Alessandro/Hound Dog Black N Tan

Not feature-rich in the sense of having a million buttons and knobs on the fron panel. But it lets you use a host of power tubes without any additional tweaking -- that's huge in my books. I have tried EL34, 6L6, 6V6, and KT66 in the amp, all they all sound great. The tone controls are extremely effective in sculpting the tone.

I play blues and classic rock. Soapbars and single coils sound amazing for clean to moderately overdriven. I am not much into heavy distortion. So really do not have any opinion on the tones when the amp is dimed. Humbuckers sound great overdriven. A clean humbucker is not a tone I dig a lot, with any amp -- so no reflection on the amp. The amp has an incredible extended top end without any sign of harshness. I much prefer the sound of the amp with bright speakers to dark speakers for that reason. If you are looking for a lot of top-end chime, this is not the amp. My favorite sounds are with a KT66 on this amp.

I do not gig, so no idea how the amp will hold under some level of man-handling. For home use, and for being forgiving to occassional goofs, it is extremely well built. I have powered up the amp and turned it up a few times without speakers connected -- and it survived that. Not too many tube amps will.

George is excellent at supporting his customers.

I have owned the amp for a year and half now, and play it regularly. Although expensive, I feel it is a good value. The amp has a unique character that I have not come across very much in other amps. It has an unusual combination of a in-your-face, yet sweet, tone that leaves you not wanting to put your guitar down.

My Black N Tan is the first Prototype, made in late 2000. Its a 15 watt, PURE Class A amp. Optimized for 2 EL-34's with an all-octal front-end, controls are Volume, Treble, Mid, and Bass. Its a high-end model with Black Gate filter caps, Audiophile resistors, FPS Silver Wire, and a 24k Gold-Plated Chassis. After discovering my first Alessandro, I knew these were the amps for me...I asked George if he had plans to make a low-power EL-34 amp, and after our conversation he put his thoughts onto the workbench, and came up with Black N Tan! No need for channel switching or stomp-boxes...this amp can do it all! You can truly go from clean chimey tone, to full on overdrive...all with your guitars volume knob. The most amazing part about this amp is that although its optimized for EL-34's, I've had great success also using 6L6's, 5881's, EL-37's, and even 6V6's...all without a bias change! Although the controls on this amp are very simple, I've found it to be one of the MOST versitile amps I've got!

I play Terry C. McInturff guitars, a 56 strat, and a G&L Legacy...mostly Blues and Blues/Rock. The Black N Tan fits the bill perfectly, as it has both amazing clean tones and superb creamy overdrive. The first thoughts that come to my mind are Rich and Pure, Creamy yet Articulate, very organic and amazingly touch-sensitive. Clean tones are chimey, warm, thick, bell-like, and very round. As you roll up the volume knob, or pick harder, the amp begins to break up and get a little gitty. Wide open gives the sweetest, warmest, creamiest breakup...amazing lead tones, or very chunky rhythm tones. Then roll it back and you've got super-rich cleans. Alessandro's are one of the few amps I've played that maintain such rich tone with the volume knob rolled off. No need for pedals here! Overall, the tone is SO much richer and pure than any other amp I've got...and we're talking many BF Fenders and a Matchless. The Black N Tan is my Desert-Island amp!

I've owned 3 of George's amps, and they are all bullet-proof. Intelligently designed, well-built, only the highest quality components...I'd have no need for a back-up, and I can't forsee the need for any servicing except tube changes when necessary.

George Allesandro is a TOP-NOTCH guy. He has been such a pleasure to work with, he's incredibly intelligent, and he knows his stuff! He's super accomodating when it comes to questions or testing amps, his wait-time is minimal, and he's easy to contact if ever a problem did arise. He stands behind his product, and his personal touch is evident. Give him a call and he'll explain his amps, tone, etc.

I've been playing for years, and have LOTS of great amps, like a Matchless Cheiftan and many BF Fenders. This is my all-time favorite amp, and if anything happened to it I'd have another one made immediately. I love everything about the Black N Tan, and I wouldn't change a thing. My review may sound kinda gushy...but I can't express my pleasure enough...George and his amps are just the greatest thing going, and the prices are quite reasonable as oppposed to what's on his website. I know tone is subjective, but Alessandro's seem to stun everyone that hears them.