Very LONG,GEEKY post - milliseconds

[Michael McGee]

If you don't like math, you probably should skip this.

In the past few weeks, I've had 2 people ask me "what do you set that millisecond
knob to on gadget X?". Then just recently Bobbe S. created some fine instructional videos
on using delay. He showed how important that millisecond knob is, but did not discuss it in
great detail. Maybe I can bore the recording forum with some detail.

Disclaimer - I am fully aware that a tasteful musician can experiment with a gadget for
just a short time and get pleasing sounds just by instinct. But I want you to think about
the math involved with milliseconds, and maybe inspire you to experiment with a different
approach on your reverbs, delays, compressors, etc. -anything with a millisecond knob.
This is only a SUGGESTION!

Music is a function of time. Musical time is measured in beats per minute (bpm). More
specifically for this discussion:

bpm = quarter notes per minute
60 seconds = 1 minute
60,000 milliseconds (ms) = 1 minute

Problem: How many ms between notes IF a song is being played at 120 quarter notes per
minute? Solve for the following notes:

1/2, 1/2 triplets, 1/4, 1/4 trip, 1/8, 1/8 trip, 1/16, 1/16 trip, 1/32, 1/32 trip,
1/64, 1/64 trip.

Solution in ms for 120 bpm (rounded):

1000.0, 666.7, 500.0, 333.3, 250.0, 166.7, 125.0, 83.3, 62.5, 41.7, 31.3, 20.8

So what, you ask? Well... great bassists, drummers, and band-in-a-box are putting
those ms spacings between the notes they play at 120 bpm.

Stop and think for a second...

What if your repeats on your delay, or the release on the reverb's pre-delay, or the
end of the reverb tail, or the release on the compressor were set to coincide with one
of these ms numbers? They would all become fine-tuned to coincide with the exact rhythm of the song. By this point, I hope you can see the possibilites of your gadgets becoming more rhythmic, hence more 'musical'.

Taste still matters! Even some of these numbers may not work as well as others at 120 bpm - it depends on the gadget, and... well... GOOD TASTE IN MUSIC!

If you try this mathematical approach, you MIGHT hear a 'magic' in your effects that you've never heard before, both from your master mixes and from your guitar.

Next question: But Mike, that's fine for the studio, but with my delay unit, how in the
heck do I know the bpm of a song that the guitar player just now kicked off here at the
American Legion Hall?

Simple: Make sure the next delay you buy has a TAP-TEMPO button! Now you have the correct bpm automatically set, even though you don't know what it is. If you already have this button, give it a try. I personally think it's the most important button on a delay - just my opinion.

If you made it this far, I have for easy reference an excel worksheet that calculates ms values
for bpm's from 20-250 that I can email to you. Use the private message button on the forum to send me your private email address - DON'T POST YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS HERE!

Clear as mud? I hope I didn't cross your eyes and fry your brain - I can't afford the lawsuits!

[Donny Hinson]

In the past few weeks, I've had 2 people ask me "what do you set that millisecond
knob to on gadget X?".

Answer: I set it to where it sounds good!

(An old and archaic idea, I admit, but it works for me.)

[Michael McGee]

In the past few weeks, I've had 2 people ask me "what do you set that millisecond
knob to on gadget X?".

Answer: I set it to where it sounds good!

(An old and archaic idea, I admit, but it works for me.)

Well... silly me... sorry for wasting time typing a disclaimer in the original post... I thought I had already stated this.