BPM to delay time: choose a repeat that fits the groove

A quarter-note delay at 120 BPM is 500 ms. An eighth-note delay is 250 ms, a dotted eighth is 375 ms, and an eighth-note triplet is 166.667 ms. Those values all come from the same beat; the choice changes where each repeat lands.

If your delay already has a reliable tempo-sync mode, select a note division there. A millisecond calculator is useful when the plugin has a time knob instead, when you use an external delay, or when you want to compare a synced value with a small manual offset.

Start with the quarter note

There are 60,000 milliseconds in a minute. Divide that number by the project BPM:

Quarter-note delay in ms = 60,000 / BPM

For 100 BPM, the result is 600 ms. Halving it gives an eighth note at 300 ms; halving again gives a sixteenth note at 150 ms. Keep the unrounded result until the final step, especially when the tempo includes decimals.

Here are three useful delay choices at common tempos. All table values are milliseconds, rounded to three decimal places.

BPM	Straight eighth	Dotted eighth	Eighth-note triplet
90	333.333	500.000	222.222
100	300.000	450.000	200.000
120	250.000	375.000	166.667
140	214.286	321.429	142.857

Compare the rhythm before the tone

A straight eighth repeats halfway through each quarter-note beat. It is a useful first choice for a regular pulse behind a vocal or lead. A sixteenth is denser; a quarter note leaves more space between echoes.

A dotted eighth lasts three sixteenth notes. At 120 BPM, its 375 ms repeats move through different positions against the quarter-note pulse before lining up again. Try a short guitar phrase or a sparse synth part to hear that pattern clearly.

An eighth-note triplet fits three equal repeats into a quarter-note beat. It can complement a triplet phrase, but it is not automatically the right timing for every shuffled part. A groove’s actual swing ratio may be different. The note-division guide explains that distinction.

Put a value into your delay

1. Enter the exact project BPM in the calculator. Use Tap Tempo for an estimate when you do not know it.
2. Find the note row and the Straight, Dotted, or Triplet column you want.
3. Select the value to copy it. The clipboard includes the ms unit; if a plugin accepts only digits, enter the number without the unit.
4. Turn off tempo sync if necessary and confirm that the time field uses milliseconds. A field in seconds needs the number divided by 1,000.
5. Start with low feedback and a quiet wet signal, then listen in the full arrangement.

Copying a timing sets the spacing between repeats. It does not choose feedback, filtering, stereo placement, or wet/dry balance. Those controls can make a mathematically correct delay feel much busier or more restrained.

When a correct value still sounds wrong

Check whether the project changes tempo. A single manual value follows one constant BPM; it will not track a tempo map unless the effect is automated. Also check whether the source phrase itself is ahead of or behind the grid.

Rounding is usually a small difference: 214.286 ms displayed as 214 ms differs by less than one millisecond. If the plugin supports decimals, use them; if it does not, use the nearest supported value and listen. Deliberate offsets can be a creative choice, but begin with the calculated timing so you know what you changed.

For space around the dry sound rather than distinct repeats, see BPM and reverb pre-delay.