Remembering Bob Heil

Bob Heil, 1940—2024.

I was saddened to learn of the recent passing of microphone designer Bob Heil. Bob Heil was one of the first microphone developers whom I first got to know several decades ago, and he was gracious enough to share much of his knowledge and wisdom with me in the course of our conversations back then. He was always exceptionally kind and generous with his time. Bob loved to tell me about his early years starting out building radios and large antennas. Amateur Radio and independent broadcasting was a real passion of his. One of the first pictures he shared with me was that of an ENORMOUS radio antenna he erected himself in his subdivision when he was a very young man. I felt at the time that I was talking to the audio version of a real life ‘Doc’ Emmet Brown. I knew that Bob had stepped back from attending trade shows in more recent years due to advancing age, and really missed seeing him and speaking with him.

Those who have come into audio production more recently most likely know him for the excellent dynamic microphone line that are still sold under the Heil Sound brand. Bob told me that he felt almost everyone making dynamic mics were just ‘re-issuing the classics’ at this point, and he wanted to really innovate and bring that technology forward. As a big fan of those microphones, I can attest that he did achieve this. Bob felt there was no reason that a moving coil transducer element couldn’t be made to have the same sensitivity and frequency response as a condenser, while retaining some of the ruggedness and high-SPL benefits of a dynamic.

Those who have been around longer know that Heil Sound, in some form, traces all the way back to the 60’s, with Bob having developed one of the first large scale PA systems and his company providing live sound reinforcement for The Grateful Dead, The Who, Jeff Beck, Peter Frampton, and others. Bob is also credited with building the first dedicated monitor mixer, the first two units of which sit behind glass at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and most notably, the Heil Talk Box, used famously by Joe Walsh and later mass produced by Dunlop Manufacturing.

Bob’s legacy is impressive, and has left an indelible mark on live sound reinforcement and PA system design, on microphone design, on audio electronics design, and on the broadcast market as a whole. His influence has been felt on rock music in some way for sixty years, and I’m positive it will continue to be felt for many more decades. 

Rest in peace, Bob.