TC Electronic PLETHORA X1 Neo

The TC Electronic PLETHORA X1 Neo is a multi-effects pedal in a compact stompbox format: a dedicated TonePrint loader that puts TC Electronic's effect line into one box, now reimagined in a black, stealth-inspired finish¹. It carries 14 of the company's pedals as loadable effects, from the Hall of Fame 2 Reverb to the Sentry Noise Gate, and a single footswitch that can be set up five different ways¹.

TC Electronic pitches it as a shape-shifter rather than a fixed-effect pedal: the same box can serve as an ambient reverb for one project and a slapback echo for the next, depending on which TonePrint you load¹. It is the newest look for the PLETHORA X1, which Guitar World's Chris Gill called "basically a single-effect version of TC's previous powerful and versatile Plethora X3 and X5"².

A PLETHORA X1 with a stealth finish

The X1 Neo is not a new circuit. It is the original PLETHORA X1, the smallest of the PLETHORA trio that followed the PLETHORA X5 and PLETHORA X3, dressed in what TC Electronic calls "a sleek new black finish"¹⁴. The maker's own framing is that it is "everything the original was, but bolder, darker, and ready to make a statement on any stage or studio desk"¹.

The original X1 arrived in December 2024, out now at launch, offering 14 different effects in a compact stompbox with stereo I/O⁶³. Delicious Audio described it as TC "shrinks the format of their stereo TonePrint file loader bringing together the full range of TonePrint pedals in a compa[ct]" unit⁷. The Neo keeps all of that and changes the look.

One footswitch, five modes

The single footswitch is the pedal's main control surface, and TC Electronic says you can use it in five different ways¹:

The A/B mode is worth a closer look for players who gig: gearnews.com noted that it "lets you switch between two different effects and even control the tempo with your foot"⁴. Guitar World's Chris Gill found the X1 "even makes it easy to switch to a completely different effect in between songs," and suggested it could work as a demo unit for other TC TonePrint pedals before a player commits to dedicated pedals².

MASH itself is TC Electronic's tactile footswitch technology. On the larger PLETHORA X5, each of its five MASH footswitches "lets you control your effects in real-time by simply mashing down on the footswitch"⁸. The X1 Neo carries a second-generation version of the same switch, and MusicRadar's review of the X1 called it a "multi-function MASH footswitch"⁵.

The 14 effects

The effects list reads like a tour of TC Electronic's pedal line¹:

• Hall of Fame 2 Reverb
• Flashback 2 Delay
• Helix Phaser
• Viscous Vibe
• Sub n Up Octaver
• Brainwaves Pitch Shifter
• Corona Chorus
• Hypergravity Compressor
• Mimiq Doubler
• Vortex Flanger
• Pipeline Tap Tremolo
• Quintessence Harmony
• Sentry Noise Gate
• Shaker Vibrato

Because the X1 is a TonePrint loader, the list is not a closed menu. TC Electronic describes it as "a dedicated TonePrint loader that covers the entire range of TonePrint pedals," managed through the TonePrint app¹³. Guitar Pedal X noted the original X1 "had 14 effects at launch but has added a few more since," so the roster has grown beyond the launch list⁹.

Where it sits in the PLETHORA line

The X1 Neo is the one-effect-at-a-time member of the family. The PLETHORA X5 TonePrint Pedalboard runs five effects at once across five MASH footswitches, and the PLETHORA X3 TonePrint Pedalboard runs three, each acting as an expression controller with customizable mapping⁸¹⁰. The X1, and now the X1 Neo, trades that board-in-a-box flexibility for a single compact stompbox that becomes whichever TC effect you need it to be¹⁶.

Videos

Click to load

Click to load