Canadian Musician - November/December 2020 | Page 20

ROAD TEST

By Omar Shabbar

TC Electronic Plethora X5 Multi-FX Pedal

I

believe that most pedal enthusiasts can
n be categorized into two groups . The first group is the vintage or boutique tone purists whose boards consist of several tried and true , mostly analog pedals . Each pedal may be a one-trick pony , but there are lots of ponies and the tricks are really cool . The second group is the one with what I call “ big brain boards .” These boards consist of one or two “ big brain ” digital multi-FX pedals that can create any sound imaginable ; with one stomp , you can change several effects on your board , change the channel on your amp , cue a lighting change , and make a pot of coffee .
One type of board isn ’ t better than the other and both have their merits and limitations . I recently made the switch from a “ boutique board ” with 12 unique-sounding pedals to a board with three pedals : two drive pedals and the Plethora X5 from TC Electronic . Here ’ s why I made the switch and what I ’ ve found on my transition to a digitally-powered pedalboard …
Basics I ’ ve been a big fan of TC Electronic pedals for a long time ; they ’ ve been able to capture the sound of some amazing , coveted vintage gear and sell it at a fraction of the price . Because of this , my board has always featured at least two of their pedals . You ’ ve probably already seen their Hall of Fame , Flashback , or Ditto Looper on someone ’ s board if it ’ s not already on yours .
Nearly all of their pedals feature something called Toneprint technology . This is an app that consists of a library of presets for their pedals . Some of the Toneprints are made by TC Electronic , but many are made by famous musicians who have designed their own personalized sound . Depending on the pedal , you can find dozens of Toneprint presets that range from uncanny recreations of legendary gear to spacey , synth-like modulations ; even further , the app allows you to make your own Toneprints where you can control everything from the EQ of a chorus to the modulation of tails on a reverb to the amount of gain on your octaver .
I have spent hours and hours making my own Toneprints because I love doing those deep dives , but that ’ s not to say that there aren ’ t
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already tons of great sounds already on the pedals and in the Toneprint presets .
In Use For years , TC fans have been asking for a multi- FX pedal where you can load several different Toneprints from different pedals into one larger unit . Essentially , that ’ s the Plethora X5 . You have five different slots that can be populated with Toneprints from TC ’ s reverb , delay , octave , pitch shifter , chorus , compressor , doubler , flanger , tremolo , harmonizer , noise gate , or vibrato effects . They have also promised to release a looper , phaser , and vibe in the next firmware update ( to be released fall 2020 ). These are essentially all of TC ’ s best-selling pedals in one device .
This may seem like a lot – and it is – but the layout makes it very easy to navigate . You have Play Mode and Edit Mode , which you can toggle between with a switch . This makes playing as easy as hitting a footswitch to activate an effect and editing as easy as any other three-knob pedal you already own . Some cool features include a built-in tuner , stereo ins and outs , an effect loop that can be placed anywhere in your signal chain , an expression pedal in ( which can double as a volume pedal ), and of course the MASH feature . Each footswitch on the Plethora X5 is pressure-sensitive , allowing you to “ mash ” it down and affect certain parameters of a given effect . Think of creating feedback loops on delays , adjusting the depth or rate on a flanger , or growing tails on a shimmer reverb all by pressing down harder on the footswitch . You can assign the MASH function to adjust up to three different parameters for each effect through the Toneprint app .
This pedal works especially great in my rig .
I ’ m tired of lugging around a huge amp and a huge board and this pedal has cut my board from 12 pedals to three , making my whole rig lighter . Sonically , it sounds great . The tones are there and I have access to loads of new effects that may not have otherwise found themselves on my board .
The switch to a multi-FX has been good , but not perfect . I ’ ve experienced some bug issues with the most recent firmware update and the Toneprint software ; however , they ’ re relatively minor issues that I ’ ve been able to troubleshoot .
Summary There ’ s a lot going on in this unit and I ’ m really just scratching the surface even after a few months of playing it . The thing that I love most about the Plethora X5 so far is that it is as complicated as you want it to be . That is one of the biggest downfalls of the “ big brain boards ” I mentioned earlier ; often , there are so many parameters to adjust that you aren ’ t able to get the sounds you want without studying the manual . This pedal has those extended parameters if you want them , but it can also be as easy to use as that old single effect unit on your board . Because of that , I think this pedal might just bridge the gap for big brain and boutique players .
Omar Shabbar is a gigging musician based out of Toronto . He ’ s also an onsite guitar tech at The Root Down Studio ( www . therootddownstudio . com ) and a self-proclaimed gear head . In the rapidly changing industry of modern guitar gear , Omar attempts to discern innovation from distraction . Check out his YouTube channel , featuring dozens of gear reviews and performance clips , at YouTube . com / OmarGearReview .