Donner Mechanical Metronome For Musicians, DPM-1

I received This Metronome today and was welcomed by both my boys and wife as a memory of what the boys teacher uses in her classroom and my wifes mother uses when she teaches piano to her students. Came quickly through Amazon shipment and all was fine. A little unboxing with the metronome and instructions. Briefly written in several languages. Not much to teach, very basic but practical and best of all, uses no power but a simple wind. When you get it there is a layer of plastic film covering the protective clear plastic plate that fits snugly over the mechanism that swings to protect it and to keep it clean. It’s actually not very heavy but heavy enough to keep it soundly when in operation. For those just opening, remember to take the bottom plug off. I have stashed mine in a safe place so if I want to transport I can reuse it to keep everything stable. The video will show it is quite loud, loud enough to hear it operating even when playing the piano. I feel like this was a good sound purchase to help the boys learn, even myself while playing the guitar. I tested it with my Electronic Seiko Metronome and both of them kept perfect time working in unison. At a reasonable cost I can’t see any reason anyone would not be thrilled to have one when and if you need it.

Why would you buy a mechanical metronome when today you have all kinds of electronic units with their bells and whistle?

Here are some reasons:

1) Electronic units have a very quiet output.
2) You would need to amplify them. That requires cabling and some kind of amplifier to move around and plug.
3) Some units are not easy to setup or operate.
4) Battery life can be short.

The Donner mechanical metronome has a penetrating and perfectly audible sound that lets you practice along with an acoustic or amplified instrument – for as long as it not at head-banging volume!

It can also be set to provide an alternate beat sound every 2,3,4,6 (or none) beats. That lets you set it up as a guide for a whole variety of time signatures like 2/4,3/4, 4/4, 6/8. 9/8. 12/8 etc.

The unit is well made and very easy to operate, just wind up, slide the weight to your desired tempo or subdivision (read the bpm along the upper edge of the weight) , select the type of alternate beat sound (or none) and that’s it. I bought the black unit, although there are other colors (red and white, I think).

It comes with a removable plastic stopper on the bottom of the unit that keeps the pendulum from swinging while transporting the unit. It should be kept in the box to be reused to help protecting the mechanism while transporting the unit.

The price for this product is very reasonable. Prices for mechanical metronomes go from obviously cheap, low-quality units costing a few dollars to units costing $150 or more.

The Donner mechanical metronome, priced slightly more than cheaper units, provides a very usable product.

Brilliant piece of music equipment at a good mid-range price

This is an excellent metronome for several practical reasons. It took me a few minutes to figure it out, it’s a little different from my previous metronome. Once I learned how to use it, I really appreciated the simple practicality of design.
The front lifts off and the metronome meter untucks from its at rest position. A simple, but integral part to starting the metronome is to simply click the switch on the bottom that acts almost like a ‘safety’. It has a place to wind it up on the side as well, of course.
After that, the weight on the meter slides up and down to set the speed. You can set it to ding to learn 2/4 4/4 etc timing along with speed (one of my favourite functions, soothing even to listen to).
It’s durable and easy to clean. Once the front plate is put on it doesn’t collect dust.
I was very impressed with the design. I have one of the really fancy expensive ones, I needed one for travel and teaching. This ended up being more practical ultimately than my expensive one and exceeded all expectations.
It’s durable, I knocked it off a tall shelf while cleaning and it still works perfectly and there weren’t any dings or scratches on it. Excellent quality.

Update!!! (Old review is below) So Donner contacted me after they saw my review and said they were sending a new replacement free of charge. They said there was no need to return the broken one. I was asked for my name and address and a telephone number but I told them that I wasn’t comfortable giving the info because it clearly states in the message through Amazon not to give out personal info. They sent a message back saying it was on its way. I got it a few days later and the weight has a slightly different design using screws to hold the back on instead of the stamp method that fell apart. I will give it 4 stars because it isn’t calibrated quite right. I will have to take some mass off of the weight to calibrate it so it is closer to the correct tempo when set to the markings on the meter plate. It is mechanical and I don’t think that it will ever be absolutely accurate but I like it because it’s easily accessible and fun to play to. Thanks Donner for standing behind your product!

I paid over $40 for this metronome thinking it would be worth the investment. I have only used it about three times and the weight has fallen apart so it doesn’t work. I’m a pretty handy guy so I tried to fix it but the way the weight is made it is impossible to get back together. So I ordered a replacement weight but it isn’t accurate now. I tried to calibrate the new weight but it is impossible because it needs weight added not subtracted. Just a big waste of time and money. I’ll stick to the metronome on my iPhone.