What metronome do you use?

what i'm going to say is obvious, but somebody's gotta say it: you don't really have to buy one, there's free ones on the internet. try some different ones and see which one works for you. also, don't forget drum tracks on youtube, which is more fun than a metronome.

but as far as one to buy, i ain't got a clue.

as to using one: start slower than you think you should.

 

I have a small wind-up one I sometimes use.
I have a metronome app' on my phone I use more often.
Mainly I play along with a drum/rhythm machine (can plug guitar directly in, and use headphones). As 'thunderbyrd' said - much more fun this way. There are drum synthesizer programs (e.g. Hydrogen) that will get you there.

 

If you have a smartphone then absolutely just look for free metronomes, they all do the job well.

If you have any smart-assistant tech (Amazon Alexa, Google, Apple Siri) then that works even better. I have an Amazon Echo in my music room with a 'skill' (Alexa's version of apps) of a metronome and I simply announce 'Alexa, open my metronome at 100 BPM' and boom ... I get my metronome beat.

 

I use a drum machine. For me it has the advantage of 1) providing a style which affects how I play songs, 2) keeping in sync with the progression by having fills at the end of patterns.

Even when I'm practicing scales/patterns/etc... I just select s straight ahead beat.

 

I have inherent bad timing, so I needed one and went through a bunch until I found the Korg KDM-2. I brought it to band practice to help out the group with a weird timing song and then others bought the same one for their home practice. It does almost everything and has visual and audible feedback. The best part for me is the light changes color on the first beat of the measure to help keep me going. Volume of the sound is adjustable too. A bit pricey, but worth every penny to me.