Soundbrenner Pulse, Vibrating Metronome for All Musicians and Instruments, Perfect for Drums, Guitar, Piano and More, Best in Show at NAMM

First of all, I'd like to mention that I've tried a pulse metronome previously and quickly abandoned it for both performance and practice purposes -- it was just too inconvenient to use. Despite this prior experience, I ordered the Pulse anyway because the design looked different enough from what I had experienced that I though it might work for me. It did! This is an amazing device, one that seems to have been designed by people who actually use the product. The device's user interface is fantastic. I'm using it for solo guitar and, if I place the device on the inside of my left wrist (my fretting arm), I can both see the Pulse and manipulate its functions easily, even in the middle of a song. The learning curve was very short, even though the interface was like nothing I had ever experienced before. The printed guide is clear and there are some excellent short instructional videos available on YouTube (some placed by the company; some by users). In order to access the more advanced features and really set the device up to your preferences, you have to pair with a smartphone and, in this, I had to do a bit of digging in the documentation, but, other than that, it was very easy to get started. It also takes a day or two to get used to playing "against" the pulse. After you get the hang of it -- you forget it's there.A word about the interplay with the phone -- the phone app is also very well designed and the bluetooth connection is stable. The connection "feels solid." I have no need to "play" the Pulse beats out loud, but, if I did, the phone would serve beautifully as a sophisticated aural metronome speaker. You can also use the phone app to control the function of device (especially the deeper functions). However, beyond setup, I wouldn't do so would so because the last thing in the world I want to do is fiddle with a phone during performance. As far as I can see, its prime benefit is that you can control the Pulse's basic functions just by tapping lightly on it. People in other situations might benefit from the capability of controlling function through the phone.I did have to contact their support in the first couple of days because I wanted to order backup wrist straps in a configuration different from what they offer. A very nice person got back to me in a timely manner and arranged for me to get exactly what I wanted, saving me $20. I think this is an extraordinary level of support -- they're going through the trouble of repackaging something in order to save a customer money. (Frankly, that's the main reason I'm taking the time to write this review -- I'm grateful to them.)For me, this was one of those happy situations we get sometimes where we order something with a bit of uncertainty and then discover that it actually exceeds expectations. I love this thing and admire the creativity of the people who developed it. Well worth the money, in my opinion.

This might not be for you, but the tactile feedback resulted a substantial improvement with my piano performances. It is different than trying to mix the audio of a traditional metronome with that of the piano and then, when performing with a group, mixing their percussion with what you are doing (by the way, several of these Soundbrenners can supposedly be networked to sync the playing of multiple musicians). I really don't know what to compare it to...it is so different from an audio metronome that I wonder if beginning students couldn't benefit from using one sync'd with their teacher's. Also, really helps with complex rhythms and helpful as well with just the standard 4/4, 3/4 stuff. Impressive. I am using it with an Android tablet (Nokia/HMD).

The tactile pulse is somehow more effective than just hearing audio clicks of a metronome. I'm using three devices for a trio group, and this has helped us fix several tricky rhythmic sections of pieces we have worked on in the past, but never quite got correct. It's a little mysterious why it works so well. The pulses are a little "instrusive" but in a good way. It's like having a music coach tapping you on the shoulder. Maybe its because touch is a different pathway to the brain than hearing?The company has been supporting the device very well. I did experience the Pulse timing being way off from what it was supposed to be, but that only happened a few times early on (April 2018) and it seems some firmware and software updates have fixed this -- it hasn't happened since.They also replaced a non-functional USB cable in one of the devices at no cost.The software on the app is quite good. It has many options to customize things, including the type of touch, the pattern of tempo, whether to hear metronome sounds and what type of sounds, colors of pulses, etc. The pulse can be set very short and crisp.You do have to recharge the Pulse frequently. They claim to have improved the battery life with a software update. I just recharge after every use, and top off before using. Not a problem. I use a USB hub device to charge all 3 devices at once.They provide two straps, a short one and a longer one. In my group, each person has chosen a different place to wear it.This is a very innovative device, and remarkably stable and useful for a "version one" product.I only use this in rehearsal. My one wish would be to have a foot pedal to pause the pulses during a ritard, maybe press and hold. And perhaps switch to a different tempo with a quick foot pedal press.