dongna Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I'm looking to purchase a metronome for my son's piano practice. (OK, I admit, I'll probably use it on occasion as well.) Anyone have one they particularly like? Any opinions on mechanical vs. electronic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I have a great one from Boss (DR-60 maybe?), but it eats batteries. There are some cool ones for iOS, some are free, like the one from Steinway, and then there's Subdivide, which is a nice clone of the the Boss Dr. Beat style. It has volume controls for different parts of the beat, does clave, and all sorts of other stuff. The biggest issue is it's not always loud enough. Plug it into something and that solves that. Of course, the one I use the most is the simple Yamaha one with the basic tempo and on/off switch seen here. http://data.yamaha.jp/sdb/product/image/main/medium/q/qt1_brown/71852C0B63164B25B7F957D1C4C90AE1_12001.jpg "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Go analog, man! I have an ancient Wittner mechanical which is still perfectly fine and the plastic casing makes it easy to hear over any normal piano playing. Studio: Yamaha P515 | Yamaha Tyros 5 | Yamaha HX1 | Moog Sub 37 Road: Yamaha YC88 | Nord Electro 5D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickd Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Mechanical does seem easier to hear to me than electronic. I don't know why though... and electronic ones are cheaper and smaller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Mechanical does seem easier to hear to me than electronic. I don't know why though... +1 I always struggle a little to play along with a met click on DAW software but never with the "real thing". Studio: Yamaha P515 | Yamaha Tyros 5 | Yamaha HX1 | Moog Sub 37 Road: Yamaha YC88 | Nord Electro 5D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Of course, if you get a mechanical one, you have the advantage of it having this effect. [video:youtube] "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Loving Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I like mechanical, but I use an electric one, too (not digital, just old fashioned electric. My favorite in in my house practice dp, a yam cp33. The important thing is to just use one. "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob L Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 If you have a smartphone there are apps for that.... Korg CX-3 (vintage), Casio Privia PX-5S, Lester K, Behringer Powerplay P2, Shure 215s http://www.hackjammers.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iLaw Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Electric. I have a closet full of mechanical ones (including an old collectors-item woodcase Seth Thomas), and with the right combinations of coins under one foot or another I can make any of them stop limping. Larry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Wright Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Mechanical does seem easier to hear to me than electronic. I don't know why though... and electronic ones are cheaper and smaller. +1 on the mechanical ones. I find the electronic units annoying to listen to. "I cried when I wrote this song Sue me if I play too long" Walter Becker Donald Fagan 1977 Deacon Blues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan_evett Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Of course, if you get a mechanical one, you have the advantage of it having this effect. [video:youtube] I'll have to try that tonight, with our four cats. I have a Wittner mini metronome; bet it gets batted across the room... I normally use 'Mobile Metronome', an Android app, for teaching and dance class playing. It works great. 'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo. We need a barfing cat emoticon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reidmc Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 per above there are several smartphone apps that work fine. Also, there are some websites that work as well. (On the road, I've used my laptop for both metronome and music stand.) My fave in a small electronic portable is a Korg TM-40. "The Doomer allows the player to do things beyond which are possible without the accessory." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle ggurl Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Go analog, man! I have an ancient Wittner mechanical which is still perfectly fine and the plastic casing makes it easy to hear over any normal piano playing. I have my Wittner from when I was a kid, easily three decades old. Don't use it as much anymore, but it does still work. I bought a craptastic electronic one a couple years ago, Boss I think, and it started wigging out shortly after I got it. I'm sure I coulda spent more on a better digital one, but this was supposed to be a good one in terms of accuracy .... Fail. Also for learning, it's kinda cool to see the analog metronome's little arm swing back and forth. I think that has a subtle effect on training one to see, and feel, pulse as a predictable thing. Honestly nowadays I mostly use either loops or playalong tracks in Ableton Live because I'm tracking or working on a part or shedding, etc. but for starting out, I really recommend an analog. Original Latin Jazz CD Baby "I am not certain how original my contribution to music is as I am obviously an amateur." Patti Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus64 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Go for the real thang: real thing A little pricey but a good old-fashioned metronome has been a staple of the "music room" for about 200 years. The wood is easier to hear than plastic IMO, hence the price. It's high time we class up this dump: you kids can keep your Dr Beats and your dubstep lip-syncing with plastic lil click boxes, give me a beautiful wood metronome dag nabit. SOML.* Stay Off My Lawn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I've heard in some recordings a metronome that instead of just a click, had a zip noise before the click. Zzzzip-Click, Zzzzip-Click, etc. Can anyone tell me what kind of metronome did or does that? (If it helps, the recordings I've heard it on were from the late 60s.) "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iconoclast Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Dig the mechanical and I might just buy one because it looks classier on the grand piano...but I use a Korg because of it's ability to accent and accept a tap tempo. And it's loud enough for piano playing no problem. You want me to start this song too slow or too fast? Forte7, Nord Stage 3, XK3c, OB-6, Arturia Collection, Mainstage, MotionSound KBR3D. A bunch of MusicMan Guitars, Line6 stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dongna Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 Thanks all for the replies. It hadn't occurred to me to look for such functionality in an app. With 2 iPod touches (including one that belongs to my son) and a couple of android phones in the house, that would seem to be the first option to check out. Part of me would love to go mechanical, and if this were going to sit on a piano in the living room, I might give it greater consideration. But I think an electronic one might fit better with the S90ES in my little hole-in-the-wall "studio". If the app approach doesn't work out, we'll check out the various models suggested here. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reidmc Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 friend of mine uses this https://market.android.com/details?id=gabriel.metronome.pro&feature=more_from_developer#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwMiwiZ2FicmllbC5tZXRyb25vbWUucHJvIl0. but there are a bunch of them out there. . . "The Doomer allows the player to do things beyond which are possible without the accessory." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddyrea Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 "Tempo" metronome on the app store. Very awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Iverson Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 The little electronic one I bought for $25 works fine for me - I just plug into the headphones and it does its thing, and I can hear it fine. I practice certain things with the metronome, but that rigid sense of time seems stiff to me sometimes - even the classical players speed up and slow down to make the music more expressive! In other words to me it's a practice tool, nothing more. So that I can speed up and slow down because I CHOOSE to, not because of bad time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 But I think an electronic one might fit better with the S90ES in my little hole-in-the-wall "studio". Why not just use the S90ES itself? Assigning a metronome rhythm on the S90ES. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffLearman Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 But I think an electronic one might fit better with the S90ES in my little hole-in-the-wall "studio". Why not just use the S90ES itself? Assigning a metronome rhythm on the S90ES. Bingo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iconoclast Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 If your home studio includes a computer try metronome.com Of course your DAW will have a metronome but I find for just practicing it's probably a little cumbersome. You want me to start this song too slow or too fast? Forte7, Nord Stage 3, XK3c, OB-6, Arturia Collection, Mainstage, MotionSound KBR3D. A bunch of MusicMan Guitars, Line6 stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Schmieder Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Thought this came up quite recently? The recap is that mechanical metronomes are not accurate or reliable for time-keeping -- even the higher-end models (search bestcovery.com for listings as that is one of their more accurate review categories). I got rid of mine years ago as it drove me crazy with its imprecision and off-kilter response. Most of them are from Wittner and differ primarily in their form factor as the insides are usually the same. The best ones are listed at the site above. I would aim for the new one from Peterson (maker of strobe tuners) unless the budget will not allow, in which case you can save money by buying "last year's model" (and/or used) for one of the BOSS Dr. Beat units (which are quite accurate and fairly flexible for beats and sounds). Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1, Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonglow Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Of course, if you get a mechanical one, you have the advantage of it having this effect. [video:youtube] I'll have to try that tonight, with our four cats. I have a Wittner mini metronome; bet it gets batted across the room... For more big fun get your hands on a laser pointer, and watch them chase the "dot" all over the place. "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffLearman Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Mechanical metronomes are fine until the first time they're dropped or bumped hard. Then they're lopsided. I knew a woman who was a world-class percussionist, back when electronic metronomes were new. She said that the mechanical ones were more accurate (if they'd never been jarred). This is a person who could tap out 15 beats on one hand against 17 beats on the other without batting an eye, not to mention other amazing wizardry, or the beauty she could evoke from a Marimba. If the mechanical ones were good enough for her, they're good enough for the rest of us mere mortals. (I doubt she was correct about electonic metronomes being inaccurate, at least the quartz-based ones.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iconoclast Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 The musicians I play with aren't as accurate as a laser, so why should my metronome be? A dropped mechanical metronome is just better at a shuffle beat! You want me to start this song too slow or too fast? Forte7, Nord Stage 3, XK3c, OB-6, Arturia Collection, Mainstage, MotionSound KBR3D. A bunch of MusicMan Guitars, Line6 stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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