TC Electronic Plethora X5 review

TC’s TonePrint pedals flexibly arranged in one compact floorboard multi-effects pedal

TC Electronic Plethora X5
(Image: © Future / Olly Curtis)

Guitar World Verdict

The Plethora X5 offers you options and lots of them. Add a dirt pedal or two and you've got a pedalboard ready to go, but at a pinch it can also be used as a fly rig or as a means of conveniently expanding your existing pedalboard.

Pros

  • +

    Compact all-in-one unit.

  • +

    Ease of setup and use.

  • +

    Variety of effects.

  • +

    MASH and external pedal expression ability.

  • +

    Promise of constant firmware updates.

Cons

  • -

    ‘Back to front’ display might throw a curveball to some.

  • -

    At the time of writing there’s no user manual available and

  • -

    some functions are not yet implemented.

You can trust Guitar World Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing guitar products so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

The concept of a compact self-contained pedalboard with several footswitchable effects is not unique but it’s taken on a new flexibility in TC Electronic’s hands. 

The Plethora X5 can store 127 ‘pedalboards’, each with individually footswitchable effects taken from TC’s TonePrint pedal range. You can combine any five, including multiple instances of the same one, in any order. 

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**

Join now for unlimited access

US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year

UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year 

Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Prices from £2.99/$3.99/€3.49

Trevor Curwen

Trevor Curwen has played guitar for several decades – he's also mimed it on the UK's Top of the Pops. Much of his working life, though, has been spent behind the mixing desk, during which time he has buil