“It can be whatever pedal you need it to be”: TC Electronic’s Plethora X1 takes the fight to the Line 6 HX One – and it costs over $100 less

TC Electronic has unveiled the Plethora X1 – the latest addition to its Plethora family of multi-effects pedals, which finds the firm going toe-to-toe once again with Line 6.

The Plethora range is one of the most popular and successful multi-effects lineups on the market. The flagship Plethora X5, for example, received a glowing 4.5 out of 5 star review from Guitarist when it first arrived, as did its sibling, the downsized Plethora X3, which arrived in 2022.

Now, the firm has streamlined its Plethora pedal once again in the form of a single footswitch stompbox that seemingly sets its sights on wrestling Line 6’s HX One for the title of the market’s go-to sole-switch multi-effects unit.

For some context, the Line 6 HX One arrived earlier this year to much fanfare. Upon its release, it made Helix-grade effects more affordable than ever before with a price tag of $299 and, again, promptly received a golden 4.5-star review from Guitarist.

In practice, it offered a huge range of Line 6’s Helix effects in a tiny form factor that could be squeezed into even the busiest of pedalboards.

PLETHORA X1 – Official Product Launch Video – YouTube

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With that in mind, TC Electronic’s Plethora X1 is a direct competitor to the HX One, offering a suite of the brand’s guitar effects, a seriously simple control layout, stereo inputs and outputs, and that compact form factor.

Through its interface, the Plethora X1 delivers 14 onboard effects, which are divided into two banks of seven ‘Boards’. The pedal comes pre-loaded with some high-profile TC effects, including Hall of Fame 2 Reverb, Flashback 2 Delay, Corona Chorus, Pipeline Tap Tremolo and more.

These can all be accessed through a selector control, and sculpted via three nondescript control knobs that are in charge of the various effects’ parameters. Furthermore, the Plethora X1 can be hooked up to the free TonePrint app via Bluetooth and USC-C, where users can upload more TonePrints (read: presets) as desired.

“The boards and slots are 100% flexible,” says TC Electronic. “If you want 14 different FlashBack 2 Delay TonePrints, simply upload them. The 1” LCD screen will help you keep track of what is loaded at any given time.”

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For extra versatility, the true bypass switch serves five functions: a classic on/off, an A/B for switching between two effects, latching, momentary, and TC Electronic’s Mash effects.

Present on previous TC Electronics’, Mash opens “a whole new world of ways to manipulate your effects”, serving different functions depending on the effect. Effectively, it can provide everything from frozen delays to ramping modulation and more.

It looks like a pretty tidy bit of kit, and it will only get better, with TC Electronic promising regular firmware updates that will bring new boards, TonePrints and more.

At $179 from Sweetwater, it really does (at least on paper) represent serious value for money, especially when you consider the HX One costs more than $100 more at $299.

The HX One is more comprehensive (you can scroll through 250 Helix effects on the pedal) and has a second footswitch – but for a one-size-fits-all multi-effects pedal that delivers some classic reverb and delay algorithms, this more affordable approach is sure to win its own fanbase.

The Hall of Fame 2 on its own, for example, is only slightly cheaper at $159. It’s the same story for the Flashback Delay, which will also set you back $159. The Plethora X1 could be a very savvy investment indeed.

Head over to TC Electronic to find out more.