120 BPM to MS: Delay Time Chart

Every delay time, LFO rate and reverb pre-delay at 120 BPM, the tempo of pop, house and the default tempo in most DAWs, straight, dotted and triplet.

Updated October 13, 2026 · By Niraj Kumar

Tempo

BPM

↑ ↓ nudge by 1, with Shift by 0.1. One beat = 500 ms.

Delay times · click to copy

Note	Straight	Dotted	Triplet
2 bars
1/1 (bar)
1/2
1/4
1/8
1/16
1/32
1/64

Reverb pre-delay & decay

Hall1/64 + tail to 2 bars

Pre-delay
Decay
Total

Large room1/128 + tail to 1 bar

Pre-delay
Decay
Total

Small room1/256 + tail to 1/2

Pre-delay
Decay
Total

Tight ambience1/512 + tail to 1/4

Pre-delay
Decay
Total

A starting point: shorten the decay until the tail stops masking the next phrase.

Bar & sample length

Time signature

Bars

Sample rate

Milliseconds

Seconds

Samples

Delay time → BPM

Delay time

Heard as

Feel

120 BPM

How long is a beat at 120 BPM?

At 120 BPM a quarter note lasts 500 ms (60,000 ÷ 120). An eighth is 250 ms, a dotted eighth 375 ms, a sixteenth 125 ms and a sixteenth triplet 83.33 ms. A one-beat LFO runs at 2 Hz, and one 4/4 bar lasts 2,000 ms.

quarter note (ms) = 60 000 ÷ BPM;  note = quarter × q;
dotted = note × 1.5;  triplet = note × 2/3;  rate (Hz) = 1000 ÷ ms;
bar = quarter × beats × 4 ÷ unit;  samples = seconds × sample rate

This page uses the same method as the BPM to MS Calculator, which explains each term and assumption in full.

Delay times and LFO rates at 120 BPM
Note	Straight (ms)	Dotted (ms)	Triplet (ms)	Straight (Hz)
2 bars	4,000	6,000	2,666.67	0.25
1/1 (bar)	2,000	3,000	1,333.33	0.5
1/2	1,000	1,500	666.67	1
1/4	500	750	333.33	2
1/8	250	375	166.67	4
1/16	125	187.5	83.33	8
1/32	62.5	93.75	41.67	16
1/64	31.25	46.88	20.83	32

Worked example

A pop track at 120 BPM, the tempo most DAWs open new projects at

1Quarter note: 60,000 ÷ 120 = 500 ms
2Eighth note: 500 ÷ 2 = 250 ms; dotted: 250 × 1.5 = 375 ms
3Sixteenth triplet: 125 × 2/3 = 83.33 ms
4LFO once per beat: 1000 ÷ 500 = 2 Hz
5Hall reverb: pre-delay 1/64 = 31.25 ms, decay 3,968.75 ms to end on 2 bars

At 120 BPM: 500 ms quarter, 375 ms dotted eighth, 83.33 ms sixteenth triplet, 2 Hz per beat.

Frequently asked questions

What is the dotted eighth delay time at 120 BPM?

375 ms. An eighth note at 120 BPM is 250 ms, and a dot adds half again: 250 × 1.5 = 375 ms. The dotted quarter is twice that, 750 ms, and the plain quarter 500 ms.

What music is made at 120 BPM?

Mostly pop, house and the default tempo in most DAWs. 120 BPM is the default tempo in most DAWs and the reference point for most tempo charts, because its beat is a round 500 ms. That makes it the easiest tempo to check a pedal against: if a tapped delay reads 500 ms, the tap was spot on.

What is 120 BPM in half time and double time?

Half time is 60 BPM, with a 1,000 ms quarter note; double time is 240 BPM, with a 250 ms quarter note. A delay set to a quarter note at 120 BPM is a half note in double time and an eighth note in half time, so it stays in sync either way.