Unnerved by the obtrusive ticking of a mechanical metronome, pianist Florian Simmendinger has developed a digital version of such a clock generator. The Soundbrenner Pulse is the first product of Hong Kong based startup Soundbrenner Ltd that has been launched a year ago by Simmendinger along with fellow musicians Julian Vogels and Vinh-Ngi Tiet.

“Why does the measure have always to be audible?” says Simmerdinger. “Technology offers so many more possibilities”. The Soundbrenner Pulse can be strapped to the wrist or ankle and emits vibration in the desired frequency. The speed can be either entered via the device’s user interface or programmed through a smartphone app.

The Soundbrenner app offers the option to distribute its measure to up to ten devices. Thus, all members of a music combo or orchestra can receive synchronous beats. The illuminated screen offers additional visual support for gigs taking place in a very noisy environment.

According to Soundbrenner, crowdfunding via Indiegogo greatly helped to make the device a success: “Already before it was available for sale, we had more than 2,000 advance orders, adding up to a sum of more than $200,000”, Simmerdinger said.