The FET Dream is a hand-built and individually tweaked overdrive/distortion pedal from Cause & Effect Pedals, sitting between the worlds of overdrive pedals and distortion pedals. Premier Guitar announced it in March 2009 at a retail price of $189 US1. As the name implies, it uses a FET design to get a more amp-like feel, and Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio calls it "a pretty low-gain pedal"2.
The controls: Drive, Girth and Lean
The FET Dream's three controls each act on a different part of the circuit, which is where the pedal gets its flexibility. Premier Guitar described the announcement pedal as giving players "a lot of flexibility in finding their individual tone"1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Drive | Ranges from unity gain to over 200X1 |
| Girth | Pre-distortion equalization, adjusting the lows and mids before the gain stage12 |
| Lean | Tone control after the distortion, with a varying Q for emphasis and more detail12 |
The order matters for how you use them. Because Girth works before the distortion, it shapes what the gain stage itself has to work with, while Lean works on the finished sound afterward. As Delicious Audio put it, "the Girth control adjusting the lows/mids pre-distortion, and the Lean knob adjusting your tone after the distortion; also a variable Q for even more detail"2.
Circuit and character
The FET (field-effect transistor) approach is the pedal's selling point. De Gregorio wrote: "As the name implies, the FET Dream uses a FET design to get a more amp-like feel. It's a pretty low-gain pedal"2. With the Drive control reaching only from unity gain to over 200X, the pedal covers everything from a clean boost to a pushed-amp overdrive rather than heavy distortion1.
Power and practicalities
The FET Dream is built for pedalboard life in a sturdy cast-aluminum enclosure with a small footprint1. It can run for many hours from a 9V battery, or be externally powered by a standard pedal "wall-wart" adapter1, and its true bypass switching keeps the signal path clean when it is off1.
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Questions
Is the Cause & Effect FET Dream true bypass?
Yes. Premier Guitar's 2009 announcement describes the FET Dream as having true bypass switching, so when the pedal is off, your guitar's signal passes through without the circuit loading it. The pedal is hand-built and individually tweaked, in a sturdy cast-aluminum enclosure with a small pedalboard footprint.
How much does the FET Dream cost?
Premier Guitar reported a retail price of $189 US when the pedal was announced in March 2009. As a hand-built pedal from a small builder, availability may vary from that original list price.
Can the FET Dream run on a battery?
Yes. The pedal can run for many hours from a 9V battery, according to Premier Guitar's announcement. It can also be externally powered by a standard pedal wall-wart adapter, so it fits either approach on a pedalboard.
What does the Girth control do on the FET Dream?
The Girth control provides pre-distortion equalization, adjusting the lows and mids before the distortion stage. That sets the character of the gain itself, while the Lean knob adjusts tone after the distortion with a variable Q for more detail.
How much gain does the FET Dream have?
Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio describes it as a pretty low-gain pedal that uses a FET design to get a more amp-like feel. Its Drive control ranges from unity gain to over 200X, so it covers clean boost territory up to a healthy push, but it is not a high-gain distortion.
Sources (2)
- Cause & Effect Pedals Release FET Dream, Premier Guitar, 2009-03-02
- Best Dumble-Style Pedals For Your Needs & Budget, Delicious Audio, 2024-09-25