BPM to milliseconds: delay and reverb time calculator
Divide 60,000 by the BPM to get one quarter note in milliseconds. At 120 BPM a quarter note is 500 ms, an eighth is 250 ms, a dotted eighth is 375 ms, and an eighth-note triplet is 166.67 ms.
| Note | Straight ms | Dotted ms | Triplet ms | LFO Hz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole note (1/1) | 2000 | 3000 | 1333.33 | 0.50 |
| Half note (1/2) | 1000 | 1500 | 666.67 | 1.00 |
| Quarter note (1/4) | 500 | 750 | 333.33 | 2.00 |
| Eighth note (1/8) | 250 | 375 | 166.67 | 4.00 |
| Sixteenth note (1/16) | 125 | 187.5 | 83.33 | 8.00 |
| Thirty-second note (1/32) | 62.5 | 93.75 | 41.67 | 16.00 |
Times at 120 BPM.
The formula
A quarter note lasts 60000 ÷ BPM milliseconds. Halve it for an eighth, halve again for a sixteenth. A dotted note is one and a half times as long as the plain one, and a triplet is two thirds as long. The LFO column is the rate in hertz that completes one cycle per note: 1000 ÷ ms.
Which delay time to use
- Dotted eighth is the classic rhythmic delay on guitars and vocals: the repeats fall between the beats and fill the gaps.
- Quarter or eighth sits on the grid and thickens a part without adding a new rhythm.
- Reverb pre-delay set to a sixteenth or thirty-second keeps the dry sound clear before the tail arrives.
- Reverb decay tuned to a half or whole note lets the tail die away before the next bar starts.
Don't know the tempo? Drop the track into the key and BPM finder, or use the tap tempo page. More on setting delays in BPM to milliseconds for delay times.
Questions people ask
How do I convert BPM to milliseconds?
Divide 60,000 by the BPM. That is one beat, a quarter note, in milliseconds. At 128 BPM it is 468.75 ms.
What is a dotted eighth delay at 120 BPM?
375 ms. An eighth note at 120 BPM is 250 ms, and dotted means one and a half times as long.
How do I work out a triplet delay time?
Take the straight note's time and multiply by two thirds. An eighth-note triplet at 120 BPM is 250 × 2 ÷ 3, about 166.7 ms.