Pat Mediate

Brian McCombs

Mark Mancina

Lance Keltner
www.lancekeltner.com

After my Redbone experience I knew I wanted another amp from George....but lower powered. We discussed the options, and I ended up ordering a Beagle. The Beagle is an incredibly fun amp to play...just oozing with rich EL84 tones. Shimmering cleans with chimey highs, very mid-rich, and easy to overdrive with the players touch. The overdrive tones are raw and have a swirly effect to them....the Beagle can work in the home, studio, and on the stage!

After playing both my Beagle and the Redbone....I asked George if he had any plans to make a low-powered EL34 Class A circuit. He had thought about it, and I offered to buy the first one if he ever decided to make one. A few months later George called to tell me the Black N Tan was born.....and he was kind enough to offer me the prototype! Over the last 2 years the Black N Tan has become my favorite amp. Running a pair of EL34's in Class A producing about 15 watts, the Black N Tan can handle any situation. Its got a a bit of flavor from the main amp-camps...Fender, Vox, and Marshall....but with the Alessandro magic only George can produce. Big warm clean tones with a round, bell-like quality. A juicy mid-range with vibe, smooth transition into overdrive, and very responsive to the players touch. Rich, creamy overdrive in the JTM-45 zone...but very articulate with more dynamics, harmonics, and detail. The thing I love about the Black N Tan is that besides the EL34's, the BnT can also take KT66's, EL37's, 6L6's, 5881's, and even 6V6's! I keep on a rotation of Siemens EL34's, GEC KT66's, Mullard EL37's, Tung Sol 5881's, and Brimar 6V6's....each tube type has its own flavor, but the signature voice of the amp remains.

As time went by I got the itch for another of George's amps, and picked up an English Coonhound. I thought it would be very similar to the Beagle, but was I in for a surprise! The English was a bit more headroom and volume than the Beagle, but also has more thump and a tighter, more focused tone. Plenty loud for the gig, but also reasonable for jammin at home. The English is loaded with tone from glassy cleans to searing mean overdrive....and of course, its all controllable from the guitars volume knob and players touch.

If you like rich, pure, articulate tones...chimey highs, complex mids, and an unequalled level of responsiveness....you owe it to yourself to try an Alessandro Amplifier!

George has also helped me in the vintage arena. When it comes to vintage amps, there is the issue of changed parts, failed components, and other things that affect value and originality. I bought a 66 JTM-45 from George with the security of knowing I was getting the real thing, in top operating condition. Of course the tones were superb, the price fair, and there have been no troubles with the operation of the amp. On another occasion George was kind enough to help me find a set of 3 vintage P-90 pickups. I asked him about them, and he offered to find me some at an upcoming guitar show. He found enough to make me a calibrated set of 3....again, the price was fair and I knew I was getting the real deal. George went out of his way to help me on something that wasn't even part of his regular business!!

When it comes to attenuators George has it nailed! I've tried all the other top brands of attenuator, but nothing comes close to the Muzzle in terms of tone preservation....as well as keeping the FEEL of the amp intact. Even at high attenuation levels the Muzzle keeps the tone, unlike the competitors, which sqaush all tone and feel. I've now got a couple of Muzzles, and they're used all the time!

After years of trying different brands of cabling, George has styled me again! I first tried the Instrument One cable, and noticed an increase in dynamic range and a wider frequency response. Certainly better than any other cable I've tried. Then I tried the Instrument Two, and was blown away by the opening up of the sound. These cables let 100% of the guitars tone come through, and you don't need ears like EJ to hear a difference! Now I use his cables exclusively....both for instrument, and his speaker cables.

After years of buying and selling gear, I have truly ended my search for tone. George Alessandro's amps have given me all I need, and more than I thought I would ever find in an amplifier. Not only that, but George has been a true pleasure to deal with. He was gone out of his way to help me with amps, cables, parts, attenuators, bias meters, technical questions, and info on the music scene in general. He's incredibly knowledgeable, kind-hearted, and I've never felt pressure to buy something I didn't need. In fact, George will steer a customer away from one of his products if he feels it won't deliver what the customer describes as their needs. When I call, George answers the phone himself, and has always taken the time to talk to me, never making me feel rushed or like I'm burning up his time. Being in Hawaii I couldn't be further away from him....we've never met in person, but I feel like I have a good friend in George. When it comes tone, I don't think you can do better than Alessandro!

Garey

Bill Hurdis

Keep up the good work dude.....

Ron Burns
www.burnsaudio.com

Dave Orban
dave(A)mojogypsies.com
http://www.mojogypsies.com

George is not just an amp guy. He is the all around guy for excellent tone. He has serviced my Trainwreck, sold my vintage guitars, got me vintage guitars and amps, parts, speakers, cables, tubes, and fretwire. He even wound PAF Type pickups for me. All in excellent taste, reasonably priced, excellent honest service. This guy is a tone fanatic maniac. He can help you in all aspects of your tone quest. He has a good ear, enthusiasm, willingness to help, and integrity. Ask EJ about him - He'll highly recommend you.

Ryochi Ogawa

Dan Peterson

The next amp that George made for me was a high end Beagle with a 1x12 cab. I believe it was the second Beagle ever made and the first with high end components. That little amp has a great overdrive sound at low volume and great bass for its wattage; it wasn't designed for clean headroom but it does the controlled overdrive thing extremely well. Because of its current limitations, it won't drive more than 2 speakers very well but with a single or double Bulldog set up it is perfect. Excellent harmonics and detail. I even use it at lower settings to amplify my archtops and it works great.

I was so impressed with the Beagle that I got an English from George less than a year later. I thought the English would be the same as the Beagle, only more powerful, but it really has its own voice. It has much more headroom, breaks up much later, and is very robust and dynamic sounding. The best way to describe it would be to imagine a beefier JMI AC-30 top boost without the noise and reliability problems. The octal preamp tubes in the Beagle and English seem to give the amps a thicker overdrive and a more controllable transition from slight breakup to heavier overdrive once the volume control goes past 10 o'clock.

My latest amp from George has only been here for a couple of weeks and it is a high power Workingdog combo that George made for me with a 15" speaker. When I met George at this year's NAMM show and ordered the amp, I told him I wanted an amp that would be big sounding, light, reliable and sound good with front end boxes like an old Fuzzface and Klon. I mentioned to George that my 58 tweed Pro (15" speaker) has been a great amp for single coil guitars but I didn't want to keep taking it out and beating it up. The 'Dog has exceeded my expectations. It is like a blackface Vibroverb with the typical Alessandro bottom end and a more Brit style overdrive. When you crank the preamp and pull back on the power knob, the amp has a great overdrive tone that cleans up well from your guitar. If you set it for a slightly dirty sound and add a Klon for solos, you have the most versatile set up - shimmery clean, slight grit and crunch when you turn up the guitar, and then scream when you step on the Klon. When set for maximum clean headroom, the amp is very ballsy and dynamic. The bass control is almost active, it boosts the bottom so noticeably when turned up. The reverb is very subtle, more like a studio effect, not splashy like a Fender tank. Makes the amp more usable with front end boxes.

Because I always read rave equipment reviews and wonder about the reviewer's frame of reference, I will tell you what stuff I use. My main Teles are a 52 and 58; I mostly use Strats and I have a pretty big collection of 50s and 60s Strats, with my main one being a custom Strat made by Ty Shiroma of the Guitar Works here in Hawaii (killer stuff - ask George how to get in touch with Ty); my Gibsons tend to be 335s - I mostly use a 60 dot neck, a 64 and a 65, all with PAFs. Les Pauls include a 54, a 68 w/P90s and a KILLER 58 flametop replica made by Ty. My main amps in addition to the Alesssandros are 2 Trainwreck Expresses, a Trainwreck Liverpool, 2 Dumble Overdrive Specials, various old Fenders and JMI Voxes.

People always ask me how George's amps compare to the Trainwrecks. I have to say that it is not a fair comparison, especially when you consider price and availability. Yes, I prefer the Trainwrecks but I prefer them over any other amp that I have ever tried. I consider myself fortunate to be a friend of Ken's and I was able to acquire my 'Wrecks before the prices got crazy (thanks to Kenny, Bud and especially Derek). I have not heard anything that has harmonics like a 'Wreck. Because their collectible value is now so high, I rarely take them out except in situations when I am always going to be there with them. I use my Alessandros to gig with now and I am completely satisfied with what they do for me. George's amps are not Trainwreck copies and they are better for it. The Trainwreck copies are so weak - how can you expect the amp to sound like a real 'Wreck without Ken building it and using his transformers? The ripoff guys who tried to make a fast buck by copying the Trainwreck circuit missed the boat big time. I haven't heard a Komet but I have heard good things about them; my comments on the Trainwreck ripoffs are certainly not directed at Komet since Ken designed the circuit and is a part of that operation.

What else can I say? You can order an amp from George and expect delivery within a few weeks. Try doing that with some of the other "ghost" builders who take your money and then make you wait for who knows how long. I have never been disappointed with any amp I have gotten from George. I tell him what I am looking for and he tells me what he thinks will fill the bill and the amp is always what I expected. To top it all off, he is a great guy, we have become good friends over the years, and he stands behind his products.

Kimo Leong