The Guitar Player's Resource
The Delay Time Calculator is great for matching the delays from a digital delay processor to the tempo of the music you are playing or recording. When the delays don't match the tempo, the music may sound out of sync, so it's nice to be able to match delay times to the beat as closely as possible. This is especially true for repeated delays, very long delays, or loop music.
To calculate delay times (in milliseconds) for your digital delay, first enter the beats per minute, or BPM. A beat is almost always a quarter note. If you are using a sequencer, the BPM corresponds to the tempo of the sequence. If the music is not sequenced, estimate the BPM by manually counting the quarter notes for one minute.
Next, select the note value of the delay you want. Common delay times are quarter or eighth note delay.
Finally, select 'YES' if you want the delay calculated for a dotted note, like a dotted quarter or a dotted eighth note. Dotted note delays are 50% longer than their undotted counterparts. Select 'NO' for a normal note.
For delay note values longer than four whole notes, simply multiply the delay times by the number of whole notes. For example, if the delay time for a whole note delay is 2000, five whole notes of delay would be 10000.
Note: You must be using a JavaScript-enabled browser to use the Delay Time Calculator.
Dan McAvinchey is a guitarist and composer living in Raleigh, NC.
He believes every musician or composer has the power to write, record and release their own music.
