Soundbrenner Pulse - Smart Vibrating Metronome, the World's First Wearable Designed for Musicians

This device is quite remarkable in helping you to keep time. No more annoying clicks to listen to and the vibrations really get you into the groove. You can adjust the vibrations to suit and I use a stronger vibration on the one beat. You actually feel the beat rather than listen out for it which enables you to concentrate on the music. You soon get used to the change in your senses from listening to feeling and initially you may find the transition a bit odd but you overcome this very quickly. The device works really well with the App which I use to control all the functions. The only negative is attaching the charging cable to the device which has a magnetic lock and the stiff cable tends to dislodge it when trying to attach it. This is a minor irritation that does not detract from the effectiveness of using the device. Time will tell if longevity is an issue.

I read many reviews before buying this. Clearly some people got a faulty unit that didn’t keep perfect time. The unit I received does. I use it with the app for iPhone. When connecting via Bluetooth turn off Bluetooth on your phone, then turn it back on again and THEN activate the Bluetooth connection on the app. It will connect straight away. If you leave Bluetooth on all the time on your phone the app doesn’t always connect. Also, if you’re a guitar player, try wearing the metronome on your fretting arm. I find that much easier to follow. For me, vibration is the least offensive medium for a metronome. This is a fantastic product. I thoroughly recommend it.

I bought the device and followed all instructions, but the device didn't glow orange when it was charging like it was supposed to. Instead it was lit up in both green and orange. This told me something was wrong. I managed to power it up once but then it died and wouldn't turn on again, so i sent it back. With my replacement, the charging still didn't look right. Now it was pulsing, but in orange and green - again, not what it supposed to do according to the video. However i managed to get it turned on and paired briefly. However when i turned the dial to increase the BPM, the screen showed an increased BPM, but the vibrations stayed at the same speed. Then it refused to connect to my device at all. Then it stopped turning on. The reset button didn't do anything either. So the second one got returned too. Really bad product. I wish i had seen these reviews before i bought it.

First impression is that this is highly overpriced. However, you are paying for innovative technology and for the well considered design and function of this wearable vibrating metronome. Also, customer support is excellent, which I value as much as the product itself, (possibly more!). The 'watch' is designed to be used with the Sounbrenner App, which was essential for me to use to train my brain to sync with the vibrating pulse. I'm a violinist and initially had difficulty coordinating bowing with the vibrating pulse. But using the App with audio along with the vibrating and flashing Sounbrenner, I soon felt a natural connection with the vibration and was able to play comfortably without App audio or flashing LEDs. The App allows you to store metronome settings for each song in your repertoire which are stored in a Library, and you can easily increase and decrease metronome tempo by 1bpm or larger increments by turning the dial on the watch. The size of the watch is comparable to a large dial wrist watch, and looks good even if it feels like cheap plastic. The wrist strap feels like flimsy silicone and I have doubts about its durability. The Sounbrenner replacement strap and accessories are horrendously expensive for what they are. It feels like you're paying for the Soundbrenner brand. (I've already worked out a very cheap way of replacing the strap, if, and when required, as I refuse to pay silly prices for what is very inexpensive to manufacture). Aside from the actual materials used in manufacturing of the watch, it is definitely a useful tool for musicians. Most musicians dislike metronomes because of the irritating sound. Well, Sounbrenner eliminates that irritation and makes it a breeze to integrate metronome with daily practice. The reality is that our audiences know instinctively when tempo is irregular and they appreciate when tempo and articulation of notes is accurate. The Soundbrenner does improve performance. When we practice without accompaniment or rhythmic beat then we develop bad habits by becoming lazy about tempo which can be difficult to correct. Sounbrenner really does help to establish and maintain good habits that develip good musicianship. I've awarded 4 stars simply because Sounbrenner is overpriced and therefore makes it unaffordable for many people, especially those on low incomes.

Absolutely fantastic, for someone studying at the Royal Conservatiore and struggles due to Dyslexia to follow the sound of traditional metronome, this baby actually works awesome. When playing the trumpet I can feel the beat on the soft, medium and hard setting. It even flashes different colours of different beats which is cool. Easy to turn on and off and you are able to tap beat on watch without the use of the phone. I currently use it for practice purposes so I can get to grips with new repertoire quicker. I feel this is a real game changer for me, and my teacher have found my playing is more accurate.

I really wanted to like this but it is just too poorly made, especially for the price. I've only had it a few weeks and there's just a catalogue of trouble. There is not just one recurring problem, but one problem after another. As mentioned in other reviews, the unit is sometimes "erratic" (doesn't give a constant pulse). Yesterday the unit became "frozen" (the outer ring was lit as was the inner logo). It wouldn't respond to my touch or to the app so I couldn't turn it off and had to wait for the battery to run down so that I could recharge it and reboot it to get it working again. I use this with a big band for setting the tempos and we have probably in the region of 70 tunes in the pad all of which are preprogrammed in the app. I've been using the app without the Soundbrenner Pulse for sometime without problems however after buying the Soundbrenner Pulse, at the first rehearsal the app had set all the songs to start at 120bpm, and when I tried loading a song into the app the app just crashed. I was horrified at the thought of having to re program 70 tunes back into the app but fortunately when I got home I uninstalled the app (nothing else I could do because it was now unusable) and reinstalled. Fortunately when I reinstalled all the tunes were there at the correct tempo. This is marketed as a professional tool, however to be that it has to be reliable and short term use has shown me it is anything but reliable. It's little more than a toy for the curious at best. It's a shame because it has potential (I for one find the vibration just fine for keeping time to). My other gripe are the straps it comes with. The instructions say place it on a part of the body that is not moving. I'm a drummer, so my legs and arms are constantly moving. On the app there is a picture of someone with the unit on a chest strap, that would be ideal however the unit comes with a wrist strap and a slightly bigger wrist strap??? The bigger strap perhaps may go round your bicep or ankle, but that's it. Where's the chest strap as seen in the app? Where's the thigh strap that John Robinson is using in the promotional video?

I so badly wanted this to be a great product. At £90+ it isn't cheap for something that vibrates and lights up. I've been using it for almost a month and can't say that it's any better than a normal metronome for developing your timing. The only benefit I've seen is that you can practice your timing without needing to bother other people with an annoying click. You do need to use it with the app to really get the benefits of its full functionality but I can't say that I prefer it to my old fashioned pendulum style metronome. The quality of the strap could be better, but I like the feel and look of the unit that sits in the strap. Again, I really wanted this to be better than it is.

bought as gift for my son who is a professional musician. he seems happy so far with this. I am tentative over whether it will endure regular use over time, partly through reading some reviews, as i am aware of its novelty appeal, but so far after 2 months all is good and has been regularly used.