Why set delay and reverb times to the tempo?
A delay that repeats exactly on an eighth note or a dotted eighth sits inside the groove instead of blurring it. The same goes for reverb pre-delay and release times on compressors, and for LFO rates on tremolo, filters and chorus. This table gives you every common value at once.
The formula
One quarter note lasts 60 000 ÷ BPM milliseconds. Halve it for an eighth note, halve again for a sixteenth. A dotted note is 1.5 times as long, and a triplet is two thirds as long. At 120 BPM a quarter note is 500 ms, a dotted eighth 375 ms and an eighth-note triplet about 167 ms.
Hz values for LFOs
The small number under each time is the matching rate in hertz (1000 ÷ ms), for synths and plug-ins that set modulation speed in Hz rather than note values.
Tips
- The dotted-eighth delay is the classic rhythmic guitar echo.
- For a reverb pre-delay, start with a 1/32 or 1/64 note so the dry sound stays clear.
- Not sure of the song's tempo? Find it first with Tap Tempo.