Timing & Sync
Delay Time Calculator
Enter your tempo and get delay times for every note division — straight, dotted, and triplet — ready to paste into any delay plugin. Tap a genre for a tempo and a setting that works.
| Division | Straight | Dotted (×1.5) | Triplet (×⅔) |
|---|
The math
quarter note (ms) = 60,000 ÷ BPM
At 130 BPM: 60,000 ÷ 130 = 461.5 ms per quarter note. Every other value derives from that: halve it for each smaller division (1/8 = 230.8 ms, 1/16 = 115.4 ms), multiply by 1.5 for dotted, by two-thirds for triplet. A dotted 1/8 at 130 BPM is 230.8 × 1.5 = 346.2 ms.
In practice
Synced delays lock repeats to the grid, which is usually what you want — but typing the millisecond value into an unsynced delay lets you nudge it a few ms off-grid for width and movement, something a sync button can't do. Dotted 1/8 is the workhorse of dance music: one dry hit plus a dotted-1/8 repeat turns a straight line into a rolling groove. Triplets read as swing against a straight beat — use them on fills and throws, sparingly on core elements.
Watch feedback in a dense mix: every repeat is another layer of low-mids. High-pass the delay return around 250–300 Hz and the repeats sit behind the dry signal instead of on top of it.