Korg KDM-3 Owner’s Review – How Good Is It?

Digital metronomes have been becoming more and more popular in recent years. I personally hadn’t used any Korg products outside of keyboards before purchasing the Korg KDM-3 metronome. I have been trying out a ton of different tools for rhythm building and this one caught my eye.

Korg has been a quality name in music since 1957 and they have put out some seriously popular gear. I have owned many products by them including their ever famous MicroKorg synthesizer and now their newest metronome.

My opinion is that the Korg KDM-3 is a great metronome for the serious or not so serious pianist. From the look to the way it works, I was pleasantly surprised since it comes at a pretty cheap price. The style of this is what caught my eye as it resembles the traditional pendulum looking mechanical metronomes. Below I will go into detail on what I liked and disliked about this product and present you with alternative options.

Performance

The performance on this metronome is very nice as the speaker was one thing that really stood out to me. The speaker is very loud and pristine sounding.

Tempo range is another thing that jumps out at me as it has the wide range of 30-252 bpm making sure that it can cover any tempo for any song that you could possibly want to be practicing.

There are 19 different beat patterns and 8 completely different metronome sounds. I like this feature as most products I have used previously just gave me the same annoying beeping sound that I listened to for over 10 years of practice.

Having different sounds will freshen up practice a little bit as you will most likely be changing it up quite frequently for your brain’s sake.

I recently did a full review of all of my favorite metronomes that I suggest you check out. This will explain to you the history and the uses of these tools.

Tap Tempo

This is a common feature found on synthesizers nowadays. It does exactly what it says it does. You basically just tap a tempo, and then it will start working at that tempo. I’ve always liked these as you can set it to whatever your mind desires. If you’re curious to what song a tempo is at you could always tap along to it and figure it out that way as well.

This is a new feature that companies are starting to add as it definitely has its own purposes in the rhythm world.

Appearance

The LED screen works great. I like when I have a screen that is easy to navigate and it shows exactly what you are doing. It is very simple to use and the volume knob is located on the side of it.

The Korg KDM-3 has a really cool traditional look that will take you back to the old days if you ever used an older metronome. Those will always have a special place in my heart as they were the first metronomes that I had used with my first instructor.

You can get it in brown or black depending on what color your keyboard is or what color you like more. I like the light-weight and portability of this product as I am able to simply transport it by putting it in a backpack. The durability is also nice as I don’t have to worry about it breaking very easily.

Specs

• Portability: Very portable
• Tuner: Yes
• Power: 4 triple A batteries
• Weight: .37 pounds
• Screen: Led screen
• Speaker: Yes, very powerful speaker

Features

• 8 different metronome sounds
• Calibration range: A4 = 410Hz–480Hz
• Led flashing indicators if you need to be quiet
• 19 different beat patterns (duplets, triplets)
• Timer
• Natural wood design
• 1/8″ headphones output for quiet practice

Overall

Overall, I think this is a quality product for a nice price. Just because Korg specializes in keyboards doesn’t mean they can’t make a mean metronome. I think every year there has been some nice improvements to add and Korg definitely didn’t slip up with this.

The one thing that it doesn’t have is Bluetooth technology, but I only know of one so far that does and that is the Soundbrenner Pulse. This is cool since it literally vibrates on your wrist while you wear it.

The main thing that I pay attention to when using a metronome is that it’s loud and can be set to different rhythms. A lot of products don’t give you this option and it’s frustrating since you will come across some complex rhythms in your journey with the piano.

I believe this product gets the job done for all styles of music as it allows you to make rhythmic changes. I guess the main question you should ask yourself is what exactly you will be doing. If you are getting good at the piano, you might like something like this as it goes pretty in-depth for pianists.

Conclusion

I hope you like my opinion on the Korg KDM-3. If you feel like I missed anything, let me know below!