Where it came from
The circuit is a modded version of the SCF pedal, TC Electronic's Stereo Chorus Flanger. Petrucci said the idea followed the trend of modded boutique pedals: "So with the trend of all the modded, boutique-y pedals, I said I would do a modded version of that pedal, and we started" from there.1
The design brief went beyond the circuit. Petrucci described the goals for the pedal as making it more road-worthy, strengthening the chassis, adding a true bypass feature, stereo ins and outs, and giving it the TonePrint format.1
Controls and presets
A rotary control selects either chorus or flanger, alongside the vibrato effect. Petrucci explained why that mattered: "As soon as they told me that we can have a rotary that can select either a chorus or a flanger, we didn't have to make t"he compromises of a single-effect design.1
The pedal carries a couple of different presets, one for a clean sound and one for a distorted sound. Petrucci set them so that with the controls at 12 o'clock on the presets, they are his go-to sounds.1
The Dreamscape is digital. Petrucci said it uses similar algorithms to create the chorus, flanger and vibrato effect types, so players looking for an analog circuit should look at TC Electronic's other chorus designs such as the Corona Chorus or the SCF GOLD.1
Stereo and placement
The pedal has stereo in and out, which Petrucci noted means it can run in an amplifier's effects loop rather than only in front of the amp.1
Videos
Sweetwater
Guitar World
TC Electronic
Questions
Is the John Petrucci Dreamscape analog or digital?
It is digital. Petrucci explained in a 2012 Guitar World interview that the pedal uses similar algorithms to create the chorus, flanger and vibrato effect types, drawing on TC Electronic's existing technology rather than an analog circuit.
Does the Dreamscape have true bypass?
True bypass was part of the design brief for the pedal. In the Guitar World interview, Petrucci described the goals for the project as making it more road-worthy, strengthening the chassis, adding a true bypass feature and stereo ins and outs.
Can the Dreamscape run in stereo?
Yes. The pedal has stereo in and out, which Petrucci pointed out means it can sit in an amplifier's effects loop as well as on a pedalboard.
What are the Dreamscape's presets?
Petrucci designed a couple of different presets, one for a clean sound and one for a distorted sound. He said the presets were set so that with the controls at 12 o'clock, they are his go-to sounds.
Does the Dreamscape do both chorus and flanger?
Yes. The pedal features chorus, flanger and vibrato effects, and a rotary control selects between chorus and flanger. Petrucci said that once the rotary design was settled, the team did not have to make the compromises a single-effect pedal would face.
What is TonePrint?
The Dreamscape is part of TC Electronic's TonePrint line, a format that carries presets. On the Dreamscape, the TonePrint format holds presets with the controls at 12 o'clock set to Petrucci's go-to sounds.
