So i have an american made alto bulb... and i've heard alot of people talking badly about them.... whats wrong with them?

They don't last long..

Based on what I've heard here during all these years especially some types of Alto lamps are especially prone to short life. I ofcourse have no first hand experience since they don't sell them here but I've always liked the coloured encaps.

I have few F20T12 cw Altos in my collection and one of those I used up suffered broken cathode eol only after few years but I don't know if it was bad luck or poor quality.

I've been thinking to get some reduced wattage altos to test those out on GE electronic rapid start ballast but I would have to figure out where to source those in the first place.

They have very weak filaments and poor lamp life.  The first gen Altos were very good though. 

Not all Alto lamps are bad, it depends on the batch and the factory location. At my place of work, in my room there are 16 fixtures of 2 lamps and all are Alto except one lone GE that is original to the fixtures. They were spot-replaced starting in about 2009, and only one has failed since then. They have developed a slightly yellow tint, though. Makes the room look like the diffusers have yellowed a bit although not the case. On dark days, the lighting is certainly not of a good colour (makes the room kind of drab).

On the other hand, I have a daylight F15T8 that is also Alto, but made in Holland. That one has been running on a switch start circuit 24/7 since July 2011. That is more than 52 000 hours.

Interesting..... Wonder how long the one i got will last, i dont use it regularly, bt maybe i will mount my fixture as a worklight or something when i move out

Interesting..... Wonder how long the one i got will last, i dont use it regularly, bt maybe i will mount my fixture as a worklight or something when i move out

For home use they are not bad, but commercial use where they are on for 18 to 24 hours a day they don't seem to last as long,and yes the older ones did last a good bit longer..

F96T12 60W Altos are pretty much worthless.  They dimly striate and flicker even on a hot summer day.

Some Alto's are just fine, and can easily last 10+ years of daily use (hell I've seen them outlast ballasts)
Others are crap and go mercury starved way before they actually EOL...this is what really gives Alto's a bad image .lol.

Conclusion : it depends on the batch. That makes the quality of Alto lamps unpredictable.