flwords by: fflletcher stewart
hologram dream sequence
Hailing from my hometown of Knoxville,
TN, Hologram Electronics busted out of
the gate with a box seemingly dedicated
to turning a guitar (or any signal source
really) into a vintage synth pulsar capable of
inspiring not only a few tracks, but also an
entirely new approach to one’s instrument.
In their own words “it’s a sequencer, an
envelope shaper, a pitch shifter, a sampler
and more.” If this sounds like a frightening
pedal to the more “meat-and potatoes”
pedal pushers, there is no need to worry.
Even one or two presets on this lightladen big box can inspire a new riff or two
(hundred) and even reveal microcosms of
rhythmic intrigue that will keep one playing,
scheming and dreaming for hours.
Sequence solves this age-old conundrum
by employing a very clever feature: ADSR
morphing on the rhythmic gate. I feel the
fear already with this kind of synthy techtalk, but all this translates to—in simplified
terms—that the Tap Tempo smoothly
morphs with the gate, so there are no
hiccups in the groove when tapping back
into a drifting human drummer. This is the
beauty of this big groovy box: one can use
it as a loop sampler, octaver, tremolo or
even snap a guitar to the MIDI grid within
a DAW. The Dream Sequence is all about
bringing the realms of digital, analog,
synthesis, guitar and rhythm all together.
It’s a line straddling retro-future machine
with a million possibilities.
Perhaps the most difficult thing to achieve
with a step sequencer type pedal is locking
in with a live drummer and The Dream
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