Is there a correct reverb time for a tempo?

No. Unlike a delay, reverb does not have to be in time with anything. Tempo-related values are useful starting points because they keep the tail out of the way of the next hit, but the right setting is the one that leaves the mix clear.

What is pre-delay for?

Pre-delay is the gap before the reverb starts. A short musical gap — a sixteenth or a thirty-second note — keeps the dry source distinct while still placing it in a space. Longer pre-delay pushes the reverb further behind the sound.

How long should the decay be?

A common approach is a decay that has largely faded before the next strong beat, so roughly one beat for busy material and up to a bar for sparse material. Check it against the actual arrangement rather than trusting the number.

Does this apply to convolution reverbs too?

Pre-delay does. Decay is fixed by the impulse response in most convolution reverbs, so you shape it with the tail trim or a volume envelope instead of a decay control.

Free tool

Reverb Time Calculator

Tempo-related pre-delay and decay starting points. These are suggestions grounded in note lengths, not rules — reverb does not have to be in time.

Everything is calculated locally. No upload, no account.

Project tempo

BPM

Pre-delay

Short musical gaps before the tail starts.

32nd note

62.5 ms

16th note

125 ms

8th note

250 ms

Decay starting points

Adjust by ear against the arrangement.

1 beat

500 ms

Busy drums, dense arrangements

2 beats

1000 ms

Vocals and leads at mid tempo

1 bar (4 beats)

2000 ms

Sparse, ambient material

2 bars (8 beats)

4000 ms

Pads and tails, use with care

Decay controls are usually labelled in seconds — copy gives the value in seconds, while the display shows milliseconds.

Detail

How this works

Reverb has two settings worth relating to tempo. Pre-delay is the gap before the tail begins: keeping it to a short musical division holds the dry sound forward while still placing it in a room. Decay is how long the tail lasts, and tying it loosely to a beat or bar stops it smearing into the next hit.

Be honest about what this cannot do. A number cannot tell you whether a reverb suits a part. Set the value, then listen to the transition into the next bar — if the tail is still ringing when the next chord lands, shorten it regardless of what the maths said.

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