"Very detailed overview from a collegiate musician on a budget. This thing is GREAT!!!!!"

Feature:
If I had to choose between spending $70 for a metronome that does basically everything but the dishes as far as a serious, music schooling, career-in-performance-bound woodwind player is concerned, or $140 for a metronome that does essentially the same thing but talks... erm... well, I'd take the $70 metronome without much further thought. The DB-90 (which admitidly is pretty sweet) does do some cool things, but the option with the voice counter is kind of creepy and annoying. Give me clicks, or turn the stupid thing off. Why (WHY?!?!) would I pay $70 MORE for features I would likely never (or next to never) use? Ok...in all fairness, serious percussionists and teachers/sections leaders of indoor lines could probably benefit from the voice coaching of DB-90, since their instruments have a tendency to drown out or blend in with a metronome. But for wind players and vocalists in need of a good, solid metronome and rhythm/style trainer, DB-60 is just about all you need besides a good teacher, a working instrument and a tuner. Also, because of the style and beat grouping/writing feature, I think this could be a killer asset to a well-built Dalcroze Eurhythmics course for any age level. Nifty things that may or may not be mentioned but is a nice touch. First, comes with batteries, so you can play with it right away. Second, attached to the back of the metronome is a little stand. When closed, there's nothing to stick out and break off. It folds flat, and flush with the back of the metronome. Second, it comes in a cute little cloth dust bag for safekeeping. And I don't know if this is mentioned either, but while it's not technically a "pocket-sized" metronome, it practically is. To get an idea of the size, set two packs of standard-size playing cards beside each other, tall edge to tall edge. About the same thickness as a pack of cards too. Likely would fit in any instrument case's cover, besides that of some piccolo cases. And it's pretty lightweight.

Quality:
Product came without a stratch, mark, mar, or botched paint. Cosmetically, it arrived perfect. With my experiences with Boss' Dr. Beat line, I've always been impressed with the quality. My high school marching band used the old DB-66, and that thing got ran over by the podium one day at band camp, and, much to the kids' dismay, *ahem* it didn't miss a beat. While DB-60 is substancially smaller than DB-66, it feels like it has the same durable construction traits of DB-66, only in a smaller, classier, and dare I say it, more elegant way. I'm not going to go and back over it with my car to test my theory, but I think it would withstand normal use so long as you don't intentionally go out and try to destroy it to "test it's limits". Common sense is good. Using it is better. But I wouldn't fear this thing breaking from accidentally falling off a stand or something like that.

Value:
For the money you shell out for it, it's the best value for a metronome in it's price range. And honestly, I think it should be considered before some metronomes in higher price ranges. This puppy packs a wallup

Desirability:
It isn't the cutest metronome I've seen, but like I said before, it's pretty elegant. It's not the ipod of metronomes, but it's one of the classier setups I've seen lately. I love the blue buttons. DB-90's yellowish orange scheme reminds me of halloween. DB-60 has a balanced, proportional look to it, and the silver and light blue on the matte black finish looks sharp. I don't think I'll be displaying it on the mantle beside family photos anytime soon, but as far as gig equipment goes, I won't be embarassed to let people see this piece of equipment, either. It's a good, clean, metronome that to me makes the visual statement of "professionalism".

Sound:
For the money you spend on it, you can't beat it. It's got a nice, full-bodied click that can be adjusted volume-wise either as per note setting (quarter clicks off, soft, medium, loud; 8th etc.; 16ths, etc; triplets, etc.), or the volume can be adjusted overall through a wheel on the right side of the metronome. Even the meter accent has the individual adjustment, making different praticing techniques/rhythm training exercises possible, even without delving into the thing's extensive pattern list. My old digital metronome (Korg MA-20: old version of the blue pocket metronome out by Korg right now), while I do highly recommend it as a good starter student metronome, reminds me of a particularly annoying beaper going off. And it only got worse with subdivision settings or fast tempi. DB-60, even with pretty elaborate styles tapping at high speeds, has a tolerable tone quality that's piercing enough to stay heard, but not so piercing as to need half a bottle of asprin just to get through a practice session. If you're buying this for a someone who's serious about practicing, this metronome is very audiable without being painful to the ears. PS - it can be pretty loud, but I wouldn't count on it to be heard over anything the size of a quintet. It's perfect for a practice room, though!!!

Ease of Use:
It's pretty easy overall (and no, I'm not exactly a technical genious). Manual is pretty clear, but just play around with it for 15 minutes or so and you'll pretty much have it figured out. All the buttons on it are pretty big, well spaced out (no accidental pokings), and are clearly labeled with their immediate functions. Folks, I think a monkey could work the basics of it, given the time to play with it!

Overall:
I don't think I'll be replacing this thing until it dies, or I give it to a student who can't afford one but needs a good metronome. Boss' equipment takes it's good sweet time to wear out, and if I did give it away, I would probably replace it with the same exact thing. Like I said, it's a top-notch metronome.

"Excellent Tool from Boss (a.k.a. Roland)"

Feature:
Excellent control of volume for accent beat, 8ths, 16ths, or triplets. Each has 3 independent volume steps plus the overall volume dial. The visual LCD wand bounces back and forth with the beats and the two LED's on top show main beat and beat 1 separately. This is nice for checking live performance tempos without having the chirp in your ear bud.

Quality:
Pretty solid but I wish it was a metal shell instead of plastic. The unit even comes with 2 AA batteries ready for you to install.

Value:
Wish it was about $20 less.

Sound:
Sound is like an electronic "chirping" beep... but what metronome of this type doesn't sound like that? Sounds fine through speaker or headphones. Volume can be adjusted or turned off for just the visual sync.

Support:
It's made by Roland - solid company.

Overall:
The backlight also works well... important for a dimly lit stage setting.