TC ELECTRONIC THE DREAMSCAPE
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
USEABILITY
OVERALL RATING
S U M M A R Y
“ A chorus, flanger and vibrato
in a palm-sized chassis”
TC’s fi rst signature pedal packs Petrucci’s
modulation needs into a wee green box
TC ELECTRONIC
THE DREAMSCAPE
£209
WHEN
you’re a
shred-
Maharishi without terrestrial
equal, with a mind that’s an
instantly accessible compendium
of esoteric music theory, you’re
going to be at the very least
particular about your tone. Take
John Petrucci: the Dream Theater
guitarist has long since ascended
the snow-capped mountains of
musical omniscience, yet The
Dreamscape is the first time he’s
put his name to a pedal. Not only
that, this chorus, flanger and
vibrato pedal in one palm-sized
chassis is also the first signature
pedal that TC Electronic has made.
Don’t be fooled: The
Dreamscape is not a multi-effects
unit per se. There are no patches
combining all three modulation
effects. Instead, there’s a seven-
way effect selector that lets you
choose between Petrucci’s six
custom-configured TonePrints,
two distinct characters for the
chorus, flanger and vibrato. Wait,
what’s all this TonePrint business,
you ask? Well, rolled out at NAMM
TC ELECTRONIC THE DREAMSCAPE
REVIEW
2011, the TonePrints are
downloadable custom tones,
created by the likes of Joe Perry
and Steve Morse, bringing some
signature tone flavour to TC
Electronic’s line-in stompboxes.
Not only does this pedal house
Petrucci’s six TonePrints, you can
download any of the other chorus
TonePrints from TC for free.
Like all great signature gear,
The Dreamscape makes Petrucci’s
tones accessible to all but, crucially,
there’s still plenty of room to
experiment with what is an
incredibly versatile and musical
pedal. Petrucci’s TonePrints are set
up for clean and crunch, but
there’s no rule to say that his subtle
flanger sweep isn’t going to work
for you when you’re fingerpicking
your sus2 chord of choice. Besides,
the three-way Bright/Neutral/
Dark switch is a nifty option to
control how bold you want the
pedal to be. The rest of the controls
on The Dreamscape are as you
would expect: three pots each
adjust level, depth and speed.
Petrucci’s chorus is based on
TC Electronic’s TriChorus. The
effect is that bit subtler, and there’s
something elemental about the
Chorus 1 setting; like dropping a
frozen pea into a millpond, it has
natural shimmer, adding depth to
glassy-clean arpeggios. Chorus 2
was inspired by Alex Lifeson of
Rush, and keeps it real. It thickens
the signal without rendering it
over-processed mush. With
modulation, you can really warp
your tone – The Dreamscape’s
restraint is a huge plus. The flange
has a great degree of subtlety, too,
with Flanger 1 great for adding hot
swirl to your cleans, and Flanger 2
a clear tone-grab by Petrucci for
Eddie Van Halen’s slow-but-deep
Unchained rhythm tone – reggae
players and Pantera fans alike can
both get joy from The Dreamscape.
Petrucci prefers a wide vibrato
with a low speed for a slightly
disorientating Leslie effect, perfect
for creepy chords but also bob-on
for a singlecoil psychedelic strum
without forking out for a 1969
Fender Vibratone.
At 200 quid The Dreamscape
is not cheap but it has all the
pro-quality build and tone you’d
expect from TC. Even if you’re not
hacking your way through the
Images And Words songbook,
The Dreamscape is still a super-
cool one-stop box for modulation.
Jonathan Horsley
AT A GLANCE
TYPE: Modulation
EFFECTS: Chorus, Flanger, Vibrato
CONTROLS: Level, Speed, Depth,
Three-way Bright/Neutral/Dark
switch, Effect Select
SOCKETS: mono/stereo input,
output, USB
POWER: 9V DC adaptor/battery
CONTACT: 0800 9178926
www.tcelectronic.com
WE LIKE that choosing
between the chorus,
fl anger and vibrato of
Petrucci’s six TonePrints
is controlled by one knob.
Three effects , one seven-
way selector: easy
EFFECT
SELECTOR
3
YOU CAN download
any Corona chorus-
compatible TonePrints
from TC Electronic’s
website, including Paul
Gilbert’s lush Triple
Caramel Apple
USB
2
A THRE E- WAY
switch lets you choose
between Bright for a
bolder effect and Dark
for a more subtle effect.
Normal is somewhere
in between
VOICE
SELECTOR
1
140 APRIL 2012
TGR226.gear_tc.indd 140 2/29/12 12:53:08 PM