Have you heard the new Brendan O'Brien remixes of Pearl Jam's debut album, Ten? They're amazing! He's stripped away all the layers of reverb to reveal an album that sounds as current today as it did when it was recorded! Similarly, Heil Sound has taken their PR 20 live dynamic vocal mic, and done away with all the silly extras it used to come with. It's enabled them to price the mic so low as to make it suddenly relevant in today's contested market, and they've dubbed it the Heil PR 20 UT, with "UT" standing for "utility."

The old PR 20 used to come with interchangeable black, silver and gold screens, a thick padded case, and other nice, but ultimately superfluous accessories. With all these extras, Heil was pricing the PR 20 at a little under $200 list. By doing away with the extraneous stuff, including only a pouch and mic clip, the new UT version is priced as a serious alternative to the industry-standard SM58 and other, similar mics. Mics which, by the way, typically ship with only a pouch and a mic clip. . . which makes you wonder why this wasn't the standard option for the PR 20 all along.

Nothing else has changed about the PR 20's performance. The same capsule, with the same fast, crisp response is the core of the PR 20. It's 8 - 9k bump, expertly tailored articulation range and -35db of 180º rejection make it perfect for live lead vocals and snappy snare drum.

The stripped-down Heil Sound PR 20 UT package retails for $115 US.