experience, that this mic is a better replacement for a Senn 421 than a RE-20.

I had to buy it at a ham radio electronics store, still, I felt better about that than if it were guitar center.

I have had a PR-40 for a month or two now and it is very often replacing my SM7b in direct competition. Great vocal mic IMO on big voiced male vocalists. As smooth as the SM7 and more detailed when it is right. I would probably never sell my SM7 but I am sure it is feeling neglected.

My favorite use has been on guitar cabinets.......I have a small space so it has been in front of small Fender tube amps and a Tace Elliot Velocette and it realy makes these little amps sing!

Sorry that I can't comment on drums/percussion but I can't track them in my space. The PR-40 has really shone on most things and doesn't seem to suck on much of anything I put it in front of.

Stephen

hehe, no it's far from personal, it's just the name that strikes me as funny.
But I guess you'd have to know german to get the pun.
Fortunately for Mr Heil that rules most of the world out! thumbsup

carry on!

What preamps are you using with the PR-30's and 40's?

I mostly use my PR-40 through an OSA L-3..........................big!

I tracked some screaming guitar through it into a Shadow Hills Mono Gamma on the nickel setting this past weekend and thought it sounded great.

Stephen

I love my PR 40. I have never owned a RE 20 so I cant make that comparisons but in general, the PR 40 sounds good on just about anything. Especially guitar cabs and floor toms.

my only complaint about the PR 40 would be the very low output.

So is anyone willing to committ to a "better" choice on a miked guitar cab ? Think clean to dirty guitars ala Knopfler .....PR 40 or PR 30 ??????

PR30 is really cool on guitars.

Brad

I have a 20, 30 and 40.......love the 30 on guitar! Used it a lot on my last project.
40 is great on bass, and am going to try it on kick next week........

sorry, quick hijack:

petsematary, your avatar rules.

Rest in Rock: Bill Hicks

end hijack

I just added a PR40 to my vocal mic shootout file, and found it to be the least 'thick' sounding of the bunch. (The bunch includes 10 LDC's, plus a 57 and a beta 57). Sounds like it would be a great snare mic, and a good choice for BG vocals, or a thick-voiced singer, or a dark acoustic guitar, or E gt cabs.

Then I plugged it into a custom built Eisen Audio 500 pre 'neve-ish' model, and the thing came alive. Maybe this is a mic that likes transformers. The thing sounds luscious on vocals. Really sweet. (I hate that phrase, but here it's appropriate.) One thing I noticed; if you want the low end beef, you gotta get right up on it - like 2 inches from the grill.
Looks like this one is going to be out on a stand for a while, cause I'm going to want to try it on everything.

I talked with the Heil reps the other day at the Parsons expo and they said it's similar to an re-20 and that it sounds good for most things, great success on kick drum. I got to mess with it a bit, seemed to have pretty solid rejection and good sound.. though it's hard to tell a lot in an expo room.