Mehcanical metronome losing precision
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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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!
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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