Enter the tempo of your track. The table below instantly shows the corresponding delay time in milliseconds for each note division—normal (straight), dotted (1.5×), and triplet (2/3). Click copy to paste any value directly into your DAW or hardware unit.
- Quarter note
- 500.0 ms
- Frequency
- 2.00 Hz
| Note value | Normal (ms) | Dotted (ms) | Triplet (ms) |
|---|
Dotted = 1.5× the straight value (adds half). Creates a “galloping” rhythm. Triplet = ⅔ the straight value (three in the space of two). Creates a shuffle feel.
How to Calculate Delay Time from BPM
The relationship between tempo and time is governed by a single formula. One beat (quarter note) occupies a duration of:
tquarter = 60,000 / BPM (milliseconds)
At 120 BPM, one quarter note lasts exactly 500 ms. Every other note value is a rational multiple of this base: a half note is 2×, an eighth note is ½×, a sixteenth is ¼×, and so on. Dotted notes add half the value again (multiply by 1.5), and triplet notes compress three notes into the space normally occupied by two (multiply by ⅔).
This arithmetic is simple, but doing it in your head while mixing is not. Having a reference table eliminates guesswork and ensures that every delay repeat falls exactly on a rhythmic subdivision of the beat.
Why Tempo-Synced Delays Sound Better
A delay effect produces discrete echoes at fixed intervals. When those intervals align with the musical pulse, the echoes reinforce rhythmic patterns in the arrangement—they become part of the groove rather than fighting against it. An un-synced delay, even one that is only 10–20 ms off, produces echoes that drift progressively further from the beat with each repeat, creating rhythmic smearing that muddies the mix and obscures transient detail.
The perceptual impact is most dramatic on percussive or rhythmically tight material: vocals with precise phrasing, staccato guitar parts, or electronic sequences. On ambient or pad-like sources, the effect is subtler, and deliberate de-synchronisation can even be desirable for a more diffuse, textural quality.
Choosing the Right Note Value
- 1/4 (quarter note): the most musically neutral delay. Each echo falls on the next beat. Clean, predictable, commonly used for vocal throws and dub-style delays.
- Dotted 1/8: the most popular creative delay setting. The offset timing fills the gaps between straight eighth notes, producing a three-against-two polyrhythmic pattern. Signature sound of The Edge (U2), many ambient producers, and modern pop vocals.
- 1/8 (eighth note): tighter doubling effect. Useful for thickening guitars and creating a slapback feel at faster tempos.
- 1/16: very short at most tempos. Creates a rapid doubling or chorus-like thickening rather than audible echoes.
- 1/32 and 1/64: primarily useful for reverb pre-delay. Setting a reverb’s pre-delay to a 1/32 or 1/64 value separates the dry signal from the onset of reverb, preserving clarity and transient definition while keeping the reverb rhythmically aligned.
Modulation Effects and Tempo
Chorus, flanger, and phaser effects are driven by an LFO (low-frequency oscillator) with a rate typically measured in hertz. Converting that rate to a musical note value ensures the modulation cycle completes in sync with the bar. For a subtle effect, set the LFO rate to a whole note (1/1); for a more obvious movement, try a half note (1/2). To find the rate in hertz: Hz = 1000 / ms.
Using This Chart with Hardware
Most modern DAW plugins offer built-in tempo sync, but hardware delay pedals, rack units, and analog tape delays typically accept delay time only in milliseconds. This calculator eliminates the manual conversion step. Tap-tempo features on hardware units may also introduce small timing inaccuracies; entering the precise millisecond value from this chart guarantees exact synchronisation.