Fully Restored Vintage Seth Thomas Metronome No 10 Mid 1970s Birdseye Golden Maple, Serviced, Solid Brass Trim

This is a beautiful, fully serviced, all-original, Vintage Seth Thomas wind-up Metronome Model #10. It is a real treasure to find and was made in the 1970s, but Seth Thomas started producing metronomes in the late 1800's. They are known for their high-quality clocks, and their quality shows in the performance and beauty of this metronome! The wood has a nice honey maple birdseye grain throughout the front, left side, and back, it really is visually stunning. This restored metronome runs strong like it was brand new. It is complete with no missing parts, and a solid case with no loose parts, or splits - even has the felt feet pads that are solidly attached to the bottom to avoid loss. Beautifully restored, calibrated and lubricated. Case is in excellent condition with the finish having a few tiny bumps on the top peak. You might be able to see this if you look just right in the light and might be visible in the pictures, but they are not detracting in my opinion. Despite this, you will still probably not find another one of these this old in this nice of condition with the movement already serviced. Those few sellers that actually perform this detailed movement service will say so in their listings. The case looks to be solid light maple or birch wood and finish layer has a pretty warm golden glow throughout, with the cover door being a perfect match to the rest of the case. The original gloss shine is retained in the finish which you see in the close-up pictures.

Seth Thomas and other manufacturers used solid birchwood, NO veneers in their metronome constructions. As such, the sound is crisp and not dampened if it were to have a coating of veneer over the solid birch wood case. I believe it is best to keep these instruments all-original to ensure they produce the sound quality the manufacturer intended when they were originally designed.

It has a mint condition, all-metal signed "ST" in a diamond beat scale with the numbers are still perfectly readable. I doubt this metronome was used much. The metal pendulum stick shows no wear, no rust or tarnish, and it still functions perfectly with the adjustment of the sliding counterweight which stays in place where set. Beware of metronomes with the slide weight all the way at the bottom as it might mean it doesn't grip properly. The nice-looking plaque on the front is made of solid brass and signed in fancy old English script, "Seth Thomas", and the Made in USA movement runs like new. The round winding key protector disk on the right side of the case does say Made in the USA along the bottom like it does on all # 10 metronomes. It has a wide, very visual pendulum swing with its original chrome plated sliding weight to adjust the tempo and a very even, loud ticking sound as it runs. Only a classic mechanical metronome produces the solid and desirable "wood block" ticking sound.

The brass movement was just cleaned, adjusted and oiled, saving you over $175 over other "as found" metronomes. The movement's condition is actually more important to a musician than the look of the exterior case. Note the lack of lint and built-up grease and dirt on the close-up picture of my metronome movements that you might find on other seller's metronomes described as being in very good working condition (if you are lucky to even get a close-up picture of the movement). Not many of the other metronomes you may find elsewhere get the proper kind of servicing of the movement and you may soon have issues with those other metronomes that have not been serviced. This is a labor-intensive service where the entire movement was disassembled, cleaned, each gear was inspected for damage, pivots polished, hard brass bushings added where needed (pressed in from the inside of the movement), mainspring removed, cleaned and lubricated, and re-assembled. This was done for you so you can enjoy it right away rather than waiting on a repair shop. After cleaning, the entire movement was oiled with synthetic clock oil, and then tested. It will not need cleaning again for about 10 to 20 years. Everything remains original to this movement to preserve its antique value, including the mainspring to maintain accurate time keeping between windings. The mainspring barrel in this particular one does have a slipping clutch designed to slip after 9 full turns to help prevent overwinding, and although it's possible to wind it up more than 9 turns, it's not necessary to get a long run time per winding. You should have trouble free service for many years if the winding instructions are followed on the printed instructions. This instrument was also put in even beat and just calibrated to be most accurate at 120 and 160 beats per minute and will run for about 3500 beats per full winding. The beat is loudest and most even when kept wound up. Its accuracy is within +4% at 40, +2% at 80 and 0% at 160 and 0% at 200 BPM, an excellent calibration at all tempos for a mechanical metronome, one of the best. Mechanical metronomes are not as accurate at all tempos and should not be compared to an electronic or digital one. It keeps an even beat whether the sliding weight is set to 40 or 208 - a challenge to find in other metronomes described as "working perfectly".

Has an original dust cover door that fits well over the opening. It is important to have one and put the cover on after use to keep dust out in storage. Stay away from metronomes sold elsewhere without this cover. Has an original, spring steel latch that holds the door securely closed, and two steel pins on the bottom that fit in the base of the metronome. Has a 100% complete instruction label on the cover, which is completely readable and firmly attached, showing slight aging, the label being the original one and correct for this movement type. This one is rare to have an instruction label, many are torn or missing by now, or the entire cover is missing. The winding key is original, and it has the original brass ring next to the case under the key to protect the finish. Even the tiny finish nails holding the brass hardware are brass and all original! All exterior brass parts have been polished to look like new and re-lacquered to prevent tarnish. The bottom cover is made of plastic, original, with a good, but faded model #10 label there and the label containing the date of servicing inside. Some of these covers are even lost by now, so it is rare to have the bottom cover present. Newer metronomes like this have plastic bottom covers, older metronomes have bottom covers made of thicker wood -- please see my other listings if this is important to you. The metronome measures about 8 3/4 inches high (as measured from the original feet to the very top tip) and 4.5 inches wide.

Many music teachers recommend the mechanical metronome due to its visual swinging pendulum similar to the way the music conductor moves his or her hands. It is easier to anticipate the downbeat when seeing this action out of the corner of your eye. I can personally attest to that fact, for a metronome very much like this one is helpful to me as a musician in the Livingston Symphony Orchestra during my individual practice sessions. This metronome must have been cherished its entire life, and it is looking for a new home on your piano or organ, and most of all, it runs great! Perfect for the collector, or for music lessons. This would also make a great present!

If you are looking to purchase a Maelzel type metronome to use in your own music practice sessions, you have come to the right place! My restored metronomes keep an even beat when put on a level surface whether the sliding weight is set to 40 or 208 - a challenge to find in other metronomes described as "working perfectly". Note that I'm also a musician in the Livingston Symphony Orchestra who uses a mechanical metronome, so I know what it takes to properly service a metronome for daily use by a musician. I have yet to find a clock repair horologist that does BOTH the professional repair of mechanical metronomes AND actually use a mechanical metronome for their own music practicing.

This is a premium metronome, unmatched by anything made today. The newer ones from Germany or France being made now or within the last decade or so, tend to use plastic in the movement and/or case and feel cheap. Those ones are not built to last and are not able to be fully disassembled for servicing in the future. Also, with their plastic gears having their mainsprings enclosed in plastic barrels, those cannot be lubricated without eventually damaging the plastic. This American made Seth Thomas metronome listed here is for one made of all wood, brass and steel, with only the bottom cover being thick plastic.

These vintage metronomes amaze me, they are built to last - can you imagine any other mechanical consumer product still working well after 40 or more years? The truly amazing thing is with proper care they will work easily for another 100 years, as these movements are made to be serviced as easily or easier as other American clocks from long ago! There are no plastic parts in these movements, only brass plates and gears with steel pinions, pivots and arbors. They hold their value and are an excellent investment to add to your collection and estate. No Seth Thomas clock collection is complete without one of these metronomes by this famous clock maker.

Note, I have listed this at a price point to reflect the quality of the restoration work and investment. I have sold a number of these on a couple of different websites and know what it takes to properly service and restore one of these. This is important when you consider most metronomes you currently find listed have never been cleaned, calibrated and/or have an uneven beat, and show tarnish on the brass parts -- those same ones often described as working well, but soon needing service. It would be a challenge to find a wood metronome in better cosmetic and mechanical condition than the one you are looking at now. Thank you in advance for your business. From a smoke and pet free home.