TC Electronic PLETHORA X3/X5 FAQ (March 2023)

In the couple of years since the TC Electronic's Plethora X5 release I have posted a ton of info scattered all over a bunch of videos. In this video, I'm going to try to answer the most Frequently Asked Questions that I get about the Plethora X3 and X5.
Keep in mind this video was recorded in March 2023 with firmware 1.3.11.
\\ Product Links \\
Product page: www.tcelectronic.com/product....
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TC Electronic PLETHORA X5: redir.love/l47us9oJ
TC Electronic PLETHORA X3: redir.love/sYpGIUd3
Get the stuff I use from Thomann.de: redir.love/thocf/07xtoh0gkr
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\\ Timestamps \\
00:00 Intro
00:49 Does the Plethora support MIDI clock?
01:11 Do the Plethoras have Analog Dry-Through?
01:54 Do the Plethoras have True Bypass?
04:06 How to Triple Tap to access the Tuner?
04:30 How to Triple Tap to change boards?
05:13 How to reorder / reorganise boards?
05:49 How to rename boards?
06:10 Activate Tuner with MIDI controi?
06:23 Switches: Momentary instead of Latching?
06:37 Parameters Reset when saving TonePrints!
08:41 Bluetooth connection to Laptop / Desktop?
08:48 Tempo in BPM in Edit Mode?
09:27 Got more questions?
\\ Tags \\
#tcelectronic #plethora #faq

[@PedalPlatform]

Get your Plethora's from my affiliate links and help me keep the channel's lights on: X3: redir.love/sYpGIUd3 X5: redir.love/l47us9oJ

[@fiveby3]

Hi from the future! Yes, midi clock in firmware 1.4.3 (Oct 2023.)

[@marclevitt3832]

I'm new to the world of plethora and cannot get enough of your x3 & x 5 vids! Please keep them coming. Clear, engaging, informative videos... what's not to love??

[@PedalPlatform]

Thank you so much for the kind words! 🙏🏻

[@jimvee4528]

Super helpful, thanks!

[@xicoescuroII]

Thank you for another lovely help! 👍

[@PedalPlatform]

Happy to help!

[@miguelmadaleno1861]

Só para deixar os Parabéns pelo excelente trabalho que tens prestado!! Continuação de Bom Trabalho! Tudo de Bom!

[@terrysettle9669]

Thanks for the info always concise love your plethora videos I'm kind of suffering from plethora bias and since getting my X5. I've used it in a number of ways and have found it to be just a wonderful device

[@PedalPlatform]

Thank you! 🙏🏻

[@steverussell7645]

Thanks not just for this video but for all that you upload. Invaluable source of advice on getting the best out of the Plethora. I've only just recently purchased an X5, having waited quite a few years. Superb piece of kit - and I wouldn't even scratch the surface if it weren't for your videos.

[@PedalPlatform]

Thank you for the really kind words, they're very appreciated 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@ajlmirrormist]

Top Notch as always... every Plethora should be sold with a link to this guy.

[@PedalPlatform]

Thank you for the kind words! 🙏🏻

[@TheGuitarEffect]

Hey man. Absolutely loving your channel. Love how in depth you go. Great stuff. So I bought an X3 recently and I’m controlling it with a Boss ES8. I’m doing a program change for each song and then using continuous controllers to turn individual effects on and off. So you mentioned timing problems with CC messages. I’m having that problem I can’t get more than one CC to work at a time. And I can’t get any to work when I’m sending the PC. You mentioned you send other messages in between. Any chance you can give an example of one of those messages?

[@Drew_Vernon]

Glad I saw this before buying one. No midi clock is a deal breaker for me.

[@MOAB-UT]

What did you buy? FM3?

[@MrIantodd]

Fantastic videos about the plethoras. Please can you show us how to enable the cab sim?

[@HuiswerkGitaarles]

Thanks for these excellent videos! One question: at the moment I'm using a TC Nova multi FX (or "guitar computer" as my colleague calls it). I'm contemplating a switch to the X5, as it has stereo inputs. Could all Nova tones be duplicated by an X5? (except for the 'drive' of course, which I'm not using).

[@jacobmaguire7004]

Hi:) love the vids. Is it possible to change settings on a digitech whammy through the plethora X5 via midi signals?:)) Thnx

[@PeterHamerProductions]

Super useful tips, thank you! I've a question: where I can get chain presets for Pletora X5 in addition to those already included in the pedalboard? I'm not talking about the single effect presets (available in the TonePrint app) but full chains of effects...

[@LoganAddisMusic]

Following

[@Boguszmusic]

Thank You for the video! Im suprissed about MIDI clock, do we have any news about that? Does that mean, that if You looper's midi out is sending the tempo and I plug that into Plethora, delays and modulations won't get synced to the tempo of loop?

[@user-gc2mt8ez4u]

Thanks for the great Q&A…I would like to ask: If you have a preset with 2 delays but you dont want to use them at the same time is it possible to switch one delay on and the other goes automaticaly off or you have to switch it off first? cheers B.

[@KurtLorenz]

❤

[@fergeraci]

Hey! Thank you so much for all the info! I am on 1.3.11 using it exclusively in the FX loop (Input and Output mono both). I was using it before in 4CM but I am having an issue that when the plethora is in the chain (Not in true by pass) it makes a "bubbly" sound and if the amp is in a somewhat high volume, it will inject an ultra-high pitch sound which makes it unusable. Have you ever faced this issue by any chance? I tried every setting possible, but it seems that the unit itself doesn't like to be in the FX loop of a high gain amp (mesa mark).

[@SongsForTiredEars]

I have an expression pedal to EXP1 IN on the ES-8. Attempting to output MIDI from ES-8 to control a Hot Knob param on the X3. At face value, it seems straightforward. However I've exhausted just about every possible way i can think of to get the job done to no avail. Any guidance is humbly appreciated.

[@Ryan-kw7gj]

Can effects be routed to only the left or right stereo inputs? I'd like to have my EHX Mel9 in front of the plethoraX5, with the effected and dry outs from the Mel9 into the left and right inputs of the plethora. It would be great to only have compressor, chorus, and delay on the clean guitar sound, while vibrato on just the strings or flute sounds generated by the Mel9. Then both signals merging at a looper. Also, can effects be displayed right to left instead of left to right in order of the signal chain? Thanks for the help.

[@schoolofrockcresskill5811]

With the 4 cable method and my Friedman Smallbox combo. Can I choose which effects come before the amp and which are in the loop? Thank you!

[@pointsofhonesty]

you better get hooked up from tc electronic, your videos are awesome!

[@yanghan1094]

Great video! Question ... how can I delete a board?

[@Godflash2]

Great stuff What is the best way to pair my Plethora x5 with Two Notes Revolt?

[@blanche027]

Great video. What is the latency?

[@jeyt4871]

Good morning, a question I haven't found an answer to anywhere yet. I've noticed that my plethora x5 connected to my amp's send-return has quite low volume when the effects are on. But if I go into bypass to tune the guitar the volume goes up a lot and I couldn't find any adjustment on the DB boost machine which is sometimes present on some effects

[@helmutguitar]

Can I use a Dual footswitch connected to the Expression pedal TRS jack to switch "Boards" ?

[@hejduke9060]

Thanks for vids! Question: do you have any sort of influence or ear at TC Electronic? Feature request: having the ability to run the Plethora's effects in parallel, as opposed to series, would make the Plethora a super-multi effects unit, which would compete with way more expensive, higher end products. For instance, running multiple delays, operating on the dry signal independently of each other, is just one exceptional example. Think Allan Holdsworth, who did not use reverb; it was all done with multiband delays (parallel). Perhaps it's too much to hope for but they won't know unless we verbalize it. Thanks again for your vids!

[@joakeen]

I kept wondering if the Plethora had parallel capabilities. It would be absolutely amazing if it did. Oh well, back to square one to find a compact multi effects unit that has parallel capabilities (it's looking like the H90 for me).

[@marcohermans3207]

If you compare the stand alone Hall of Fame or the Flashback delay with the Plethora you hear a clear difference! The Plethora is more pristine sounding. It has more highs. And that is because the digital signal of the plethora is not only the effect but the ADA converter converts your core (tube)amp tone also. With the standalone pedals the digital signal sits "on top" of your analog signal so there is more warmth in your signal, it's analog dry through. For me that is crucial because my core tube amp tone is the basis of everything and I don't wanna loose that element. I didn't manage to EQ it out unfortunally. I don't care about the very small latency because it's negible. If you can not compare them you will never know the difference and then X3/X5 could be perfect solution and maybe you like the digital character of the whole signal....I was hoping to replace my modulation and time base effects with this unit because the formfactor is superb for a small pedal board. Hopefully the ADA conversion will improve in the future because I think this technology is the future . Until then I'll stay with my old pedals.

[@JayJay-gd8by]

I have a question about usage of Midi on the plethora. I know there's a dropout of sound, when switching boards via midi. Is there are also a dropout when sending the same PC Command along with a CC information for turning an effect on or off? To be a little more specific. I use presets for different sounds. So with every sound change, I send a PC command. To produce two sounds, e.g. one with and one without delay, I could send the same PC command for staying on the same board while sending a CC command with 2 different values for on and off. Will the plethora in that case load the current board again? Or will then a dropout of sound occur?

[@gzarrukd]

I read a user review online that said the built in tuner can't candle anything lower than the E string on a bass. Have you tried/experimented with this? Me getting the X3 depends on whether or not I'll be able to also replace the Polytune on my board.

[@The_Ricardo_Sa]

Still on buffering - what is the difference between buffered with or without trails? And is the buffer a true buffer with 100 ohms output? - Meaning, I haver 2 EQs and 3 overdrives in my loop - do I still need to add a buffer or is the plethora 5x loop enough?

[@rikkijones7534]

If I insert my guitar into mono input can I put output in stereo using the chorus?

[@haydenb9074]

I guess you could say that people have a *plethora* of questions about this pedal

[@pauln2143]

Is there a way to simulate a “panner” effect? (stereo). Given a simple Phaser, I want to turn it on. THEN - either mash or use an exp pedal to change the spread&rate of the phase across L&R outputs. The other Tremolo/Pan pedals out there do this - but only on/off. You have to reach down and twist the knobs

[@PedalPlatform]

Great question, thanks - I'll look into it as soon as possible.

[@tarheeltone]

@pedalplatform help, every time I change the BPM on a board it changes to that BPM on every preset! How do I turn that off?

[@swjacob5506]

Does factory reset delete the preset boards that come in the box

[@TeleStrat335]

After deleting a Board on the x3, I'm left with an empty board. How do I get rid of the empty board?

[@CamposCaster]

Hi, Question Number 13: Can multiple effects be assigned to a single switch? For example, have a delay chorus at No. 1, a reverb delay vibe at No. 2, etc. Live that would be very useful. Or is it a single effect per switch, nothing more? something like the joyo pxl8 only digital and with many effects

[@makingmusiconline2309]

Each board is (up to) five effects, in a set order. You can have up to 128 boards, so you can switch from Delay Chorus on board 1 and Reverb Delay Vibe on board 2. Switching between boards interrupts the signal for around 300ms. At 120bpm (two beats per second) that’s a gap of less than one beat. But any reverb, delay or loop will cut off when you change boards (and you’ll lose the tape loop content). The quickest way of switching from one board to another is probably a midi foot switch. Otherwise you have to either press two foot switches to pick board select then click foot switches to go up/down and select, or use the small toggle switch to go up/down one board at a time.

[@Pootzification]

I put my plethora x3 thru the effects loop of my amp. When i activate true bypass mode, my signal becomes louder with the pedal off, but as soon as i turn on an effect the volume drops by a lot. Is this normal for true bypass with this unit? Is there a way to fix this problem so the levels stay the same, or is that the purpose of the buffer mode?

[@michalsadlon9472]

So am I right when I say that if my amp sim pedal output goes into the input of Plethora X5 and with specific metal rhythm guitar preset (with no effects required) it sends also midi command to Plethora X5 to choose a preset with all pedals empty/off, it will automatically switch on the relay and trigger true bypass on X5?

[@PedalPlatform]

With the correct settings, and if you meet all the other conditions regarding the FX loop, it should absolutely drop into true bypass. 👍🏻

[@ichtus]

Is there a global or main level that you can use to set the overall level?

[@freefalling120]

How do you set mash for efx level?

[@andybonnington]

Hi, How long is the looper time? and can you load loops on via USB?

[@2000WTube]

Thank you very much! Two questions: Can the Mash sensitivity somehow be adjusted? It seems that my third switch isn’t as sensitive as the other two. Can the parameters of the effects controlled more precisely? With delay time I found that it pretty much jumps without allowing me to adjust it precisely. I turn the knob slightly and it jumps from 1025 to 1200 ms for example. I’am not able to precisely dial in 1100 ms. Is their a work around for this? Thank you 🙏

[@PedalPlatform]

1. Nope, absolute MASH sensitivity is set at the factory, but you can tweak the response curve on your toneprints to get them to react faster, which could help (check this video for the tutorial: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h3iThYt6gJKXhpo); 2. Yup, you can tweak the toneprints to map the pots to smaller, more precise ranges. E.g. on the delays, instead of min 20 ms to max 7000 ms, you can map them from min 1000 ms to max 1200 ms, which should make it a lot easier to tweak. And if you want a specific toneprint to always load with a specific value, just map the pots to the same value all across the range (check this one for examples: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fYSvnquXjbipgsU). Hope this helps!

[@2000WTube]

@@PedalPlatform thank you very much!!

[@drclaudiocaraujo]

Please, how can I have my Phletora X3 comtrolled through MIDI by Carl Martin The strip? Thanks!

[@sebacairo]

Can you add an external tap tempo pedal like the flashback 2?

[@PedalPlatform]

Nope, internal switches only. 😕

[@jesterraj]

hi can you put a link for the mapping...thx.

[@DaveMarket]

My x5 is updated to v 1.1.55 . I now have IPad 9 and can’t update to 1.3.11 Is this a known issue? Thanks

[@joshvcrawford]

Love my x5 but it needs a global tap tempo option.

[@karenfrye4546]

So I'm new to guitar pedals and have only played my Woodwinds and Harmonicas acoustically until recently. I saved my money and got the Plethorax5 and a Voco loco to be able to run my phantom powered woodwind mic. How do I get the plethora sounds through the voco loco. I then run to my PA's. Thanks, very insightful video, was hoping my question was one of them.

[@PedalPlatform]

Hi Karen, you can use the Voco Loco's effects loop for this: plug the Voco Loco's Send to the Plethora's left input, then the Plethora's left output to the Voco Loco's Receive. Try starting with both the send and receive pots on the Voco at 12 o'clock, and enable the loop by pressing the loop wet/dry switch, and that should do it. Let me know how it goes!

[@karenfrye4546]

@@PedalPlatform Hi, thanks for your input! I have done this. This is how I have it configured and I used a toothpick for the small wet/dry button on the side. Still nothing from the Plethorax5. Just not working. I hope it's something simple I am doing wrong and not a bad unit. Everything lights up and seems functioning on the Plethorax5 and my Voco Loco is powered up and my flute mic plays through the PA's but no Plethora sounds at all. Has to be something simple I am not doing. I am using new MXR patch cables to connect as you suggest above. Thanks again, I am just kind of lost!

[@PedalPlatform]

If you'd like, shoot me an email (it's on the about tab) with a photo of the pedals / connections and let's see if we can get that working for you! 👍🏻

[@rolfka512]

Danke!

[@PedalPlatform]

Thank you! 🙏🏻

[@miguelalcala5178]

Is there a way to assign one of the foot switches to be a global tap tempo?

[@PedalPlatform]

Nope, global tap is one of the features that's still missing from the feature set. 😕

[@szczepanowinski7567]

Hi! I've got some problem with duplicate function. ONLY ONCE I saw list of bards when I wanted duplicate bord , and then I would see numbers and list of all boards. Usually when I want to duplicate I just switch edit mode, next flippin by board switch I can choose DUPLICATE and automaticly it is duplicated on first of free number, or creating new number. Somebody can help me? What did I done I would see list all of boards > What is that function? all the best!

[@spookydirt]

there's someone on the TC forums asked the same question - he accidentally got the list of boards, but can't replicate it. No answers on the TC forum, yet. I'd be very interested to know how to do it!

[@AlVixan]

Great video! Any news about the next software update?

[@PedalPlatform]

Thank you! And nope, no news as of yet. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@katiafrolenkova7986]

And now?

[@ausgangssperre-band]

No Midi clock? Oh man, I hoped for that.

[@adinathakalk8768]

Hi, is it possible to rename the effects? I use multiple setting for the harmonizer, and it would be handy to name it to a song where it is used.

[@BrianOates]

The pedalboards can be renamed in the app and it carries over to the board name in the Plethora. If you mean renaming the individual effects, I don’t know.

[@PedalPlatform]

You can "rename" the toneprints (by creating new ones with different names), but you can't change the names of the effects themselves. Not sure how useful that is, as the toneprint names are very small on the screen, but it'll help with organizing them.

[@Dibdibber]

Can you turn off Bluetooth on x3 ? :)

[@staatseinde]

Answer on question nr. 1.... 😢 How long do we have to wait, it would open a big market for TC i guess...

[@pooferson5991]

Bought the X5. It was awesome, sounded great but returned it because the app was a flop. I had so many problems with connecting (wifi) that I got rid of it.

[@PedalPlatform]

The wireless connection has improved with each new firmware version, but I still prefer to use the USB cable whenever possible. A lot more annoying, but less fiddly 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@emilmarkotic4115]

Do you think Plethora is capable of replacing Flashback X4 ver.2? I love it but its is big.

[@PedalPlatform]

For most intents and purposes, yes, since the delay engine is virtually the same. To me, it's mostly a tradeoff between saving precious pedalboard space + having a lot more toneprint slots on the Plethoras, and losing the immediacy / simplicity of the user interface (and I love those big-ass smooth potentiometers...). But yeah, the X4's are too large for anybody not using a dinner table as a pedalboard...

[@emilmarkotic4115]

@@PedalPlatform thank you so much for your feedback!

[@robboster]

Important question - how did you get the pedal screens to spell out F A Q :O

[@PedalPlatform]

Ah, the magic of Photoshop... 😆

[@tornadoluke]

Why no EQ? 6 band or 10 band is even in the 109 dollar Nux Mighty Plug Pro.

[@001mladen]

SO... nothing much happened with X5 or X3. Still no midi tap tempo for delays and effects, no spark booster pedal, no Infinite pedal..... etc. but i still use it, i just find tap dancing on delay pedal to adjust tap in a live setting... almost unusable. Its a pity for TC

[@micahflanders6789]

X10 when?

[@quantumkettlebells4384]

These are really well made videos and they are super helpful. Honestly, I have had the X3 for about a year and I am less than impressed with it. TC products in general dont do stereo anything very well. It wasnt overly expensive but I wish I would have bought something else. The time spent fiddling around and having to locate these options doesn't outweigh the benefits of this unit. Effects quality are average. Many of the tone prints included are completely irrelevant.

[@8Junio76]

I moved from Plethora X5 to Boss MS-3. Way better product.

[@jesterraj]

@6.44 that suck.......

[@mattgilbert7347]

No analog dry/thru means no wet/dry

[@makingmusiconline2309]

No, it just means you have to take the dry split before the plethora. The same way you take it before your standalone delays and reverbs … or you put the FX loop before Plethora pedal 1 and the Plethora will send the dry out and bring the fx loop of the amp back as the FX loop in.

[@mattgilbert7347]

@Making Music Online latency tho.

[@breakerPaul]

@@makingmusiconline2309 that could indeed introduce latency issues. I think the better option would be to connect 2 amplifiers in stereo and program your effects panned to only the wet amp. That way both sides receive the exact same latency.

[@makingmusiconline2309]

@@mattgilbert7347 if you have wet/dry with Strymon or any other digital pedals, you’re going to get A/D and D/A latency. At least this way you can have five pedals in your wet loop and only have one A/D and one D/A rather than five (if you split before the X5)

[@Echo_III]

My q - why many guys sit at home with a winter hat? ;D

[@PedalPlatform]

Trying to keep my ideas warm, I wouldn't want them to freeze mid video 😬