Type a BPM and see the delay times in milliseconds for every note value — quarter, eighth, dotted, triplet.
When a delay or reverb is set to a time that does not align with the tempo of the track, the echoes land between the beats and muddy the mix. Setting the delay time to a musically meaningful fraction of the beat — a quarter note, an eighth, a dotted eighth — keeps the effect rhythmic and the mix clean.
The math is simple: a quarter note at 120 BPM lasts 500 ms (60,000 / 120). A dotted quarter is 1.5 × that, a triplet is 2/3. This calculator gives you all the standard subdivisions at once so you can pick the one that fits.
Pre-delay on a reverb works the same way: a short pre-delay (10-30 ms) keeps the direct sound dry and pushes the reverb behind it, while a longer pre-delay in a rhythmic fraction can add a sense of space without blurring the attack.
Quarter note ms = 60,000 / BPM. Dotted = × 1.5. Triplet = × 2/3. Other subdivisions: whole = ×4, half = ×2, eighth = ×0.5, sixteenth = ×0.25.
A dotted note lasts 1.5× its undotted value. A dotted eighth note = 1.5 × eighth = 0.75 × quarter note.
Three notes in the space of two. A quarter-note triplet = 2/3 × quarter note.
For the pre-delay parameter, yes. For reverb decay time, use your ears — the right decay depends on the room size you are simulating.
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