Calculate your delay time — and know which one to grab
Type your BPM and get straight, dotted and triplet delay times in milliseconds and Hz. Then pick the sound you’re after and we’ll point you straight to the right value, with reverb pre-delay and decay worked out too.
| Note value | Straight | Dotted | Triplet |
|---|
Reverb settings for this tempo
How to use these numbers
A tempo-synced delay sits in the groove. An off-grid one smears. Here’s how to put the table to work.
Match the BPM
Type your track’s tempo, or tap it in. Every value updates instantly. Not sure of the tempo? Use the BPM Tapper and bring the number back here.
Pick straight, dotted, or triplet
Straight feels locked and even. Dotted gives that bouncing, off-the-beat guitar delay. Triplets add swing. Copy the millisecond value into your delay’s time field.
Use Hz for modulation
Switch to Hertz when you’re setting an LFO, tremolo, or auto-pan rate on gear that uses frequency instead of note values. Same groove, different unit.
Set reverb to the tempo too
Use the short pre-delay to keep vocals clear, or the open one for space. The decay value fills one bar so the tail breathes with the track instead of fighting it.
One bar, every subdivision
This is what the table is doing: splitting one bar of 4/4 into note values. The wider the block, the longer the delay.
The Tempo & Delay Cheat Sheet
This calculator on one printable page — delay times for every common BPM, plus genre tempos, so you can keep it by the desk and never reach for a calculator mid-session.
- Delay times for every common BPM
- Tempo ranges for 16 genres
- The dotted-eighth and triplet values pros actually use
- Reverb pre-delay and LFO sync tricks
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Lock the whole groove
Delay is one tempo-synced effect. Here’s the rest of the timing toolkit.
Questions, answered
How do I calculate delay time from BPM?
A quarter note in milliseconds is 60000 divided by the BPM. Halve it for eighths, halve again for sixteenths. Dotted is the straight value times 1.5; triplet is times two-thirds. This tool does all of it instantly so you don’t have to.
What’s the difference between dotted and triplet delay?
A dotted eighth is longer than a straight eighth and creates that bouncing, between-the-beats feel heard on countless guitar and synth lines. Triplets divide the beat into three for a rolling, swung feel. Both are on the table above.
What is the Hz value for?
Some gear sets modulation by frequency rather than note value. The Hertz column gives you the LFO, tremolo, or auto-pan rate that matches each note value at your tempo, so modulation locks to the groove.
How should I set reverb pre-delay?
A short, tempo-synced pre-delay keeps the dry signal clear before the tail comes in, which helps vocals cut through. The tight and open values above give you a safe range for this tempo. Longer for space, shorter for clarity.
Is it free? Do I need an account?
Completely free, no signup to use the tool. Everything runs in your browser. The optional cheat sheet asks for an email so we can send it, nothing more.
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