Tiny practice amps have always had a reasonable sort of following, understandably so as they can be very useful. As long as the prices are low enough, then having a small unit which you can tuck away in a hotel room or take around on a bus, or just sit at home with and play through at low levels has its attractions — although often practice amps really don't seem to be very good value for money when priced against normal size amps. As we've said before this is largely due to the similar cost of many components on large versus small units. Switches etc. cost pretty much the same on 5 watt amps as on a 100 one and this means the smaller amps tend to be something less than cost effective.

Anyway, a new range of Japanese-made combos has just been introduced by distributors Fletcher Coppock and Newman (they of Westone fame) and we were sent samples of the range which you'll, no doubt, soon be seeing in music shops up and down the country. Of the four models we were loaned, one was a 5 watt guitar amp, the other a 15 watt guitar model, the third a 15 watt keyboard type and, lastly, a 15 watt bass type. Due to the arrival co-inciding with one of our usual MUSIC U.K. panics (patent applied for!) we were unable to test the keyboard model but did give the other three a run-through; our findings follow.

ARION PX-05 Combo RRP £59.95 inc. VAT

Measuring a diminutive 9 and a shade inches, by 10 inches by almost 6½ inches, the little Arion PX-05 is just about small enough to fit inside the back of a normal sized combo — and as it weighs just about 7½lbs. it isn't likely to cause anyone hernia trouble to carry around!

It's an open back combo with a captive three-core mains lead. Overall it's a fairly sturdy little unit, plywood cased and covered with diamond pattered vinyl. It's even fitted with corner protectors which gives it the look of a full-sized combo that sneaked into the washing machine and came out badly shrunken.

Facilities include two jack sockets (high and low sensitivity) plus controls for volume, bass and treble. A headphone output is provided and there is an added extra in that the volume control has a 'pull for "drive"' facility.

Sound from the little Arion wasn't too bad with the drive pushed in — it was a little restricted and boxy (much as you'd expect) and, as you push the volume up, the sound begins to break-up as the Japanese-made speaker starts to strain against the fairly considerable output level which the amp delivers.

Pull out the volume pot and there's a distortion sound which is quite acceptable. This isn't a Marshall 100 watt valve amp, and anyone who thinks he's going to get one for this sort of price and in this sort of package will be quite happy strumming away to himself in those long afternoons down at the funny farm!

"SMALLER AMPS TEND TO BE SOMETHING LESS THAN COST EFFECTIVE..."

Like all things in life, you tend to get what you pay for and there's no doubt that this little amp could be fun to have around (the headphone socket is particularly useful). The trouble is that quite a few stage amps have headphone sockets these days which rather cancels out the advantages of having a small amp as well to do the same job for you.

Overall the PX-05 doesn't sound too bad and is nicely put together. It's surprisingly loud and the sound isn't as bad as you might fear. It's hard to see how it's really good value at the full recommended price, though, when you look at the larger amps you can get these days without paying a great deal more. At this price we'd have some mixed feelings about it, for all its cuteness in appearance.

ARION PX-15 Guitar Combo RRP £89.95

15 watts output is usually a pretty sensible level for playing with a couple of other people in your living room, and that's the rated output of this little Arion amp. It shares the same styling and constructional qualities as the PX-05, which means that it's nice and sturdy and quite well thought-out in terms of facilities.

In addition there is a spring reverb circuit built-into the Arion which isn't, generally speaking, what you expect to find in an amp this small.

Like its smaller partner, the PX-15 sounds respectably loud for what its size suggests it might have to offer and has a fair range of tonal control from its twin pots, and the pre-post gain set-up. Whilst this latter offers a milder form of distortion than you get from pulling out the volume pot (thus switching it over to the 'drive' setting) it's still quite a useful sound. We say 'useful' because on either setting this is really the best that can be said about the distortion effects - they just, so obviously, sound like they're coming from just what these amps are, Japanese practice models.

"OVERALL THE PX-05 DOESN'T SOUND TOO BAD AND IS NICELY PUT TOGETHER."

There's also a spring reverb fitted to this model and that functions rather well for the size of amp in question. It isn't the best reverb sound in the world, but nor is this the world's most expensive amp!

Pound for pound this is a better buy than the little PX-05, which is much as you'd expect it to be, the economics of amp production being what they are, but that still, we're afraid, doesn't mean that this one strikes us as being particularly outstanding value for money.

Priced at £89.95 it comes out (at full RRP inc. VAT) as being more expensive than two British-made practice amps which we've reviewed of late (the Pro-Amp Demon and the Marshall 12 watt) and, whatever the reasons for than price level (shipping costs etc. etc.) we're afraid that this amp doesn't, in our opinion, really compete with either of those two models — or even one or two others around today.

Sorry, there's nothing much wrong with the PX-15, it's just a bit over-priced to stand direct comparisons with home-grown product.

ARION PX15B Bass Combo RRP £89.95

Curiously, the bass version of the Arion combos is one of the best of the range. Perhaps it's a token of how many Japanese manufacturers find it hard to voice a guitar amp (a matter requiring some subjective assessment of the instrument and its role), whereas (in some respects at least) the solution to amplifying a bass satisfactorily is merely an objective and technical one. As long as you can overcome the problems of getting a speaker to handle bass frequencies without sounding like it's tearing itself to pieces (which is usually a prelude to its doing just that!) then you've licked most of the problems — at least, far enough for a small practice amp to work to a reasonable sort of standard.

"TONALLY THE ARION IS SURPRISINGLY QUITE GOOD CONSIDERING THE PRICE."

Anyway, the Arion PX15B isn't too bad in this respect. The back is decently sealed and the sound it produces doesn't begin to break up until the volume is up very high.

Oddly, the makers have fitted a master volume, usually something done to provide overload distortion at low volumes. This isn't really required by most bassists and doesn't really seem to work on the Arion bass model anyway — both volumes seem to do much the same job — perhaps it would be useful if you happened to have an ultra-high output bass, but how many Alembic owners will be buying such a small and cheap beginner's amp?

Anyway, the facilities offered aren't at all bad; you have the twin volumes, treble, middle and bass pots plus a line out jack socket with another for headphone output. Tonally, the Arion is surprisingly quite good considering the price. There is rather a pronounced bias towards toppier sound, but one tends to expect that from small bass amps and there isn't much one can do in the way of getting it bassier without winding the treble control right back, possibly even doing the same with the middle level, which does, of course, tend to cut the overall sound pressure level coming from it. Still, you shouldn't expect too much from an amp of this size and cost.

Overall, of the three out of four Arions which we tried, we'd be inclined to say that the bass model was probably our favourite and is possibly, on that account, rather better value for money at an RRP of £90 minus 5p change. It's not the best bass practice amp we've ever heard, but it's by no means the worst — a bit pricey still, when you look at the average for amps of this sort of power rating.

CONCLUSION

If we sound like we've got a bit of a downer on these new Arion combos it's mainly because, judging by the three out of four that we tried, we didn't feel that they were very competitively priced against the many alternative models on the market today. Currently the amp scene is one of the most hotly contested and it could be that there isn't much room for imported products with the Pound standing where it does at present.

That situation could change (of course) and who knows what might happen to the prices of imported amps? But, whatever the reasons behind it, an imported amp today has to be very good indeed to hold its own against the U.K.-built competitors, and the Arions, which are of an average sort of quality, don't seem to be all that remarkably priced.