Double Bass Heil PR 40 Review

The Heil PR 40 is a dynamic mic created by Bob Heil at Heilsound (who was kind enough to loan me one for this trial). The PR boasts a host of features that make it different from all the other dynamics out there namely some new technology in design construction and build materials and some new phasing design (that I don't understand)
What concerns me is what does it sound like on a bass for live sound? My initial impression upon plugging it in: (AI Focus III, LDS 1x8's) is a kind of euphoric enthusiam...I've been here before with stuff, some of which turned out sweet (Avalon U5 AI Focus Full Circle) and some not so much (everything else that came and went).
This mic has an even sweet full range response a lot like the famous EV Re 20 which I've been checking out lately after hearing Ben Street play through one at Yoshi's. But it sounds better and is half the size. in fact it fits so perfectly between the string afterlengths and under the bridge that I quickly gave up trying to put it on the H clamp (at nearly a pound the H clamp just cant handle it except for recording...that is I wouldn't gig with it)
But this is a dynamic (no phantom power here plug it straight in jackson) that sounds as silky as a condenser without any of the drawbacks (namely that condensers pick up everything mostly very bad things)
I gotta go to a "Live"recording session tonight and I'll test how it records, but for now this puppy smokes every other mic I have tried on the bass.

I used this mic on a "Jazz" recording session last night, that is, a live session with bleed and little isolation. I had to run the direct out of the Focus into the board with it already mixed in the amp. It sounds fantastic. I wont hear a mix for a few weeks but what I heard on playback last night was gorgeous. I had a little bit of bleed but the drums and piano were right on top of me. Dynamics have a huge amount of rejection of off axis sounds. One advantage to having the mic in the strings and under the bridge is that you can "tune" the proximity effect. Since it is an end firing mic, by having it at more or less of an angle to the table gives you very different sounds. It was easy to find a good place and fix it there.
Man Dynamics are called that for a reason, they are sure dynamic. This mic sounds great from a whisper to a roar.
The difference from this mic and all the others to my ears is that it sounds like a condenser (warm, articulate, present, well balanced, dynamic) without the disadvantages (oversensitivity, bleed, fragile handling noise, phantom etc)
Another nice aspect of running this mic thru the Focus is it matches the EQ of the Focus really well: rolling off or on any of the controls BMT has an immediate and significant effect.
I'm kinda bummed that the H clamp won't hold the mic, seems like with a small modification to the clamp it could. It would be great to be able to keep this beast up under the fingerboard...although where it is sounds fantastic...With the other dynamics I was using, the thru the strings under the bridge placement was just not the ideal sound, but this mic is different.

Uncle: I put black tape on that nasty white wire (Fishman told me to tape it and spray paint it...they really should get some black wire. I'm not really set up to make clips..but I'll see what I can do.

Chris Fitzgerald said:

Sounds very encouraging! A couple of questions:

What's the price range of the Heil mic? Is it a large or small diaphragm dynamic?

Have you ever tested a Beta 57 in the same spot on the bass? If so, in what ways is the Heil better?

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Hey Chris,
It is a large diaphragm Dynamic, and while I've tested 57's 58's and the beyer and some condensers (KM 184 etc) I have not tested the Beta 57. It aint Cheap at a street price of $325. But it has the fat woodyness of the EV RE 20 only ...just better and half the size and cost.
The vocal dynamics I have been using have a kind of grittyness in the sound (which I kinda like) and the Heil does not. It is silky sounding. Also you can use this mic like I said earlier even if you are not pulling real hard but finessing..Its got unbelievable dynamics...
But man you can crank the thing without feedback and it really responds well to both the notch filter and the HP.
I really cannot afford to drop three and change right now (what with taxes and a kid and the price of gas and the lame pay) but I'm going to work something out cause I really don't want to give this mic back...
the way it is designed seems perfect for the between the strings placement (see photo) it fits snugly up against the strings and flanges out which keeps it there.

I've got a clip but I cant upload it cause its too big (only 1.4mb) and my quota is filled Chris can you give me a bit of space for an mp3 of this mic?

I mix it with a full circle. Although it has enough oompf to go solo for a bunch of smaller stuff or a really good PA.
I futsed with the H clamp and indeed it does work and up under the fingerboard is the happening spot on my bass. Even though the mic is parallel to the bass it still sounds great.

gnergaard said:

Someone needs to take that same element and capsule and get rid of the handle. It's just to big and bulky.
I'd be happy to take one and mess with it- except that they are so expensive.
I wonder if Heil sound has seen these photos. Maybe if they saw what UR bassists are trying to do with mics they could help with some solutions.
Would you mind unscrewing the top of th mic so that we can see what the element looks like?
Thanks for these reviews!
-Greg

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Bob would be a bit bummed if I went at his mic wih a screwdriver, so no I wont open it up (it's not a twist off) But man am I digging this sound. As to the big and bulky yea.. but it fits so well between the strings...and a lot of that bulk is much needed dampening. Basses vibrate like hell and a lot of the lame sound of a mic (in my experience) is when the capsule becomes an inadvertant contact mic (feedback, woolfyness, hollowness contact noise)
I'm going to try and post a clip tomorrow...

Well I've been gigging with this mic all week (sorry I've not posted any clips yet they are too big to email to chris...I'm going to try and rerecord something and post it on a nearby ftp...
This mic is Phat. Last night I played a really noisy restaurant gig and had the mic on the H clamp parallel to the bass. It sounded great but bled too much. I think that thru the strings may be the leave it alone, stays on the bass low maintenance placement. Since it is end firing, that way you get maximum volume with minimum bleed. At one point I had just a bit of mic mixed in to the FC (there was a really loud party above us) and even a bit made a huge difference in the presence and air. On a quiet stage earlier in the week, I just jused the mic and it sounded just beautiful. It seems to be a really excellent match to the AI Focus.

larry said:

Thanks for the info - I need to look in to Heil mics.

What I find to be the critical indicator of how good a mic is for recording DB is how good the other instruments sound that bleed into it. A more technical description is how smooth the off-axis response is. If the bass sounds great, but the ride cymbal bleeding in sounds really harsh, that's a problem. If you have to EQ the harshness out of the ride it may affect the good bass sound in a bad way, etc. I find that the bass mic is integral to the drum sound due to all the bleed. If the drums bleed sounds bad in the bass mic - the mic is probably not a keeper. You'll always be having to choose between messing up the bass sound or messing up the drums.

Rejection is good, but having the bleed sound natural is just as important, sometimes more so.

Are you doing the mixing? If not, talk to the guy who is and get his $.02 on that mic. Sit in on the mixing if you can.

I've been using an Earthworks omni for recording. Some recording folks think I'm nuts using an omni, but there is no proximity effect and the bleed just sounds normal (there's just a lot of it). In context of the mix, it works better. I don't touch the EQ on the bass track. Now I have upgraded my recorder and have more tracks, so I'm going to also take a signal from another mic. I'll be messing around with the M88 and the RE20 next week.

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Yea well one of the points that Bob Heil talked a lot about was the natural non colored off axis bleed. As you get farther off axis the sound stays natural as it diminishes.
I gotta figure out the clip thing, but what really gets it for me and what I'm really focused on is a live sound. For recording there are just so many good choices (and this mic sounds great too) but for live sound there are so many problems to overcome. What I want (and so far this delivers better than any) is a recording quality bass sound (you know what I mean: air, meat, thickness, dimension, its own just right EQ and little bleed) in a mic that you can just dial up without a bunch of finicky feedback or woof. I want to be able to take the bass outta its case plug it in and think about the music. And so far with this mic I am stoked.