# 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](https://midimusic.github.io/tech/midispec.html)).

## 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)](https://midimusic.github.io/tech/midispec.html) — 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](https://xx808.com/tap-tempo/) or [BPM finder](https://xx808.com/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.

Last updated: October 15, 2026

Web page: https://xx808.com/bpm-to-ms/