Feel The Beat

In search of a drummer-friendly metronome, Allan Leibowitz gets a feel for a new innovation.

- Allan Leibowitz

WHILE MANY MODULES have built-in metronomes, these aren’t always easy to use. Nor is a click track necessarily the best approach for all drummers.

Enter Soundbrenner, a wearable smart device that uses vibrations instead of the traditional clicks and sounds.

The device, a successful graduate of the Indiegogo crowd funding platform, made its debut at NAMM last year and is already getting into the hands, or more literally, onto the wrists of some big-name drummers, including a few who have been profiled in digitalDrummer.

The theory is that it’s easier to feel the beat than to hear it while you’re playing. But before we get into that, let’s examine what you get for your $99 with Soundbrenner.

What’s in the box

The Soundbrenner solution consists of a hardware and software package. The hardware, the Soundbrenner Pulse, is like an oversized electronic wristwatch. The Pulse currently ships with a charger unit and a choice of two straps – one for your wrist and the other being a larger strap for use on your forearm, for example. In theory, you could use the hardware as a stand-alone. You can initiate a 4/4 beat by tapping the Pulse three times and then increasing or reducing the tempo with the outer wheel. Simply double-tap to stop or start.

But the companion app, The Metronome by Soundbrenner, really takes the solution to the next level.