Soundbrenner Pulse

A vibration metronome is an interesting concept but after trying it out for myself I find that I prefer the traditional sound metronomes. This product works exactly as advertised and the build quality feels very good. The free app for it is also excellent and I recommend using it as a regular metronome app even when you don't own the Soundbrenner Pulse itself. I was able to link the device to Ableton and sync the metronome's tempo with the DAW's without too much of a hassle. I also bought the Soundbrenner Body Strap that allows the metronome to be attached to your torso, freeing up the hands (must-have for drummers). I used this metronome while playing the guitar and I tried different body locations such as the wrists, biceps, chest, and even the ankles. It is hard to say for how long I tried the Pulse out for, but I was not able to get used to it, and finally went back to using a regular clicky metronome. It is definitely worth noting that I am an experienced guitar player. A beginner who is not already accustomed to using regular metronomes might have a better chance of finding success.

I use the Soundbrenner pulse for personal practice (I play drums) and for giving lessons. It is more than a simple metronome, it comes with a new challenge... feeling the pulse instead of just hearing... I should recommend beginning combining the device with the metronome app with sound, so you can hear what you feel, and gradually switching of the sound when you can follow the pulse in an accurate way. this is, for me... quite a new ability to develop... love it ! There are pros and contra's like with anything else, pros: you can follow a metronome without that somebody else notice that fact.. at least that you want it... it comes with led lighting in a variety of colors .... fancy ! Contra's: you have to be aware of the state of the battery... of course.. and it isn't for me a contra but you have to train yourself to use it in an accurate way.

I've always struggled with my timing. With everything I play, keys, guitar, flute, my timing has always been my biggest flaw. I've tried all types of metronome but my brain quickly just tunes out the click and my timing drifts away from the beat. I find the Soundbrenner Pulse much easier to keep focused on and wearing it on my wrist I find my hands get more of a feel for the regular beat. As an experiment to try and improve my timing I wear it around the house while I'm doing chores or reading in order to try and tune my brain in to a steady beat.

The Pulse is easy to use and very customisable with a choice of different vibration levels, colour flashes and click sounds. It handles everything from a straight 4/4 to really bizarre time signatures. The tap tempo function is really accurate and quick to set.

As an IT geek I like that when I first switched it on there was a firmware update ready to go on so I know Soundbrenner are keeping on top of updates with improvements and fixes which I find very reassuring.

A very good thing for practicing, yet you need to adjust vibration settings of your phone as well, esp if you play high tempo as the vibe will be felt less and less (no, I haven't tried Muster of Puppets, but it gets hard to feel it even from 120 when playing 1/16, but also depends on where on your body you put the device)

Of course not suitable for recording with a mics as it generates noise.

Pros:
- adjustable strength of vibration
- adjustable colors (you can turn them of as well, they are annoying to my taste, and I don't look at them anyway)
- saving settings/app sync

Cons:
- sometimes you can unintentionally change the tempo if you punch someone for not following it and you have Pulse on your wrist
- during the setup device was recognized by the app only from 5th attempt
- app can't recognize "watches" if you have BT on, but GPS is down which feels a bit weird to me

Not tried yet: group sync, daw sync

In conclusion I would say that the device is totally worth trying, though you can find that you're not that ok with it and vibe is not strong enough for you - can really vary depends on person and a part of a body - but you have 30 days to return them anyway

The general idea is pretty cool, feeling the beat instead of hearing (especially when playing loud drums) can be very helpful BUT:

* It sometimes looses the tempo and isn't super accurate, which makes it impossible to use it in practive for me for tempos above 120-140
* If you put the vibrations higher, then it is also longer, which exacerbates the point above
* The application is paid with a subscription ? You get 3 month free if you buy this device but basically if you want to be able to use it to its fullest potential you have to pay a subscription every month. For a product that is tagged at this price, I would expect it to come free.

TLDR: Good idea on paper, but on practice it feels more like a gadget. Also the paid subscription for the application feels like they are just trying to grab as much money from you as possible.

I use this device with both guitar and drums and so far it has been a great addition.
Unlike the sound based metronomes, it is really easy to "plug in" as you don't have to actually plug in anywhere and you don't have something too loud in the background while playing that you have to constantly listen to.

Pros:
Virtually no noise.
Lots of setting available in the app.
Easier to use than other metronomes as you don't have to plug in the headphones or have something that might disturb the neighbors.
Easy to sync multiple band members to the same app so they can be in sync.

Cons:
It takes a while to get used to it.
I couldn't find any way to sync it with a song that I'm using as backing track. So I still have to use other methods while doing that.

I really think it was about time for a change in the metronome section. The set-up for other metronomes was suck a pain that most of the time wasn't worth the effort. With this, all the band can sync to one phone and get the same feedback at the same time.

This metronome works on an interesting concept of vibrating. The vibrations are fine, handling is fine, you can change colors of the outer ring for each note which is interesting and can help you with orientation if not feeling the vibrations.
However, the first one I received came broken, the metronome wouldn't recognize turning the outer ring which is necessary to turn the metronome on/off and change tempo without having to open the application on your phone (also, if you are not using nor have intention of using the Soundbrenner metronome application, I would suggest not buying the product). Also, I have tried the metronome placement only on the hand, I cannot vouch for leg placement. Overall good and interesting product.