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Delay & Reverb Time Calculator
Convert BPM to delay times in ms — straight, dotted, triplet — plus reverb settings.
Updated July 8, 2026
How to use the delay & reverb time calculator
- 1Enter your project BPM, tap it in, or hit a genre preset.
- 2Read the ms value for the note division you want — straight, dotted, or triplet.
- 3Type it into your delay plugin's time field (or use the Hz column for LFO rates).
- 4Start reverbs from the pre-delay and decay suggestions, then tune by ear.
Common uses
- Setting delay times in FL Studio, Ableton, or any DAW without tempo-sync guessing
- Dialing reverb pre-delay and decay so tails don't smear the mix
- Matching hardware or plugin LFO rates to the project tempo in Hz
- Learning why dotted-1/8 delays create that classic bounce
Frequently asked questions
Why sync delay times to the tempo at all?
Un-synced echoes land between the grid and smear the groove; synced ones reinforce it. A dotted-1/8 delay at your project BPM creates the classic bouncing pattern behind countless guitar and synth lines — it only works because the repeats land musically.
When do I use dotted vs triplet times?
Straight repeats sit inside the groove almost invisibly. Dotted times (×1.5) create syncopated bounce — the most-used flavor for melodic delays. Triplets (×⅔) add a rolling swing against a straight beat. Same BPM, three different feels; the table gives all three per division.
How should I set reverb pre-delay and decay?
Pre-delay separates the dry sound from its reverb so the source stays upfront — 1/32 to 1/16 of a beat keeps it tight and musical. For decay, the practical rule is tails ending just before the next relevant hit: around half a note for snares, up to a bar for pads and vocals. The calculator computes both for your BPM as starting points to tune by ear.
What's the Hz column for?
The same division as a modulation rate: 1000 ÷ ms gives the LFO frequency that completes one cycle per that note length. Set a filter or tremolo LFO to the 1/4-note Hz value and it pulses in time even in plugins without tempo sync.
About this tool
The delay and reverb calculator converts your project's BPM into the millisecond values that make time-based effects sit on the grid: every note division from a full bar to 1/32, each in straight, dotted (×1.5), and triplet (×⅔) timing, plus the LFO rate in Hz for synced modulation. Below the table are reverb starting points computed for your tempo — tight and roomy pre-delays, and short and long decay times sized so tails end just before the next hit instead of washing over it. Tap tempo and genre presets (90 for hip-hop through 174 for DnB) are built in. The math is the producer's oldest formula: 60,000 ÷ BPM = one beat in milliseconds.
Like everything on UtilityBase, the delay & reverb time calculator runs entirely in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded or stored on a server. It's free to use with no account required. Browse more productivity tools here.
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