A shop visit with the legendary amplifier wizard who has helped shape the tones of Derek Trucks, David Gilmour, John Mayer, and so many of your favorite guitarists.
“Once the first one’s done, I lose all interest,” George Alessandro tells me. A classic problem solver’s reaction to a challenge—in this case, designing some of the world’s most high-profile boutique amps.
Standing in his workshop, I see the evidence of the legendary amp guru’s current puzzle, the AZZ line. Alessandro is working out the finer details of some updates on the 100-watt AZZ head. His 50-watt 1/2 AZZ—fractions designate the power of the model, with the 1/4 and 2/5 also available, and plans for a 1/8 in the works—is probably the most visible these days, accompanying Derek Trucks around the country onstage.
“George has been working on my amps for years,” Trucks says, “and has always been willing to experiment and help us chase down our sound.”
Like Leo Fender and Jimmy Bryant—or whichever builder/player pair you choose—these two masters of their crafts share a mutually beneficial relationship. “Trucks is one of the best examples of how, when I do my job right, I can literally watch the artist in real-time, the first time they’re playing it live, open up and go places I’ve never seen before,” Alessandro says.
Alessandro’s Tweedle A—a tweed-inspired combo named in homage to Dumble—sits at left, next to a custom-order tweed Deluxe build.
Photo by Nick Millevoi
The 1/2 AZZ is, in part, a result of their collaboration. The slide maestro, whose Super Reverbs have spent time on Alessandro’s bench, helped the builder guide the development of the amp. “He’s been a guinea pig for some of the designs—the ones that he needed,” Alessandro elaborates. “I was developing it around him. With the tier that [Tedeschi Trucks Band] are on right now, they’re trying to push the envelope. Developing the 1/2 AZZ for him, we were finding limitations of the platform. He helped me find a couple things that I, as a mortal human being, could never find. But for him, as one of the gods, it took us a while to find all the boundaries. If I can make it a limitless journey, then I did my job right.”
Hanging out in Alessandro’s Bucks County, Pennsylvania, workshop is an immersive thing, an opportunity to experience the whole story. Here, I get the chance to take the AZZ v2 for a spin. Loaded with four 5881s and running through a pair of vintage Marshall cabs, this thing is a true powerhouse.
Plugging into the amp using a pair of vintage SGs—to say something like “expertly set up” wouldn’t even tell the story; both of these things just really, really rip—my head is exploding. And that’s not because it’s loud, which, of course, it is. But this rig is extraordinarily dynamic and sensitive to every little pick and finger nuance I offer it. It’s a lithe beast, ready to amplify and accentuate anything I give it. And it’s quiet at idle, so I can sit here and intermittently chat while I pick lightly and have a normal conversation, and then dig in and I’m back at full volume, practically levitating on a bed of gain, always with a vibrant, full-bodied tone that makes me want to sell all my other amps and commit to this rig for life. If only I thought any gig I ever play would allow me to throw a full stack on their stage….
One corner of Alessandro’s workshop, where the 1/2 AZZ v2 is warming up near a pile of transformers.
Photo by Nick Millevoi
Next to the AZZ, I plug into Alessandro’s take on a tweed Deluxe. He figured that circuit out long ago, but he’s still excited about the classic designs. While he doesn’t typically build these, this one is a custom order from a client—I get the feeling he can’t say no to digging into an old circuit—and it’s loaded with the Eminence Eric Johnson EJ1250 that Alessandro co-designed. Just like a 5E3, it’s louder than it looks. And just like a 5E3, it does the saggy Neil Young thing everyone playing this circuit should aspire to. Basically, this sounds exactly like a 5E3, with—just maybe, because I’m not A/B-ing—a little more punch. In fact, I’d venture that this is probably how a new tweed Deluxe sounded back in the ’50s.
So, that thing he told me up at the top, about losing interest once he’s built an amp? It’s simply not true. I mean, I’m not calling George a liar—he’s a forward-thinking dude, and that’s what he’s imparting. But he essentially has the AZZ line figured out, and definitely learned everything there is to learn about the tweed Deluxe long ago, and he’s still thrilled about both, and much more.
Tedeschi Trucks Band - Layla (Live at LOCKN' / 2019) (Official Music Video)
Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall II reach for the sky with a pair of Alessandro 1/2 AZZs close at hand during Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Layla Revisited (Live at LOCKN’) concert.
High-End Reputation
“Buy my amps before I die!” Alessandro jokingly exhorted as I entered his workshop. He’d just gotten off a call where he learned about the recent astronomical sale price of a Trainwreck amp built by his late friend and mentor, the legendary Ken Fisher.
Alessandro is sensitive about not overstating his relationship with Fisher. “He saw something in me,” he says. “I don’t want to say took me under his wing, but he was very kind and gracious. It was an opportunity I relish and I appreciate having him in my life.” As Alessandro tells it, their meeting came at just the right time, and it was Fisher who gave Alessandro the push he needed.
Growing up in the Philadelphia burbs during the ’80s as an SRV-obsessed teenager, Alessandro purchased a ’59 Bassman that “just wasn’t happening.” He took it to a few area techs, all returning it with the same result. But “I was just getting into learning electronics,” he remembers, so he opened it up and realized that a broken capacitor had eluded each of the techs. “I changed that one part out and the amp came to life.”
An example of one of Alessandro’s handwired Twin Reverbs, with visibly meticulous wiring and Alessandro-branded components.
Photo by Nick Millevoi
That was all Alessandro needed to catch the bug, and he started tinkering with old amps, soon doing repairs for local players. This experience served as a deep educational phase, and the timing was kismet. “There’s a whole learning curve on how amps age,” he observes. “What happens to a ’59 Bassman at year 20, at year 40, at year 60? I was of the generation where I came in on year 25, so I was coming in when it was a perfect time to learn.”
Eventually, one of his early clients inspired him to build an amp of his own. The request was to put an extra gain stage into a black-panel Bassman. After trying it in his client’s amp, Alessandro decided to build this circuit from scratch in the chassis of a Sunn Solarus. This build became his first prototype, which he called the Hound Dog Redbone.
A pre-med student working on amps in his free time, Alessandro took the amp to Fisher’s house for their first meeting, and they hit it off. It wasn’t long before Fisher gave him his first taste of hype. “He got me my first press,” he remembers. “He was writing for Vintage Guitar and basically said this Hound Dog is the closest thing to a Trainwreck. And from that point, my phone never stopped ringing for two years. I had orders coming in from all over the world before I was even a company.”
As he graduated from college, he looked at his potential spend on medical school and compared it to the auspicious start of his fledgling amp business, and decided to make a go at the latter. When he developed his second Hound Dog model—another “brutal 50-watter”—Alessandro tipped his cap to the elder builder, naming it the Bloodhound, after Fisher’s dog. He soon developed a full line, also including high-end low-power heads.
Somewhere along the way there was a cease-and-desist for the Hound Dog name, but Alessandro got some sage advice. “Bob Benedetto took me aside,” he explains. “He was like, ‘George, you’re Italian, you have a great last name, why don’t you use it?’” Thus, Alessandro High-End Products was born, reflecting his growing interest in hi-fi audio.
“When I started hearing what high-end audio sounded like, it was a mind-opening experience.”
“When I started hearing what high-end audio sounded like,” he explains, “it was a mind-opening experience. By utilizing better materials properly, you could elevate the product.” That included everything from building hi-fi style transformers, to eventually using his own Alessandro-branded components.
He developed a reputation for meticulously building amps at the highest level that quickly spread to the most elite circles in the guitar universe. Early adopters included Sammy Hagar, Billy Gibbons, and Eric Johnson. Just above his workshop desk hangs a photo of the builder and B.B. King, who he says was a good friend, both holding up an Alessandro catalog at his 30th birthday party. And at this point, the list has grown to be quite extensive. It’s not hard to find one of Alessandro’s amps onstage or in the studio with any number of rock stars, from Joe Perry to John Mayer to David Gilmour. And when I ask George about Gilmour’s very visible use of his Bluetick and Redbone Special, he shows me another photo on his desk of the Pink Floyd guitarist and his Alessandros sitting in with Jeff Beck.
Onstage with the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Derek Trucks rocks a 1/2 AZZ and Crossbreed. Both Derek and Susan Tedeschi are running Super Reverbs that have spent time on the builder’s bench and are loaded with Alessandro’s signature Eminence speakers.
Photo by Stuart Levine
Handwired Access
My field trip to the Alessandro workshop wasn’t my first exposure to George’s work. Growing up in Philly, I was lucky enough to count hanging out at a small, family-owned guitar store as one of my first jobs. A few select customers would come in and talk about a guy a few towns over who was doing work for Gilmour and Eric Johnson, and who would put an amp in a gold-plated chassis for the price of a small sedan. My curiosity was piqued. When he introduced his old Working Dog line, targeted at gigging musicians, the amps came through the store and I plugged into the first boutique models I’d ever tried. Despite their reasonable prices, they were still out of my reach, but I never forgot that first taste.
As I got deeper into amps, and vintage amps specifically, I cycled through all the local techs—just like George did in the ’80s. I’d always known he was there, but the high-end Alessandro clientele led me to assume he was off limits for repairs, or at least prohibitively expensive. It was only recently, when I became a client myself, that I learned how wrong I was.While it’s partially Alessandro’s love of vintage amps that keeps him available for repairs and restorations, he also wants to work for working musicians at all levels, including those who can’t afford or justify a high-end amp (or at least one that commands five figures). “I definitely want to be approachable for any level of musician to purchase our product,” he tells me. “Because I do want to be able to inspire and get a good product into the hands of younger musicians or working musicians.”
To do so, he’s come up with a clever way to make his work more accessible, and that’s his handwire service.
The concept is simple: A customer brings Alessandro a modern consumer-grade amp—a reissue Fender or Marshall—and he’ll rebuild it by hand. He explains that his goal is “to at least equal what Fender was doing in 1964 and ’65. But if I can, what would happen if they continued to evolve it?”
And while he could build that from scratch easily, the rebuild concept is pragmatic. “I can’t build from scratch what we offer with the handwire service.”
So, he’s designed a circuit board that’s easily reproducible. “We gut the whole thing. The only thing left in there is the transformers and tube sockets—it’s very efficient.” And it keeps costs down. So, starting at $525 for a Princeton Reverb—you can, of course, keep upgrading beyond that—you can have a handwired amp that Alessandro says he’ll “put up against a vintage Princeton Reverb any day.”
“I definitely want to be approachable for any level of musician to purchase our product. Because I do want to be able to inspire and get a good product into the hands of younger musicians or working musicians.”
David Gilmour - Time/Breathe (Reprise) (Live At Pompeii)
Is there really any better way to make a case for a great amp than seeing a video of David Gilmour playing it at Pompeii? Here he is from 2017’s Live at Pompeii with a pair of Alessandro heads behind him in the hazy distance.
And that’s not sales talk. Frankly, George doesn’t have time for that. Just talking to him, it’s clear he only spends time on stuff he’s into, and lets his reputation do the rest. Take a look at his website, for example. It’s a sparse landing pad, featuring some information about most of what Alessandro High-End Products has to offer. If it feels like maybe there’s more available than you see, that just might be the case.
The Alessandro social media pages are a better way to see what he’s up to, but their long scroll of amp demo videos still maintain the mystique around his work. Of course, we, as tone hunters, absolutely love our elite-level amp builders to have mystique around their work, and that’s the level Alessandro is working on.
If you really want to know what George can offer and maybe find out if you can afford one of his amps, or even just talk about whether that’s right for you, you’ll have to go right to the source and have a conversation.
And how does someone do that?
He says, simply, “The people who need to know me find me.”
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Linkin Park introduce new vocalist Emily Armstrong (of Dead Sara), new drummer Colin Brittain, and share their first brand new music in seven years.
Linkin Park share a new single (HERE) and video (premiering HERE at 4pm PT/7pm ET), for “The Emptiness Machine,” plus a global livestream performance (happening now HERE and available only for 24 hours), and the launch of 6 upcoming arena shows in Los Angeles, New York, Hamburg, London, Seoul, and Bogota as part of the From Zero World Tour. LP Underground fan club exclusive pre-sales start September 6 and general on-sales September 7. Go to LinkinPark.com for more info.
These surprises herald the arrival of LINKIN PARK’s first album since 2017, FROM ZERO, on November 15.
Tomorrow, Friday September 6th, the band joins long-time friend and Apple Music host Zane Lowe for an in-depth candid conversation about the incredible legacy of Linkin Park, the 7-year long journey to new music and their excitement for the future.
Without expectations, Shinoda, Delson, Farrell, and Hahn quietly began meeting up again in recent years. Rather than “trying to restart the band,” their instinct was to simply spend more time together, and reconnect with the creativity and camaraderie that has been at the core of their friendship since college. During this time, they invited various friends and cohorts to join them in the studio; among the guests, they found a special kinship with Armstong and Brittain. A natural chemistry drew these musicians back into its gravitational pull as they logged more and more hours in the studio. It was the sound of lifelong musicians rediscovering the uncontainable energy of a new beginning once again. Over this season, FROM ZERO was born.
FROM ZERO
FROM ZERO TRACKLIST
- From Zero (Intro)
- The Emptiness Machine
- Cut The Bridge
- Heavy Is The Crown
- Over Each Other
- Casualty
- Overflow
- Two Faced
- Stained
- IGYEIH
- Good Things Go
About the new era, Shinoda stated, “Before LINKIN PARK, our first band name was Xero. This album title refers to both this humble beginning and the journey we’re currently undertaking. Sonically and emotionally, it is about past, present, and future—embracing our signature sound, but new and full of life. It was made with a deep appreciation for our new and longtime bandmates, our friends, our family, and our fans. We are proud of what LINKIN PARK has become over the years, and excited about the journey ahead.”
Right out of the gate, “The Emptiness Machine” channels the DNA of LINKIN PARK, harnessing the band’s explosive energy and retaining the hallmarks of their instantly identifiable and inimitable sound. A chameleonic and catchy anthem, Shinoda’s hypnotic melodies hand off to Armstrong’s blistering chorus, over distorted riffs and head-nodding drums.
Shinoda elaborated, “The more we worked with Emily and Colin, the more we enjoyed their world-class talents, their company, and the things we created. We feel really empowered with this new lineup and the vibrant and energized new music we’ve made together. We’re weaving together the sonic touchpoints we’ve been known for and still exploring new ones.”
FROM ZERO WORLD TOUR 2024
September 11, 2024 | Kia Forum - Los Angeles, CA
September 16, 2024 | Barclays Center - New York, NY
September 22, 2024 | Barclays Arena - Hamburg, Germany
September 24, 2024 | The O2 - London, UK
September 28, 2024 | INSPIRE Arena - Seoul, South Korea
November 11, 2024 | Coliseo Medplus - Bogota, Colombia
Voltage Cable Company's new Voltage Vintage Coil 30-foot guitar cable is now protected with ISO-COAT technology to provide unsurpassed reliability.
The new coiled cables are available in four eye-grabbing retro colors – Surf Green, Electric Blue, Orange and Caramel – as well as three standard colors: Black, White and Red. There is also a CME exclusive “Chicago Cream” color on the way.
Guitarists can choose between three different connector configurations: straight/straight plugs, right angle/straight and right angle/right angle options.
The Voltage Vintage Coil offers superior sound quality and durability thanks to ISO-COAT treatment, a patent-pending hermetic seal applied to solder terminations. This first-of-its-kind airtight seal prevents corrosion and oxidization, a known factor in cable failure and degradation. ISO-COAT protected cables are for guitarists who value genuine lifetime durability and consistent tone throughout their career on stage and in the studio.
Voltage cables are hand made by qualified technical engineers using the finest components available and come with a lifetime warranty.
Voltage Vintage Coil features include:
- Lifetime guarantee, 1000+ gig durability
- ISO-COAT treatment - corrosion & oxidization resistant cable internals
- Strengthened structural integrity of solder terminations
Voltage Vintage Coils carry $89.00 USD pricing each and are available online at voltagecableco.com, as well as in select guitar stores in North America, Australia, Thailand, UK, Belgium and China.
About Voltage Cable: Established in 2021, Voltage Cable Co. is a family owned and operated guitar cable company based in Sydney, Australia. All their cables are designed to be played, and built for a lifetime. The company’s ISO-COAT is a patent pending hermetic seal applied to solder terminations.
Featuring dual-engine processing, dynamic room modeling, and classic mic/speaker pairings, this pedal delivers complete album-ready tones for rock and metal players.
Built on powerful dual‑engine processing and world‑class UAD modeling, ANTI 1992 High Gain Amp gives guitarists the unmistakable sound of an original "block letter" Peavey 5150 amplifier* – the notorious 120‑watt tube amp monster that fueled more than three decades of modern metal music, from Thrash and Death Metal, to Grunge, Black Metal, and more.
"With UAFX Dream, Ruby, Woodrow, and Lion amp emulators, we recreated four of the most famous guitar amps ever made," says UA Sr. Product Manager Tore Mogensen. "Now with ANTI, we're giving rock and metal players an authentic emulation of this punishing high gain amp – with the exact mic/speaker pairings and boost/noise gate effects that were responsible for some of the most groundbreaking modern metal tones ever captured."
Key Features:
- A complete emulation of the early '90s 120‑watt tone monster that defined new genres of modern metal
- Powerful UAFX dual-engine delivers the most authentic emulation of the amp ever placed in a stompbox
- Complete album‑ready sounds with built‑in noise gate, TS‑style overdrive, and TC‑style preamp boost
- Groundbreaking Dynamic Room Modeling derived from UA's award-winning OX Amp Top Box
- Six classic mic/speaker pairings used on decades of iconic metal and hard rock records
- Professional presets designed by the guitarists of Tetrarch, Jeff Loomis, and The Black Dahlia Murder
- UAFX mobile app lets you access hidden amp tweaks and mods, choose overdrive/boost, tweak noise gate, recall and archive your presets, download artist presets, and more
- Timeless UA design and craftsmanship, built to last decades
For more information, please visit uaudio.com.
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The Memphis-born avant-funk bassist keeps it simple on the road with a signature 5-string, a tried-and-true stack, and just four stomps.
MonoNeon, aka Dywane Thomas Jr., came up learning the bass from his father in Memphis, Tennessee, but for some reason, he decided to flip his dad’s 4-string bass around and play it with the string order inverted—E string closest to the ground and the G on top. That’s how MonoNeon still plays today, coming up through a rich, inspiring gauntlet of family and community traditions. “I guess my whole style came from just being around my grandma at an early age,” says Thomas.His path has led him to collaborate with dozens of artists, including Nas, Ne-Yo, Mac Miller, and even Prince, and MonoNeon’s solo output is dizzying—trying to count up his solo releases isn’t an easy feat. Premier Guitar’s Chris Kies caught up with the bassist before his show at Nashville’s Exit/In, where he got the scoop on his signature 5-string, Ampeg rig, and simple stomp layout, as well as some choice stories about influences, his brain-melting playing style, and how Prince changed his rig.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
Orange You Glad to See Me?
This Fender MonoNeon Jazz Bass V was created after a rep messaged Thomas on Instagram to set up the signature model, over which Thomas had complete creative control. Naturally, the bass is finished in neon yellow urethane with a neon orange headstock and pickguard, and the roasted maple neck has a 10"–14" compound radius. It’s loaded with custom-wound Fireball 5-string Bass humbuckers and an active, 18V preamp complete with 3-band EQ controls. Thomas’ own has been spruced up with some custom tape jobs, too. All of MonoNeon's connections are handled by Sorry Cables.
Fade to Black
MonoNeon’s Ampeg SVT stack isn’t a choice of passion. “That’s what they had for me, so I just plugged in,” he says. “That’s what I have on my rider. As long as it has good headroom and the cones don’t break up, I’m cool.”
Box Art
MonoNeon’s bass isn’t the only piece of kit treated to custom color jobs. Almost all of his stomps have been zhuzhed up with his eye-popping palette.
Thomas had used a pitch-shifting DigiTech Whammy for a while, but after working with Paisley Park royalty, the pedal became a bigger part of his playing. “When I started playing with Prince, he put the Whammy on my pedalboard,” Thomas explains. “After he passed, I realized how special that moment was.”
Alongside the Whammy, MonoNeon runs a Fairfield Circuitry Randy’s Revenge (for any time he wants to “feel weird”), a literal Fart Pedal (in case the ring mod isn’t weird enough, we guess), and a JAM Pedals Red Muck covers fuzz and dirt needs. A CIOKS SOL powers the whole affair.
Shop MonoNeon's Rig
Fender MonoNeon Jazz Bass V
Ampeg SVT
DigiTech Whammy
CIOKS SOL