Heil Sound PR40 Large-Diaphragm Multipurpose Dynamic Microphone

Clean, natural... a bit hyped on top but can be eq'd. I bought it for kick drums, but it captures a quality of my acoustic guitar that none of my other mics have before. Very happy, and glad I bought a multi-purpose mic instead of a dedicated kick mic. Can't wait to use it on a Bass cab tomorrow and horns in a few weeks. Phil

Rivals my U87 in sound quality. Great, true cardioid functionality with the best rear rejection I've experienced in 35 years of dealing with sound. Great broadcast mic without a lot of processing. Highly recommend.

i got this about 6 months ago and have used it on 3 recordings for 3 different bands so far. i bought it as an all around mic, i wanted to use it on kick drums, bass cabs, guitar cabs, and vocals. here are my results: on the first recording i used it on the beater side of the kick while pairing it with a Beta 52 on the inside. the overall result was just ok, but i blame that on the way the drummer tuned his kick drum. on that same recording i used it to mic the bass cab and everyone loved how it sounded. as i was getting sounds for guitars on that recording i put it on a cab with vintage 30s in it paired with a modified sm57. i solo'd them on playback the guitarist loved the 57 and said it was exactly the sound he was going for. i solo'd the heil and he said it was exactly the sound he was trying to avoid. i replaced the heil with a sennheiser E906 and blended it with the 57 and the guitarist was really happy with that. on the next recording i used it as the only mic for the kick and i put it inside the drum. as we were tracking i LOVED the sound, i kept telling people it was the best kick sound i ever got! unfortunately as the recording got on and i mixed more the kick somehow ended up sounding really flat and didn't stand out at all. i used it on the bass cab again for that recording and it sounded pretty good, the bass cut through the guitars on that recording really well, but this time i opted to not even try the heil on the guitar cab. i used it on vocals too. the band had 3 male vocalists and while it sounded good on 2 of them, it made the 3rd guy really hard to mix, it just did not go well with his voice. so for the 3rd recording with this i initially started out with the heil inside the kick drum. it sounded AWFUL. it sounded really tinny and metallic, so i found out the hardway that this mic will definitely NOT work out well in every kick situation. i put a beta 52 in the drum and it sounded great, the drummer was really happy. again i used it on a bass cab and it sounded beautiful, i was real happy with it. i did use it on guitar this time again paired with a SM57. the sm57 sounded a lot better. the sound i got with the heil was just ok, but i have that channel a lot lower in the mix than the 57. i tried using it on vocals for this project earlier today and again i got that metallic sound out of it. so i decided to try my AT3035 condenser instead and it was a lot better, much more clarity in the mix. overall, if you're willing to spend over $300 on a mic that will work GREAT on bass cabs, go for it, but keep in mind that on guitar cabs and kick drums it's a case by case basis. for vocals, i know it's marketed as good for broadcasting, which it probably is, but in a full band mix you will need something with more clarity. i'm not sure that i would definitely suggest to someone that they buy this mic.

I purchased the Heil PR40 microphone for tracking Bass Amp (was previously using SM57 & various large & small condenser mics). The PR40 is amazing!!! My bass amp in the studio is reproduced in my DAW monitors perfectly -- clear and distinctive without mud, even in the low registers, lots of pleasant air on top. Recorded amp clean, slightly overdriven (fingers & pick), and funky slap bass. It's wonderful to record at higher amp levels at the sweet spot as the Heil PR40 is a dynamic mic that takes high SPL. In short, the Heil PR40 mic captures bass the way you hear it. Hard to believe it's a dynamic mic creating this sound. I have read many reviews stating that the PR40 mic is a new classic for bass drum and voice(I haven't tried that), but I know I have found my dream microphone for tracking Bass amp with the Heil PR40.

The Heil Sound PR 40 Large Diaphragm Multipurpose Dynamic Microphone is the go-to mic in my project studio. We mostly shoot and edit HDV projects, but all of them require on camera talent, VOs and music and the PR 40 is magical. My studio has very little soundproofing, and backs up to our company's warehouse, but the PR 40 somehow blocks out unwanted sound while enhancing the sounds we want to record. A solid investment for any studio.

I'd been wanting to try Heil mics for some time now, and finally got the chance (or excuse, rather) to buy a PR40. To be perfectly honest, it took some getting used to this mic; its response is flat throughout the majority of the audio spectrum, with a boost in the 3K range. This meant that for the first time, I was hearing how instruments actually sounded, and it caught me off guard. Kick drums are rich and full, with boom and click; bass guitar is clear, clean, precisely what comes out of your amp. My favorite is on acoustic guitars; it made my beat up Washburn sound like a Taylor. None of the harshness of an SM57. Great signal rejection at the null points, although it is very sensitive directly behind the mic; seems to be between cardioid and hypercardioid. Built like a tank, nice carrying case. Includes mic clip, shockmount will cost you. Overall well worth the price.