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I have a nice wittner which seems to slows down and lose precision around and below 60 bpm afer a while. It seems however that above 100 bpm works fine.

  • How could I be sure that it works correctly (i.e. the beat is steady and even)?

  • How could I fix it in case it is not perfect?

  • Can it be fixed?

  • Has anyone had or noticed the same problem with mechanical metronomes?

N.B the metronome is new from the shop and it never fell or sustained any damage since I had it (about a month).

Thanks.

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  • 3
    Take it back for exchange.
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Feb 23, 2020 at 18:00
  • 1
    Of course you can compare it aginst an electronic one as in a smartphone app.
    – guidot
    Commented Feb 23, 2020 at 19:06
  • My mechanical metronome died about 15 years ago. I replaced it with a Seiko electronic metronome. Its primary advantages are that the tick sound can be turned all the way down, leaving the only the flashing tempo indicator, and that it can also generate an A 440 tone for tuning.
    – Francis Phillips
    Commented Feb 23, 2020 at 19:28
  • If it is this new and did not fell maybe it is covered by warranty you may claim at your dealer, or at their site (wittner-gmbh.de). If pure mechanical, working similar to a watch which rate is adjustable, a local watchmaker could replace the spring, etc.
    – Buttonwood
    Commented Feb 23, 2020 at 22:07
  • I'd suggest exchanging your clockwork metronomes for an electronic one. I had a mechanical one for years - but it developed a limp, so the ticks weren't evenly spaced. Electronic ones are more portable, more accurate, more versatile. In fact, I can't think of any advantages a mechanical metronome has over an electronic one.
    – Brian THOMAS
    Commented Feb 24, 2020 at 12:52

2 Answers 2

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Mechanical metronomes tend to slow down as the spring runs down and the amplitude of the pendulum swing reduces.

This is likely to be more significant at a slow tempo simply because the pendulum is getting fewer "pushes" per minute to keep it going.

The clockwork mechanism is usually quite simple and easy to clean, but if you are tempted to try oiling it, only use non-acidic "clock oil," not something you bought cheaply to stop a door hinge squeaking - and don't go anywhere near it with a can of WD-40!

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By lifting the left or right side of a mechanical metronome you can alter the ratio of the left-to-right and right-to-left timings.

The amount of sideways inclination needed to compensate for the metronome's mistakes, however, may vary with speed, so you you may find that, e.g. by placing a piece of cardboard under the right side of the metronome you can get it to play precisely at MM=40, but at 30 or 50 BMP there will be some amount of error.

Anyway I suggest you give it a try -- try placing the metronome on a surface that you can tilt sideways, and see if you can find a position that makes it work well enough for your needs.

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  • True, but the OP is asking about speed accuracy, not loss of uniformity
    – Carl Witthoft
    Commented Feb 24, 2020 at 16:49
  • You're right, but I hope this point is somewhat related and might be useful to someone anyway.
    – MMazzon
    Commented Feb 24, 2020 at 20:55

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