Friday night was a treat for me as I was actually able to take some time for myself and spend an amazing three hours with Bob Heil and his wife Sarah. Now I'm sure that most of you are aware that Bob and I have worked together on some of his products and that I am a huge fan of his microphones.
Be that as it is microphones are just a tiny piece of the Bob Heil story and I considered myself more than fortunate to have been invited to spend the evening with these folks. Bob Heil is a living piece of pro sound history and to many touring artists of both yesterday and today a legend. It was he who first invented or introduced many of the devices and concepts used in pro sound today for which we can all be thankful.
I won't get into a detailed tale of the nights conversation, it would just take to much time and space, but there were some promises made and I keep my promises. So in a nutshell;
The PR-22 will remain as is for the time being. The possibility of a super cardioid version was discussed. I passed Andy's comments on to Bob and perhaps in the future, but not just yet.
I have in my possession a pair of drum mics, kick and snare which I worked with for just a little bit today and the sound was just stunning. If anyone near me would like to audition the mics please PM me with a request and I'll try to get them to you. One feature to note is that the entire element is flex mounted so the if it's hit accidentally it will bend. Not to mention that the housings for these mics are built like the proverbial brick shit house. I don't see how they can be broken even if abused.
I had a great look at the guitar cabinet mic. The element is the same as the PR-30/35, but mounted sideways, and tuned for it's purpose, typical of guitar cabinet mics, but with a very unique suspension system to eliminate vibration, etc..
I also had a look at a number of mics from the soon to be Heil custom shop. They were all custom painted and the look was incredible. Silver, grey, yellow, my favorite fire engine red, and even a camouflaged PR-22 headed to Ted Nugent.
I can also say that wireless versions are close to reality, but nothing more than that.
I had a look at some great pictures of the USA manufacturing plant. I was surprised at how much work is done here in the United States. Yss, many of the components are manufactured off shore. No, they are not manufactured at the same plant as Shure, Sennheizer and Audix. Yes, final assembly and testing of every mic is done in the USA. Yes, all prototypes are developed in the USA.
Trivia I was aware off that you may find interesting. Bob and Joe Walsh are best friends. Bob and Joe are both ham radio operators (so am I). There are more Heil mics used for ham radio than any other microphone world wide. It was Joe Walsh who talked Bob Heil into getting back into pro sound by converting one of the ham radio mics for Joe to use on stage. Bob Heil has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The original "Talk Box" made for Joe Walsh was for the song "Rocky Mountain way". The talk box concept dates back to 1939. After the recording of "Rocky Mountian way" Joe wanted to use the "Talk Box" outside of the studio. He placed the speaker and everything else into a paper bag, fed the tube into the top, and used it like that for almost 2 months on stage. It was Bob Heil who provided sound for the "Who's" quadrophenea tour. There's no shortage of people that Bob Heil hasn't worked with, or inventions he's created. If you're interested in history google his name some time.
For those of you living in the northeast, Daddy's Music has taken on the Heil line. The line will be introduced at the main store in Boston by Bob Heil, in October. I extend an invitation to any and all who wish to attend. The store is located on Mass. Ave directly across from Berkley.
Well I don't usually post pictures of myself because they make baby's cry and dogs howl, but here's one worth showing. I'm the guy with the full head of hair and the thin waistline.
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Topic: 3 hours with Bob Heil (Read 10518 times)