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BPM to ms

Tempo-synced milliseconds for delays, LFOs, pre-delay and compressor release at every common tempo, plus LFO rates in Hz, the Haas range and bar lengths.

bpmmsdelaylfotempocompressorreleasepre-delayhaasreferenceecho

Live syncs delays, LFOs and envelopes to the beat for free, but half the interesting settings are the ones you type in ms: a compressor release that lets the kick recover exactly by the next 1/8, a reverb pre-delay that keeps the snare transient clean, a Haas offset that widens without flamming, an LFO in Hz on a plug-in that cannot sync. The formula is simple (one beat = 60 000 / BPM ms); the tables below do it for the tempos that matter and the divisions you will actually use. All values assume 4/4 and a quarter-note beat. "D" = dotted (× 1.5), "T" = triplet (× ⅔).

The formula

1 beat (1/4): 60 000 ÷ BPM ms. 120 BPM → 500 ms; 128 → 468.75; 140 → 428.57; 174 → 344.83.
Any division: beat × (4 ÷ denominator): 1/8 = beat ÷ 2, 1/16 = beat ÷ 4, 1/32 = beat ÷ 8, 1 bar = beat × 4.
Dotted: × 1.5 (1/8 D = three 1/16s).
Triplet: × ⅔ (1/8 T = one third of a beat).
Hz from a division: 1000 ÷ ms, or BPM ÷ (60 × beats). A 1-bar LFO at 128 BPM = 128 ÷ 240 = 0.533 Hz.

Delay / LFO / gate times in ms

Use this for any time field that is not synced: Echo and Delay in ms mode, Grain Delay, Simpler's LFO in Hz mode, the LFO M4L device in Hz, Operator's LFO in Hz, hardware delays and modular clocks. Values under 100 ms show one decimal.

BPM	1/1	1/2	1/4	1/8	1/16	1/32	1/8 D	1/16 D	1/8 T	1/16 T
70	3,429	1,714	857	429	214	107	643	321	286	143
85	2,824	1,412	706	353	176	88.2	529	265	235	118
100	2,400	1,200	600	300	150	75.0	450	225	200	100
120	2,000	1,000	500	250	125	62.5	375	188	167	83.3
124	1,935	968	484	242	121	60.5	363	181	161	80.6
128	1,875	938	469	234	117	58.6	352	176	156	78.1
130	1,846	923	462	231	115	57.7	346	173	154	76.9
135	1,778	889	444	222	111	55.6	333	167	148	74.1
140	1,714	857	429	214	107	53.6	321	161	143	71.4
145	1,655	828	414	207	103	51.7	310	155	138	69.0
150	1,600	800	400	200	100	50.0	300	150	133	66.7
160	1,500	750	375	188	93.8	46.9	281	141	125	62.5
170	1,412	706	353	176	88.2	44.1	265	132	118	58.8
174	1,379	690	345	172	86.2	43.1	259	129	115	57.5
180	1,333	667	333	167	83.3	41.7	250	125	111	55.6

Dotted 1/8 is the delay that makes everything sound like a record: at 128 BPM that is 352 ms. Dotted 1/16 (176 ms at 128) on a 1/16-note hat pattern creates the off-beat shuffle without a second hat. Triplet 1/8 against a straight pattern (313 ms at 128) is the "three against two" dub delay. Nudge a synced delay 5–15 ms late (Echo: switch to ms, type the value, add 10) to put it behind the beat — it reads as groove rather than as a wrong tempo.

Bar lengths

For reverb decays (a tail that ends by the next downbeat), Looper lengths, bounce lengths, and knowing how long a 16-bar breakdown really is.

BPM	1 bar (ms)	1 bar (s)	4 bars (s)	8 bars (s)	16 bars (s)	Bars per minute
70	3,428.6	3.429	13.71	27.43	54.86	17.50
85	2,823.5	2.824	11.29	22.59	45.18	21.25
100	2,400.0	2.400	9.60	19.20	38.40	25.00
120	2,000.0	2.000	8.00	16.00	32.00	30.00
124	1,935.5	1.935	7.74	15.48	30.97	31.00
128	1,875.0	1.875	7.50	15.00	30.00	32.00
130	1,846.2	1.846	7.38	14.77	29.54	32.50
135	1,777.8	1.778	7.11	14.22	28.44	33.75
140	1,714.3	1.714	6.86	13.71	27.43	35.00
145	1,655.2	1.655	6.62	13.24	26.48	36.25
150	1,600.0	1.600	6.40	12.80	25.60	37.50
160	1,500.0	1.500	6.00	12.00	24.00	40.00
170	1,411.8	1.412	5.65	11.29	22.59	42.50
174	1,379.3	1.379	5.52	11.03	22.07	43.50
180	1,333.3	1.333	5.33	10.67	21.33	45.00

Compressor release per tempo

Release in Compressor and Glue Compressor is where the groove is decided. Three targets that work:

Pump — the compressor fully recovers just before the next 1/8 note (≈ 80 % of a 1/8). Kick-driven sidechain feel; use on bass, pads, the whole mix in house/techno.
Glue — recovers by the next beat (≈ 90 % of a 1/4). Transparent bus compression, Glue Compressor at 2:1, 2–3 dB GR.
Sidechain envelope — for the ducking shape itself (Compressor with the kick in the sidechain, or an Envelope Follower / LFO on Utility gain): the hole should close within ~60 % of a 1/8 so the bass is back before the off-beat hat.

Attack times are not tempo-dependent: 1–3 ms to grab transients, 10–30 ms to let them through. The "Auto" release in Compressor/Glue is program-dependent and ignores tempo; use fixed values from the table when you want the pump to lock to the grid.

BPM	1/4 (beat)	1/8	1/16	Pump release (kick recovers by next 1/8)	Glue release (recover by next beat)	Sidechain env release (ms)
70	857	429	214	343	771	257
85	706	353	176	282	635	212
100	600	300	150	240	540	180
120	500	250	125	200	450	150
124	484	242	121	194	435	145
128	469	234	117	188	422	141
130	462	231	115	185	415	138
135	444	222	111	178	400	133
140	429	214	107	171	386	129
145	414	207	103	166	372	124
150	400	200	100	160	360	120
160	375	188	93.8	150	338	112
170	353	176	88.2	141	318	106
174	345	172	86.2	138	310	103
180	333	167	83.3	133	300	100.0

Glue Compressor's release range is 0.1–1.2 s plus Auto; its attack 0.01–30 ms. Compressor's release goes to 3 s. Multiband Dynamics' time controls are per band (Above/Below sections) and much coarser — set the Time scaling knob to tune all at once. If you type a release from the table into Glue and it clips to 0.1 s, you wanted the 1/32 (which at 128 BPM is 59 ms — Glue cannot go there; use Compressor).

Reverb pre-delay

Pre-delay separates the transient from the reverb onset, so the source stays dry and clear while the tail is big. Tempo-synced pre-delay makes the reverb's "start" sit on a subdivision, which reads as tighter at any decay time. Hybrid Reverb has a Pre-delay in ms (also syncable in the Algorithm section), Reverb has Predelay 0.5–250 ms. Suggested:

Tight (snare, vocal, plucks): 1/128 to 1/64 — roughly 15–30 ms at club tempos. Keeps the hit dry, gives size.
Loose (pads, keys, FX): 1/64 to 1/32 — 30–120 ms. The reverb breathes behind the chord.
Dub / big: 1/16 or more (see the main table); the pre-delay is heard as a slapback before the wash.

BPM	1/128 (ms)	1/64 (ms)	1/32 (ms)	1/64 T (ms)	Tight (vocal/snare)	Loose (pads/room)
70	26.8	53.6	107	35.7	26.8-53.6	53.6-107
85	22.1	44.1	88.2	29.4	22.1-44.1	44.1-88.2
100	18.8	37.5	75.0	25.0	18.8-37.5	37.5-75.0
120	15.6	31.2	62.5	20.8	15.6-31.2	31.2-62.5
124	15.1	30.2	60.5	20.2	15.1-30.2	30.2-60.5
128	14.6	29.3	58.6	19.5	14.6-29.3	29.3-58.6
130	14.4	28.8	57.7	19.2	14.4-28.8	28.8-57.7
135	13.9	27.8	55.6	18.5	13.9-27.8	27.8-55.6
140	13.4	26.8	53.6	17.9	13.4-26.8	26.8-53.6
145	12.9	25.9	51.7	17.2	12.9-25.9	25.9-51.7
150	12.5	25.0	50.0	16.7	12.5-25.0	25.0-50.0
160	11.7	23.4	46.9	15.6	11.7-23.4	23.4-46.9
170	11.0	22.1	44.1	14.7	11.0-22.1	22.1-44.1
174	10.8	21.6	43.1	14.4	10.8-21.6	21.6-43.1
180	10.4	20.8	41.7	13.9	10.4-20.8	20.8-41.7

Decay length target: a reverb tail should be inaudible by the next hit of the same element. Snare on 2 and 4 at 128 BPM = one hit every 937.5 ms, so a 0.8–1.1 s decay (which is −60 dB at the end, so effectively gone earlier) works; a pad reverb can run 4–8 s because the pad repeats every 2–4 bars.

Haas range (short delays for width)

A copy of a signal delayed by 1–30 ms and panned opposite is heard as one wider source, not as an echo (the precedence / Haas effect). It is not tempo-related, but it belongs in any ms reference because people set it by feel and then wonder why the mono sum is hollow.

Delay	Perceived as	Use	Mono-compat risk
0.05-1 ms	Phase/comb shift, tonal colour	Avoid unless you want a flanger-like colour	Severe comb filtering
1-5 ms	Slight widening, source moves toward the undelayed side	Subtle width on hats, percussion	High - notches in the 200 Hz-5 kHz range
5-15 ms	Clear Haas widening, one solid image	Classic width on leads, chords, vocals (Delay / Utility)	Moderate - check with Utility Mono
15-30 ms	Very wide, starting to smear transients	Pads, FX, backing vocals	Lower comb density, but transients double
30-50 ms	Thick doubling, "slapback"	Rockabilly slap, dub voice doubling	Low - heard as doubling
50-120 ms	Distinct short echo	Slapback delay, pre-delay on big reverbs	None

In Live: Delay with Sync off, L 0 ms / R 12 ms, Feedback 0, Dry/Wet 100 % on a stereo track; or Utility → Width is the safer, phase-neutral alternative when the source is already stereo. Align Delay (12.x) is made for sample/ms offsets between hardware and software paths and doubles as a precise Haas tool (ms, samples or metres). Check with Utility → Mono before committing; comb filtering at 10 ms notches at 50 Hz intervals (100, 200, 300 Hz…), which is why the width trick is fine on hats and brutal on bass.

LFO rate in Hz per division

For devices with Hz-only LFOs (Operator's LFO in Hz mode, Simpler/Sampler LFOs in Hz, the M4L LFO device with Sync off, Auto Pan-Tremolo in Hz, modular LFOs driven by CV Tools), or for matching a wobble to the tempo when the host sync is off. Hz = BPM ÷ (60 × beats per cycle).

Division	120 BPM	124 BPM	128 BPM	140 BPM	150 BPM	160 BPM	174 BPM
8 bars	0.062 Hz	0.065 Hz	0.067 Hz	0.073 Hz	0.078 Hz	0.083 Hz	0.091 Hz
4 bars	0.125 Hz	0.129 Hz	0.133 Hz	0.146 Hz	0.156 Hz	0.167 Hz	0.181 Hz
2 bars	0.250 Hz	0.258 Hz	0.267 Hz	0.292 Hz	0.312 Hz	0.333 Hz	0.362 Hz
1 bar	0.500 Hz	0.517 Hz	0.533 Hz	0.583 Hz	0.625 Hz	0.667 Hz	0.725 Hz
1/2	1.000 Hz	1.033 Hz	1.067 Hz	1.167 Hz	1.250 Hz	1.333 Hz	1.450 Hz
1/4	2.000 Hz	2.067 Hz	2.133 Hz	2.333 Hz	2.500 Hz	2.667 Hz	2.900 Hz
1/8	4.000 Hz	4.133 Hz	4.267 Hz	4.667 Hz	5.000 Hz	5.333 Hz	5.800 Hz
1/16	8.000 Hz	8.267 Hz	8.533 Hz	9.333 Hz	10.000 Hz	10.667 Hz	11.600 Hz
1/32	16.000 Hz	16.533 Hz	17.067 Hz	18.667 Hz	20.000 Hz	21.333 Hz	23.200 Hz
1/8 T	6.000 Hz	6.200 Hz	6.400 Hz	7.000 Hz	7.500 Hz	8.000 Hz	8.700 Hz
1/8 D	2.667 Hz	2.756 Hz	2.844 Hz	3.111 Hz	3.333 Hz	3.556 Hz	3.867 Hz

Dubstep wobble maths: at 140 BPM a 1/4 wobble is 2.333 Hz, 1/8 is 4.667 Hz, 1/16 is 9.333 Hz, 1/8 T is 7.0 Hz. Automate between them with an LFO device in sync mode (rates listed as divisions) so the switch is grid-locked; in Hz mode you need these exact values or the wobble drifts off the grid within a few bars. For ratio-style LFOs (Drift's LFO has a Ratio mode) the value is a multiple of the beat and tempo follows automatically.

Other tempo-locked values worth knowing

Thing	Rule	Example @ 128 BPM
Gate / Beat Repeat gate length	1/16 or 1/32 for stutters; 1/8 for choppy pads	117 ms / 59 ms / 234 ms
Sidechain lookahead (Compressor)	Fixed 0 / 1 / 10 ms, not tempo	10 ms = 0.085 of a 1/16
Amp attack to avoid clicks	2–5 ms, independent of tempo	—
Pluck / stab decay to sit on 1/16 grid	decay ≈ 1/16 length	117 ms
Hat decay for 1/16 patterns	60–80 % of a 1/16	70–94 ms
808 decay for 1/8 patterns	≈ 1/8 to 1/4 length (then sidechain the rest)	234–469 ms
Echo Gate/Duck release	≈ 1/8	234 ms
Spectral Time freeze fade	1/8 fade-in for pad swells; 1 bar fade-out	234 ms / 1.875 s
Grain size (Granulator III, Grain Delay)	Not tempo: 20–60 ms smooth, 100–300 ms rhythmic	—
Swing nudge on delay	Add 5–15 ms to a synced delay typed in ms	1/8 → 234 + 10 = 244 ms

Genre tempo map — which BPM column to use per genre.
Sidechain & ducking — release values in practice.
Delay design and Dub FX & delays.
Reverb & space — pre-delay and decay decisions.
Compression & glue.
Automation & modulation — LFO devices and sync modes.

BPM to ms

The formula

Delay / LFO / gate times in ms

Bar lengths

Compressor release per tempo

Reverb pre-delay

Haas range (short delays for width)

LFO rate in Hz per division

Other tempo-locked values worth knowing

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