Enter your tempo and read off every note value in milliseconds and Hz - straight, dotted, and triplet. For delay times, reverb pre-delay, LFO rates, and anything else that should lock to the groove.
| Note value | Straight | Dotted (×1.5) | Triplet (×⅔) | Hz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/1 (whole) | 2000.0 ms | 3000.0 ms | 1333.3 ms | 0.500 |
| 1/2 | 1000.0 ms | 1500.0 ms | 666.7 ms | 1.000 |
| 1/4 (beat) | 500.0 ms | 750.0 ms | 333.3 ms | 2.000 |
| 1/8 | 250.0 ms | 375.0 ms | 166.7 ms | 4.000 |
| 1/16 | 125.0 ms | 187.5 ms | 83.33 ms | 8.000 |
| 1/32 | 62.50 ms | 93.75 ms | 41.67 ms | 16.000 |
| 1/64 | 31.25 ms | 46.88 ms | 20.83 ms | 32.000 |
Everything derives from one number: a quarter note lasts 60,000 ÷ BPM milliseconds. Multiply or divide by two for the neighboring note values. A dotted note is its straight value × 1.5; a triplet note is its straight value × 2/3 (three notes in the space of two). Frequency in Hz for LFO sync is 1000 ÷ ms.
Don't know the tempo? Tap it out with the BPM counter first, then come back - or use your DAW's tempo detection on the region.
One beat (a quarter note) in milliseconds = 60,000 ÷ BPM. At 120 BPM: 60,000 ÷ 120 = 500 ms per beat. Other note values scale from there: an eighth note is half of that (250 ms), a half note double (1000 ms). Dotted values multiply by 1.5, triplets by 2/3.
Musical starting points: 1/4-note delay for spacious echoes that land on the beat, dotted 1/8 for the classic U2/pop syncopated bounce, 1/8 or 1/16 for slap and tightening. Set the delay to the ms value from the table (or use your plugin's sync mode, which does this math internally), then nudge by ear.
A common recipe: set pre-delay to a 1/64 or 1/128 note (roughly 10-30 ms at typical tempos) so the dry transient stays clear, and aim the reverb tail to end on a musical boundary - e.g. total decay ≈ one bar (the 1/1 value) minus pre-delay. It is a starting grid, not a law; tails that "breathe" with the song usually sit near these values.
Hz = cycles per second = 1000 ÷ ms. Use it to sync free-running LFOs (chorus, tremolo, auto-pan, wobble bass) to the tempo when a plugin only offers a rate knob in Hz: a 1/4-note LFO at 120 BPM is 2 Hz, an 1/8 is 4 Hz.