Hologram Electronics Dream Sequence

The Hologram Electronics Dream Sequence is a programmable rhythm and octave pedal that combines a step sequencer, envelope shaping and octave up and down pitch shifting. Where a conventional octave pedal shifts your pitch and leaves it there, the Dream Sequence runs that shifting in repeating rhythmic patterns, so a single sustained note comes out as a moving sequence of octaves, pulses and shaped attacks¹.

Hologram Electronics describes the result as a tool for creating "synth-like arpeggios, pulsating sheets of sub-octave distortion, shimmering, ethereal chord washes, and a limitless number of other new sounds"². Delicious Audio, reporting on the company, called it "a sequencer, an envelope shaper, a pitch shifter, a sampler, and more"³. It arrived in 2016 and was, in Delicious Audio's words, "probably the most critically acclaimed pedal of 2016"³.

What it does: a rhythmic octave sequencer

The core idea is a step sequencer that drives pitch shifting and envelope shaping in sync. Instead of a static octave, the pedal repeats a pattern of octave up and octave down shifts over a musical subdivision you choose, with the envelope of each step shaped by a selectable waveform. Hologram Electronics says the Shape knob "controls the contour of the waveform used by the step sequencer, smoothly morphing from short, percussive, square-wave sounds to backwards-guitar-like ramp waves"². That is what gives the pedal its synth-like character: short square-wave steps sound percussive and staccato, while ramp waves soften the attack into something closer to a reversed guitar.

The pedal also works as a plain pitch shifter. The maker states that "the octave up and octave down section can also be used independently of the sequencer to replace a traditional pitch shifter"², so a player who wants a straightforward octave up or octave down effect, in the vein of a traditional octave pedal, can have one without engaging the patterns at all.

The circuit is a hybrid: digitally controlled, with analog Drive and Tone sections and an analog dry path⁵. RockBoard's PedalPedia classifies the circuit type as hybrid and lists the effect among envelope filter, octaver and pitch shifter types⁴. The Drive and Tone controls shape the wet signal at the output, with Drive varying the amount of distortion and Tone varying the high-frequency rolloff⁵, which places part of the pedal's voice in distortion territory.

The controls and footswitches

The Dream Sequence has three footswitches, and one of its distinctive features is that you can build your own patterns by tapping the three footswitches in sequence². The Hold footswitch plays three different roles: Toggle, which samples a note or chord and sustains it; Latch, which samples, then clears and re-samples; and Momentary, which holds a note or chord until you release the switch⁵.

The Subdivision switch is worth a closer look for a player deciding how this compares to a standard octave pedal. Beyond the rhythmic subdivisions, its five auxiliary modes include No Shift, which leaves pitch alone and lets the envelope shaping and sequencing do the work, plus Octave Up, Octave Down and Both for conventional shifting⁵.

Presets and the User Bank

The pedal ships with 24 built-in presets¹, and the Preset switch works with the preset banks to access 35 internal presets in total⁵. The banks are organized as User, Factory and Saved². The User Bank contains 12 building-block patterns and lets you customize them with the Subdivision and Shape controls², which is where a player can take a simple pattern and push it toward their own rhythmic and tonal territory.

Pedal of the Day's reviewer found the preset system one of the pedal's practical strengths⁵:

For players integrating the pedal into a larger rig, the Dream Sequence has MIDI In and Out¹ and is listed as a supported device by Disaster Area Designs⁶, whose MIDI pedals can control it. The expression pedal input is mappable to many of the controls¹, so parameters such as mix or shape can be moved in real time from an expression pedal.

Where it came from and what reviewers said

The Dream Sequence was Hologram Electronics' first pedal, released in 2016. Delicious Audio later described it as "the undeniable success of their first pedal, the Dream Sequence" when reviewing the company's follow-up, the Infinite Jets⁷³. Pedal of the Day, reviewing it in July 2016, wrote that "a pedal came onto the market that was unlike any we had all seen before" and called it "one of the hottest pedals out at the moment" with "a huge range of sonic options"⁵⁸. The pedal sits in the same experimental territory as synth pedals, using a guitar's input to generate sounds a conventional overdrive or fuzz pedal cannot.

The pedal's place in Hologram's line was cemented by its reception. Delicious Audio called it "probably the most critically acclaimed pedal of 2016"³, and the company went on to release the Infinite Jets, a sampling pedal with four sampling effects and two channels of infinite sustain³⁸, building on the reputation the Dream Sequence established.

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