The BEATLAB mini is a pocket metronome and rhythm trainer aimed squarely at drummers and percussionists. Beyond keeping time it listens to what you play through a contact microphone and grades how tightly you sit against the click. Practice tools, tuning references and a stopwatch all live in one small unit.
A click you can shape
Tempo runs from 30 to 300 beats per minute, set by pendulum steps, full steps or tapping it in. You can pick beat groupings up to nine, including split fives and sevens such as 5 (3+2) and 7 (4+3). Rhythm subdivisions cover quarters, eighths, triplets and quadruplets, with variants that drop selected inner notes. Four click voices are on hand, from mechanical and electronic tones to spoken male and female counts.
Practise against a grade
Clip the supplied contact microphone to a pad or drum and the trainer scores your accuracy. Three training modes are available, two spoken and one sounded. Grades run 1 to 6. Trigger sensitivity has 30 steps, so a quiet practice pad and a loud snare can both be read properly.
Reference pitches for drum tuning
Sound Out plays a steady reference note so you can match heads by ear. Pitches span C4 to B4 in twelve tone equal temperament, accurate to within a cent. Calibration shifts in single hertz steps between 438 and 445 Hz if the rest of the band is not sitting at concert A.
Timer and stopwatch built in
Rehearsal blocks and stage sets are easier to manage with the timer, which counts up to 99 minutes. The stopwatch resolves to a tenth of a second. Both run independently of the click.
Built for the gig bag
At 82 mm square and 97 g, it disappears into a stick bag pocket. Two AAA batteries give roughly 30 hours at a typical setting. A headphone jack keeps the click private, while the built in speaker covers quieter practice at home.
See it in action
Specifications
| Metronome tempo range | 30 - 300 beats per minute (bpm) |
|---|---|
| Tempo setting | Pendulum step, full step, tap tempo |
| Beat | 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5 (3+2), 5 (2+3), 6, 7, 7 (4+3), 7 (3+4), 8, 9 |
| Rhythm | Quarter, eighth, triplets, triplets with inner beat omitted, triplets with the third beat omitted, quadruplets, quadruplets with middle beats omitted, quadruplets with the third and fourth beats omitted |
| Voice | Mechanical metronome, electronic metronome, male voice metronome, female voice metronome |
| Pattern | Snare x 23, ride cymbal x 1, son clave x 2, rumba clave x 2, bossa nova clave x 2 |
| Tempo accuracy | +/- 0.2 % |
| Training modes | Female voice mode, male voice mode, sound mode |
| Grade | 1 - 6 |
| Trigger sensitivity | 1 - 30 |
| Sound Out reference pitch | 12 tone equal temperament, C4 - B4 (C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B) |
| Calibration range | 438 - 445 Hz (1 Hz steps) |
| Reference pitch precision | +/- 1 cent or better |
| Timer range | 1 - 99 minutes |
| Stopwatch setting range | 0.1 second - 99 minutes 59.9 seconds |
| Connectors | TRIGGER jack (6.3 mm monaural phone jack), PHONES jack (3.5 mm stereo mini phone jack) |
| Speaker | Dynamic speaker (23 mm, max. 0.5 W) |
| Power supply | Two AAA batteries (alkaline or nickel metal hydride) |
| Battery life | Approximately 30 hours (tempo 120, beat 4, rhythm quarter, voice 1, using alkaline batteries) |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 82 x 82 x 27 mm / 3.23" x 3.23" x 1.06" |
| Weight | 97 g / 3.42 oz (including batteries) |
| Included items | Contact microphone, two AAA batteries for verifying proper operation |
Specifications from Korg. Appearance and specifications are subject to change without notice.
