Wittner MT50 Quartz Metronome

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List Price: $29.99
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• Tempo range: 40-208 beats per minute
• Beat indication: Click sound and light
• Standard pitch A440 reference
• Earphone included

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Wittner MT50 Pocket Metronome

Flick the switch on the right side, and it starts instantly. Slide the switch up for blinking LED and sound, off is the middle position, and down is for LED only. Turn the center knob to select the desired tempo. Use the included ear plug to better hear the sound while making music. Takes one 9v battery. Includes built-in stand.

Pros:

Will fit in many shirt pockets is about the size of a pack of cigarettes. Weighs only a few ounces, so there is no burden to carry it in your gig bag or instrument case.

Takes no more than a couple of seconds to select a tempo of 40 to 208. Knurled knob is just right for sure control.

Tuning note is a perfect A 440 according to my new Korg tuner.

Clicking of beat sound is an OK volume when there's no music being played.

Handy wire stand to hold unit in near-vertical position on a flat surface.

Wearing ear-piece provides reasonably audible sound. I can hear it while playing my trumpet, for example.

Cons:

The blinking LED is too faint to be of much use. Set it on your music stand while playing, and unless you have terrific peripheral vision or the unit is within inches of your sight line, you probably won't see the light. Other brands have much brighter LEDs.

The beat sound, although OK, is not as loud as other pocket metronomes my fellow musicians use. It's OK for small group tempo setting, but insufficiently loud to demonstrate tempo to a large band.

The ear-piece is useful while practicing on your own, but the volume could be a bit higher (and yes, my hearing is just fine). In any case, my antique wooden metronome with the swinging pendulum is much easier to follow, at least for me.

Basic, no frills device. A volume and brightness control would have been a big help. There are no beat (4/4, 2/4, 3/4 etc., where beat 1 is louder) choices. It doesn't shut off by itself.

Summary:

I bought it mostly to set the tempo for small groups I'm in, before we start a piece. For that, it works fine. However, having a weak LED and so-so beat sound, are pretty basic weaknesses. I wouldn't buy this one again.

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I prefer this very much to the electronic metronomes. This is my favorite metronome yet.It's simplicity of 1 switch and 1 dial make it fast to adjust and easy to use, and that is the key. Instead of futzing around with buttons to change timing signatures and BPM rates, you click the dial a notch and proceed with your next practice item.

The beat is a wood block sound, that works for me. It is louder than my electronic metronomes. Has an earpiece but I don't use that. Has a blinking LED I have no issue seeing that contrary to other reviews here.

I agree with everyone else that a volume control would be nice. That is the only reason I rated it 4 instead of 5.

I have other metronomes with timing siguatures that make the beat louder or different sound on a specific beat but frankly, I like this better.

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Over the last 50 years, I have had many metronomes. Everything from the old Seth Thomas wooden key wound, to the Wittner Mini-Taktell plastic key wound and the Super-Mini Taktel, and the Franz electric, and the Seiko quartz. They are all good, but time marches on, and the new Seiko has a volume control. It would be my choice, but the numbers are small and low contrast (very hard for my aging eyes to see). The Wittner MT50 pocket metronome has a strong enough beat to compete successfully with any of the above, it's loud enough to use at the piano, and the numbers are easy to read. I've never had a metronome with a volume control, but it sure would be a nice addition.

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I really like this metronome. It is compact and seems extremely well-made. A nice, solid feel when I pick it up. The dial is exceptionally simple to set just dial in your timing and turn on the switch. The click is just right for me I play guitar and the click is just the right volume to hear but not so loud it interferes with the guitar sound. A nice, woody block sort of click and not the annoying beep of other electronic metronomes. It's just perfect in my opinion affordable, attractive, compact, well-made and perfectly functional I give it 5 stars for my purposes and highly recommend it.

First: one 9-volt battery has lasted 3 years and is still going.

What's more, this metronome has become "it" for me. It's simple to operate (just a dial that's all!) and it's super-rugged. I've dropped mine on sidewalks, down several stair steps, I've sat on it.... but the case is such heavy, hard plastic, there's been no breaking it. (Don't throw yours down stairs I'm just saying...) It's LOUD. Like metronomes of 30 years ago, the old Franz German-made masterpieces that sounded like a hammer banging on a piece of wood (that's what the Franz metronomes did!). This metronome (size of cigarette pack) duplicates the sound of the old Franz boxes almost exactly. You can hear this thing all over my house.

My 2 cents about loudness: when you're using a metronome, in my opinion, you want to HEAR the thing, over your instrument. You give the majority of your listening to the metronome not to what you're playing. Otherwise, you drift. If you can "erase" the beat of the MT50, by playing exactly on the beat, you're a timing ace.

The little "tweet-tweet" metronomes aren't very good for serious time development. And when you buy a "tuner-metronome-effects pedal-pick holder" combination, you get the worst of all worlds. When I bought this Wittner MT50, that was it. Fast tempo selection, strong clack, unbelievable battery life, rugged as an oak log. Fits just about anywhere, and it's inexpensive! I'm very happy with this purchase, and if I lose it, I will absolutely buy another just like it.

My only gripe is that I wish the headphone plug were stereo. It's annoying to me when I can hear the beat in only one ear. Maybe I'm strange.