Delay Time Calculator — BPM to ms, Dotted & Triplet, LFO Hz
| Note | Straight | Dotted | Triplet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/1 | |||
| 1/2 | |||
| 1/4 | |||
| 1/8 | |||
| 1/16 | |||
| 1/32 | |||
| 1/64 |
Click any value to copy the milliseconds. The small number is the matching LFO rate in Hz.
Pure math — runs in your browser, works offline, nothing is sent anywhere.
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Every modern DAW syncs a delay to the project tempo with one click — until you meet a guitar pedal, a hardware unit or a plugin that wants milliseconds. That’s what this table is for: type a BPM (or tap it), click a value, paste it into the ms field. Straight, dotted and triplet for every note from a whole bar down to 1/64 — plus the matching LFO rate in Hz for tremolo, auto-pan, chorus and anything else that wobbles.
Why sync a delay to the tempo at all
A delay repeats. If the repeats land between the beats, they smear the groove and fight the next
note; if they land on the grid, the echo becomes part of the rhythm and the mix stays clean. The
math is one line: a quarter note lasts 60000 / BPM milliseconds — at 120 BPM that’s 500 ms, and
every other note value is just that number doubled or halved. This page does the doubling for you.
Dotted vs triplet — what they’re actually for
A dotted note is 1.5× longer than the straight one. The dotted eighth is the classic "galloping" delay — the U2 / Pink Floyd throw that fills the space between beats without stepping on them. A triplet is ⅔ of the straight value: it pulls the repeats onto a three-against-two grid, which reads as shuffle or swing. Rule of thumb: dotted makes a part feel wider, triplet makes it feel bouncier. When in doubt, start with a dotted eighth on vocals and guitars and a straight quarter on big ambient throws.
The LFO column
The small Hz number under each ms value is 1000 / ms — the rate an LFO must run at to complete
one full cycle per that note. Set a tremolo to the 1/8 value and it pulses with the eighths; set
an auto-filter to 1/1 and it breathes once per bar. Same table, second life.
The one delay you should NOT sync
Slapback — the short single repeat on rockabilly vocals and country guitars — is an acoustic effect, not a rhythmic one. It lives around 75–140 ms regardless of tempo, below the threshold where the ear separates the repeat from the source. Dial it by feel, not by the table.
What about reverb?
Reverb timing is a deeper story — a short bus and a long bus, pre-delay, decay lengths in bars, what to send where. We’re building a dedicated reverb assistant for exactly that; until it ships, one honest starting point: keep the short reverb’s pre-delay around 10–25 ms regardless of tempo, and sync the long reverb’s pre-delay to roughly a 1/32 from the table above.
Made by a band, for people who make music. Don’t know the tempo of the track you’re matching? Run it through our BPM Finder — it fills this calculator in one click. While you’re here, have a listen to ours, or check a finished mix with the LUFS meter.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the formula for BPM to milliseconds?
A quarter note lasts 60000 / BPM ms (there are 60 000 ms in a minute, and BPM counts quarter notes per minute). Every other value derives from it: an eighth is half of that, a half note is double, a dotted value is ×1.5, a triplet is ×⅔. At 120 BPM a quarter is 500 ms, a dotted eighth is 375 ms, a triplet eighth is about 167 ms.
When should I use a dotted delay instead of a straight one?
When you want the repeats to fill the space between the beats instead of doubling them. The dotted eighth is the classic pick for vocals and guitars — it gallops around the groove without stepping on it. Straight values reinforce the rhythm; triplets push it towards shuffle/swing.
What is the Hz column for?
It's the same note expressed as an LFO rate: 1000 / ms. Use it to set tremolo, auto-pan, chorus or filter wobble so one full cycle lands exactly on a note value — 1/8 pulses with the eighths, 1/1 breathes once per bar.
What delay time should I use for slapback?
Around 75–140 ms, and don't sync it to the tempo. Slapback imitates a close reflection — an acoustic effect, not a rhythmic one — so it stays in that window at any BPM. Set it by ear.
Should reverb pre-delay be synced to BPM too?
Partly. A short reverb's pre-delay mostly serves clarity — keep it around 10–25 ms regardless of tempo. A long reverb breathes with the track, so syncing its pre-delay to roughly a 1/32 works well. We're building a dedicated reverb assistant that handles both buses properly.
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