Metronome

So I used to have this shitty metronome that I stole from my high school orchestra. It was a little mini version with the actual arm that went back and forth with the weight on it. Ironically, it didn't work very well. It kind of lumbered. The spaces between beats were uneven. Which is precisely the opposite of the function of a metronome. So I never used it much (with playing stringed instruments).

When I started playing drums I never worried about using a metronome. In the last year I resigned myself to needing one...and the one I had, besides sucking, wasn't loud enough for drums.

I went to a local music store looking for something that cost less than $25 and what I walked away with was kind of inappropriate for my needs. It didn't occur to me that drummers would have special needs in a metronome. It is the style with a dial. There's no volume control. It isn't loud enough to use with drums, though you can plug the headphone jack into a stereo and turn it up. Unfortunately, when you use headphones, though, you can't control the volume. And it is way too loud to use with headphones. And the tone is kind of annoying to broadcast over the stereo. So I'm mostly used it visually. I set it on my drum and watch the lights. The other problems with it is...it only goes to 208 bpm (pretty standard) and it doesn't allow for sub-divided measures. This is a real problem for me because most punk music is in the >175 bpm range...and the stuff that I need the most metronome help can be over 208 bpm. And getting the subdivisions is key too.

I'm cheap and unwilling to pay much for such a device, but luckily I don't have to. I've been scoping out the Korg MA-30 for a while now, but didn't know if it really fit my needs. I didn't want to make the same mistake twice.

Luckily, JoeDrums feels my pain, and posted this helpful video on selecting a metronome for drumming:


After viewing this, I'm fairly certain that the $19.99 Korg MA-30 will suit me just fine. It costs more in stores (I found it at the store I bought my other one at and it is nearly $40 there!), so I've been waiting to buy it until I could assemble a big enough order online to avoid shipping fees if possible. Though, in light of my last post it is probably better to get it sooner rather than later.