Heil PR-30 vs. SM57

  • Thread starter Thread starter amiller
  • Start date Start date

Which one do you like the most? ... or Both?

  • Heil PR-30

    Votes: 10 43.5%

  • SM57

    Votes: 9 39.1%

  • Both

    Votes: 4 17.4%
  • Total voters
    23
amiller

amiller

New member
Who has compared the two and how do they stack up against each other?
 
At the moment the PR30. It is more full range for lack of a better term. No presence peak or no bass boost proximity effect like the 57. Very even response.
 
Greazygeo":2ukoo97e said:
At the moment the PR30. It is more full range for lack of a better term. No presence peak or no bass boost proximity effect like the 57. Very even response.
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That's what I've been reading. I thought I'd take Rig-Talk's pulse on the subject. How long has this mic been around? I didn't know about it until I read your posts. It sounds like something I want. :lol: :LOL:
 
Your comparing a $75 mic with a $250 mic. A better comparison would have been an SM7b. In that case I think the SM7b would have the slight edge. I'd take a PR30 any day over a sm57 though. The Heil is a very nice mic for guitar cabs, drum miking and does well on vocals too. SM57, well we all know it's nice to have a bunch of them around, but there are much better mics for most purposes. I have all 3 of these mics BTW.
 
amiller":18cglqbm said:
That's what I've been reading. I thought I'd take Rig-Talk's pulse on the subject. How long has this mic been around? I didn't know about it until I read your posts. It sounds like something I want. :lol: :LOL:
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I'm not sure how long it's been around. I read about it here and on gearslutz. So I picked one up. I still have some SM57's, Beta 57, MD421, PR30 and I5 dynamics to play with as well.
 
Where is the both option in the poll? I like to pair a clear more neutral mic with the SM57.....
 
blackba":17xdzwfe said:
Where is the both option in the poll? I like to pair a clear more neutral mic with the SM57.....
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Fair point...I added "Both" to the options. :D
 
no contest for me. The PR30 is an awesome guitar cab mic. Great top end, captures the sound very well, bigger and more robust then the 57. Both in combination work well too.
 
I don't know... I have to say both. I use both together all the time with a ribbon as the 3rd. Both are great on their own. If I had to keep just one it would be an impossible choice. PR40 is also great having a larger bottom end and works well on gtrs, bass, kick and even vocals. As far as a SM7b vs a PR30 ...they are very different and it's like comparing apples to oranges.
 
Crap! I added a third choice and it screwed up the original votes...oh well. :cry: :lol: :LOL:
 
After spending hours being frustrated with the nasily nastiness of a 57 I tried the Heil after reading reviews and....wow. LOVE THE HEIL. Absolutely stomps the 57. I thought I was losing my mind because everyone loved the 57 and I wanted to throw it across the room. I'll still use it but it's no contest against the Heil. The Heil just captures what I "hear" without all the post production that the 57 requires. The Heil paired with a Crowley Tripp Naked Eye going into API 3124+ and Audient ASP008 is pretty unbeatable.
 
I had one for a few months and did not like it. Surprising since everyone else seems to dig it. One step further, now that I know what the Heil sounds like, I can hear that quality on recordings- such as the fluff video demo- and do not like it there anymore either. I've had lots of mics come through my studio and that may be the only one I couldn't find an application I liked it on, including guitar cabs. I'm guessing I'm in the minority here.
 
I have read that it has a condenser quality to it. I like that a condenser has a full thick response, but they lack the grit that makes heavy guitars pop in the mix.

What are you using instead?
 
^ I think that sounds about right

I had a 4047 for years but flipped it recently...I loved that mic, I may need to get another one soon
I have a Naked Eye ribbon that sounds great for lots of stuff, but for hi gain modern rock/metal I'm likely to go with (2) 57s in parallel right up on the grille just where the center meets the cone. I always liked that sound.
I have an Avalon SDC Tube that will get a shot too as a local pro engineer loves his sdc on cabs so I have to try that again.
I don't miss that pr30 at all. It's cheap enough though and lots of people dig it, so if you find a used one cheap go for it to see what you think with your chain and material. For the same price though I'd snag a fathead if you need a ribbon, assuming you have some kind of 57/i5/e609 laying around already.

I do have a TNL so that may get lots of use too depending on how things go...my band is ramping up this week to record drums so guitars will hopefully start this weekend (yeah!!)
 
Cool. You mentioned the sm7b. They market that for broadcast but it seems like it would be a decent full range dynamic as long as it adds some grit. Have you ever tried that one on a guitar cab?
 
I love it, and use it on a V30. I use 57s or E609 for other speakers and blend. It seems to pick up less fizz and doesn't color the natural speaker tone as much.
 
SM57??? What a fucking joke that mic is...grainy dogshit
 
I'm going to have to go against the grain of this thread and say SM57. The PR30 has a very prominent character that I find extremely annoying.
 
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