A little help goes a long way. Find a tool/

Music

BPM Delay Calculator

Free BPM delay calculator: enter a tempo and get the delay time for every note value — 1/4, 1/8, dotted 1/8, 1/8T, 1/16 and more — in milliseconds, plus repeat rate in Hz for LFO sync. Runs in your browser.

YOUR WORKSPACEFree to use. No sign-up.
375 ms
Dotted 1/8 at 120 BPM — enter a tempo to sync your delays.

Deep dive guides

A LITTLE CONTEXT · 4 MIN READTempo-Synced Delay Times: The 60000/BPM Rule
All 4 related guides

How bpm delay calculator works

A delay timed to the tempo repeats in step with the track instead of swimming against it, and the math is one division: a quarter note lasts 60000 / BPM milliseconds. At 120 BPM that is 500 ms per beat; at 140 BPM it is about 428.6 ms. Every other note value is a fixed multiple of that beat — a dotted note is 1.5x, a triplet is 2/3, a half note is 2 beats and a sixteenth is a quarter of a beat.

Enter any tempo from 1 to 1000 BPM and the tool fills a table with the delay time for 16 note values, from a whole note down to a 1/32T, each in milliseconds rounded to two decimals. It also shows each division's repeat rate in Hz — the same number a tempo-synced LFO wants — because a delay of 375 ms and an LFO rate of 2.6667 Hz are the same tempo-locked fact seen from two sides.

The dotted 1/8 is the classic starting point: at 120 BPM it lands on exactly 375 ms, the rhythm that defined countless U2 and trance delay throws. Set your delay's sync off, dial the ms value from the table, and the echo locks to the grid even on hardware without tempo sync.

Frequently asked questions

How is the delay time per note value calculated?
One quarter note lasts 60000 / BPM milliseconds. Each note value is a fixed number of beats: a 1/8 is 0.5 beats, a dotted 1/8 is 0.75 beats, a 1/8T (triplet) is 1/3 of a beat. Multiply the beat time by the note's beat count and you have the delay time — at 120 BPM, 0.75 × 500 ms = 375 ms for the dotted eighth.
Which delay time should I use?
A 1/4 or 1/8 delay keeps echoes on the grid and sounds tidy under vocals and lead lines. The dotted 1/8 creates the classic rolling, off-kilter push that works over straight guitar strumming or pads. Triplet values (1/8T, 1/4T) swing against straight rhythms, which is either the groove you want or mud — try both and trust the loop.
Can I use these times for reverb too?
Yes. Reverb pre-delay timed to a note value (often a 1/16 or 1/32) keeps the reverb tail from smearing the transient, and decay times roughly matched to a bar or half-bar keep long tails musically related to the tempo. The ms values are durations, so any time-based effect accepts them.
What is the Hz column for?
It is the repeat rate of each delay — 1 divided by the time in seconds. A dotted 1/8 at 120 BPM fires every 375 ms, which is 2.6667 times per second. Tempo-synced LFOs, tremolos and autofilters often want a rate in Hz rather than a note value, and this column saves that conversion.
Does this work for half-time or double-time feels?
Yes — just use the BPM that matches the feel you hear. A 100 BPM trap beat with a half-time hi-hat groove can be treated as 50 BPM for long, slow echoes; the table at 50 BPM gives those values directly. The math only cares about the pulse you want the echoes to follow.

Related tools

Music

Tap Tempo Calculator

Tap along with a beat to find its BPM — averaged intervals, median BPM and a steadiness read on your taps.

 Music

Note Frequency Calculator

Convert any note and octave to its exact frequency in Hz under equal temperament, with MIDI numbers and cents offsets.

 Music

Tone Generator

Play a pure tone in your browser by note or frequency — sine, square, sawtooth or triangle, 20 Hz to 20 kHz.

 Time

Stopwatch

Count-up stopwatch with lap and split times, plus fastest, slowest and average lap stats.