Guitar teachers insist that students use metronomes to learn how to keep the beat. The Sabine MetroTune Tuner and Metronome is my favorite because it emits a pleasant wood-block sound instead of a harsh electronic tick.
The Sabine MetroTune also has a big LCD display with a sweeping pendulum and color LED lights that flash on the beat. This is useful if you're playing in a noisy environment.
The tempo can be set from 40 to 216 beats-per-minute. Accented downbeats can be set from 1 to 7 beats per measure. For further flexibility, you can set the volume and plug in headphones.
The Sabine MetroTune's LCD display is also used when tuning instruments. The LCD shows the note and indicates whether your instrument is in tune or tuned too high or too low. The LCD lights assist in this function, too. They appear green when you're in tune, red when you're out of tune. There's a mic for acoustic tuning and a 1/4" input for electric instruments.
Another useful Sabine MetroTune feature is a tone generator that can be used for tuning and ear training.
All these features are great, but, honestly, it's the Sabine MetroTune's pleasant wood-block metronome sound that won me over.
