Producer tool
Delay time calculator
Set your tempo and read the delay time for every note value in milliseconds. Sync a delay or a reverb pre-delay to one of these and the echoes lock to the groove instead of smearing across the beat.
| Note | Normal (ms) | Dotted (ms) | Triplet (ms) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/2 Half | – | – | – |
| 1/4 Quarter | – | – | – |
| 1/8 Eighth | – | – | – |
| 1/16 Sixteenth | – | – | – |
Dotted is 1.5× the note; triplet is two thirds of it.
How is delay time calculated from BPM?
A tempo-synced delay uses the length of a note as its delay time. A quarter note lasts 60000 divided by the tempo in milliseconds, so at 120 BPM a quarter note is 500 ms. Halve that for an eighth, halve again for a sixteenth, or double it for a half note. A dotted value multiplies by 1.5; a triplet multiplies by two thirds.
A dotted eighth (375 ms at 120 BPM) is the go-to rhythmic delay, since its repeats fall between the straight eighths for a galloping bounce. A quarter-note delay feels open and spacious, and a sixteenth stays tight against the beat. Feed the same times into a reverb pre-delay to keep tails out of the way of the transient.
Generate modern music as MIDI
Songen generates royalty-free loops in over 50 modern styles, the lead, chords, bass and drums as editable MIDI. Build the track, then dial these delay times in when you mix. Music generator for beat makers.