BPM to milliseconds: a delay and reverb time chart
Look up how long each note lasts at your song’s tempo and type the number straight into a delay or a reverb pre-delay. The chart prints on one page, and the formula below covers any tempo it doesn’t list.
| BPM | 1/2 | 1/4 | 1/4 dotted | 1/8 | 1/8 dotted | 1/8 triplet | 1/16 | 1/16 triplet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 2000.0 | 1000.0 | 1500.0 | 500.0 | 750.0 | 333.3 | 250.0 | 166.7 |
| 65 | 1846.2 | 923.1 | 1384.6 | 461.5 | 692.3 | 307.7 | 230.8 | 153.8 |
| 70 | 1714.3 | 857.1 | 1285.7 | 428.6 | 642.9 | 285.7 | 214.3 | 142.9 |
| 75 | 1600.0 | 800.0 | 1200.0 | 400.0 | 600.0 | 266.7 | 200.0 | 133.3 |
| 80 | 1500.0 | 750.0 | 1125.0 | 375.0 | 562.5 | 250.0 | 187.5 | 125.0 |
| 85 | 1411.8 | 705.9 | 1058.8 | 352.9 | 529.4 | 235.3 | 176.5 | 117.6 |
| 90 | 1333.3 | 666.7 | 1000.0 | 333.3 | 500.0 | 222.2 | 166.7 | 111.1 |
| 95 | 1263.2 | 631.6 | 947.4 | 315.8 | 473.7 | 210.5 | 157.9 | 105.3 |
| 100 | 1200.0 | 600.0 | 900.0 | 300.0 | 450.0 | 200.0 | 150.0 | 100.0 |
| 105 | 1142.9 | 571.4 | 857.1 | 285.7 | 428.6 | 190.5 | 142.9 | 95.2 |
| 110 | 1090.9 | 545.5 | 818.2 | 272.7 | 409.1 | 181.8 | 136.4 | 90.9 |
| 115 | 1043.5 | 521.7 | 782.6 | 260.9 | 391.3 | 173.9 | 130.4 | 87.0 |
| 120 | 1000.0 | 500.0 | 750.0 | 250.0 | 375.0 | 166.7 | 125.0 | 83.3 |
| 125 | 960.0 | 480.0 | 720.0 | 240.0 | 360.0 | 160.0 | 120.0 | 80.0 |
| 128 | 937.5 | 468.8 | 703.1 | 234.4 | 351.6 | 156.3 | 117.2 | 78.1 |
| 130 | 923.1 | 461.5 | 692.3 | 230.8 | 346.2 | 153.8 | 115.4 | 76.9 |
| 135 | 888.9 | 444.4 | 666.7 | 222.2 | 333.3 | 148.1 | 111.1 | 74.1 |
| 140 | 857.1 | 428.6 | 642.9 | 214.3 | 321.4 | 142.9 | 107.1 | 71.4 |
| 145 | 827.6 | 413.8 | 620.7 | 206.9 | 310.3 | 137.9 | 103.4 | 69.0 |
| 150 | 800.0 | 400.0 | 600.0 | 200.0 | 300.0 | 133.3 | 100.0 | 66.7 |
| 155 | 774.2 | 387.1 | 580.6 | 193.5 | 290.3 | 129.0 | 96.8 | 64.5 |
| 160 | 750.0 | 375.0 | 562.5 | 187.5 | 281.3 | 125.0 | 93.8 | 62.5 |
| 165 | 727.3 | 363.6 | 545.5 | 181.8 | 272.7 | 121.2 | 90.9 | 60.6 |
| 170 | 705.9 | 352.9 | 529.4 | 176.5 | 264.7 | 117.6 | 88.2 | 58.8 |
| 174 | 689.7 | 344.8 | 517.2 | 172.4 | 258.6 | 114.9 | 86.2 | 57.5 |
| 175 | 685.7 | 342.9 | 514.3 | 171.4 | 257.1 | 114.3 | 85.7 | 57.1 |
| 180 | 666.7 | 333.3 | 500.0 | 166.7 | 250.0 | 111.1 | 83.3 | 55.6 |
In short
A quarter note lasts 60,000 ÷ BPM milliseconds: 500 ms at 120 BPM, 468.8 ms at 128 BPM. Halve it for an eighth, take three quarters of it for a dotted eighth (375 ms at 120 BPM) and a third of it for an eighth-note triplet (166.7 ms). The same arithmetic sits behind the Set Tempo event of every MIDI file, which stores one beat as 60,000,000 ÷ BPM microseconds (SMF 1.1).
How the chart is worked out
Every value is 60,000 ÷ BPM × note length in beats. A half note is 2 beats, a quarter 1, an eighth ½ and a sixteenth ¼. A dot adds half the note’s value again (× 1.5), and a triplet squeezes three notes into the time of two (× ⅔). Values are rounded to one decimal place.
Worked example: a dotted-eighth delay at 128 BPM
One beat at 128 BPM is 60,000 ÷ 128 = 468.75 ms. A dotted eighth is ¾ of a beat, so 468.75 × 0.75 = 351.5625 ms, which the chart shows as 351.6. Set the delay to 351.6 ms (or 352 if your plug-in only takes whole numbers), and the repeats land on the off-beat sixteenths — the bouncing echo heard on countless guitar and vocal parts. For the reverb, a sixteenth note (117.2 ms) is a natural pre-delay at the same tempo.
Limitations
- The chart assumes a steady tempo. Songs that speed up or slow down need the delay synced to the host instead of a fixed number.
- Milliseconds are rounded to a tenth. That is far finer than anyone can hear, though each repeat of a rounded value drifts from the grid by up to 0.05 ms.
- Swing isn’t included: a swung sixteenth is longer or shorter than the straight value shown here, depending on where it falls.
Sources
- Standard MIDI-File Format Spec. 1.1, updated (midimusic.github.io) — tempo as microseconds per quarter note, so one beat at 120 BPM is 500,000 µs (500 ms). Checked October 10, 2026.
Using it with plug-ins and pedals
Plug-ins that sync to the host already do this sum for you; the chart is for everything that doesn’t — hardware pedals, outboard reverbs, older plug-ins, and compressors whose release you want to breathe with the beat. For a tempo between two rows, the nearest row is usually close enough: from 100 to 180 BPM, one BPM changes a quarter note by only 2 to 6 milliseconds.
Frequently asked questions
How do I work out a delay time from BPM?
Divide 60,000 by the tempo to get one beat (a quarter note) in milliseconds, then multiply by the note length: × 0.5 for an eighth, × 0.75 for a dotted eighth, × 1/3 for an eighth-note triplet. At 100 BPM a quarter note is 600 ms and a dotted eighth 450 ms.
Which note value sounds best for a vocal delay?
The dotted eighth is the classic choice because its repeats fall between the beats instead of on them, so they don’t mask the next word. A quarter note gives a slower, more obvious echo; a sixteenth thickens a part without a clear repeat.
What is a good reverb pre-delay?
A sixteenth or a thirty-second note at the song’s tempo keeps the dry attack clear before the reverb arrives — about 63 to 125 ms at 120 BPM. Longer pre-delays push the reverb behind the sound; very short ones blend it in.
My tempo isn’t in the chart. What now?
Use the formula above, type the tempo into the delay table on the tap tempo or BPM finder page, or read the nearest row: one BPM moves a quarter note by only 2–6 ms in the 100–180 range.
Why are some values shown with one decimal?
Most delay plug-ins accept tenths of a millisecond, and the error is far below what you can hear. Rounding to whole milliseconds is fine too: at 128 BPM, 351.6 ms and 352 ms sound the same.
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