Bob Heil

Lore & Background

Bob Heil was born in 1940 in St. Louis and grew up in Marissa, Illinois. By age ten he played the accordion, and at 14 he performed at local restaurants. At 15 he became the house player for the Wurlitzer theater organ at the Fox Theater in St. Louis, learning to tune and voice thousands of pipes—a skill that taught him to dissect discrete tones. He was a student of organist Stan Kann and played the Wurlitzer organ in concert halls and restaurants for 12 years. In his teens he became an avid amateur radio operator, designing and building homemade transmitters, amplifiers, and antenna systems under call sign K9EID.

In 1966 he opened a professional music shop in Marissa and founded Heil Sound. On February 2, 1970, the Grateful Dead were scheduled to play at the Fox Theater in St. Louis but their sound system was detained by police. Heil provided the band with equipment built from discarded theater loudspeakers, JBL D140s, radial horns, ring tweeters, and McIntosh amplifiers. He also brought a modified Langevin studio console and used a technique of taping a second microphone behind each main microphone, run out of phase with the monitors, to cancel feedback. The show was a success, and the Grateful Dead asked Heil and his crew to join them on the road.

Heil later toured with The Who, providing sound for the Who's Next tour and creating the quadraphonic system for the Quadrophenia tour. He also toured with Joe Walsh, Peter Frampton, and Jeff Beck. In 1973 he invented the Heil Talk Box, which was used by Peter Frampton, Joe Walsh, and Richie Sambora. In the late 1970s, Heil Sound entered the amateur radio market, developing HC series microphones and installing large satellite dishes. In May 2011, Heil became host of the weekly Ham Radio Netcast "Ham Nation" on the TWiT network.

Reader's Guide

Bob Heil's significance lies in his foundational role in modern concert sound reinforcement. His 1970 system for the Grateful Dead—using radial horns, JBL drivers, and an electronic crossover—set a new standard for clarity and volume, allowing audiences to understand lyrics at high levels. His feedback-cancellation technique, using out-of-phase secondary microphones, became a widely adopted practice. Heil's 1978 "Practical Guide for Concert Sound" served as a field manual for roadies and technicians. The Heil Talk Box, developed in 1973, became iconic through its use by Peter Frampton, Joe Walsh, and Richie Sambora, and was later licensed to Dunlop Manufacturing. In amateur radio, Heil applied principles from Paul Klipsch, Don Leslie, and Bell Labs to improve transmitted audio quality, and his company was an early installer of large satellite dishes. Heil also lectured at major electronic conventions and taught classes at institutions including the Trebas Institute and Blackbird Academy. His work bridged live music, broadcasting, and amateur radio, influencing both the sound of rock concerts and the clarity of radio communications.

Did You Know?

• Heil learned to tune and voice thousands of pipes in the Wurlitzer organ at the Fox Theater, a skill that taught him to dissect discrete tones.
• The Heil Talk Box was first built for Joe Walsh's Barnstorm Tour in 1973.
• Heil installed the very first DSS satellite system at the St. Louis office of Bob Costas.
• Heil was on the original test team for the RCA DirecTV dish system.