Growing up in Manitoba in the 60’s and 70’s, you could tell the guys who were into music by their Garnet Amplifier t-shirts.
Garnet Amps were local, and they were hot.
The t-shirts were the sign of someone who knew what real tube amps were supposed to sound like, someone who knew gear and who rocked out.
These amps weren’t sleek and sexy like a Fender Twin. These were working heads and bottoms – made to be stacked and made to be played loud. A working man’s amp with a signature sound.
Like the amps, Garnet T-shirts were working class clothes. They came in your basic t-shirt grey – all the better for crawling around setting up gear or pulling cable in some smoky hall. And perfect for wiping up a bit of spilled brew.
If you missed it, you can still grab a little piece of genuine Canadian music history. A big thanks to Pete Thiessen of Garnet Amplifiers for keeping it all alive.
And Peter – me and Little Garn love our new (old) T’s.
You’ve expanded my horizons – “Garnet” is so much more than yams for me now.
Nice post. Never thought you can tell someone’s love for music based on his shirt.
Hey,
Well ain’t that the truth. I have a pair of old Garnets and they are both fantastic. I’m in Toronto though and NEVER see any of the shirts. Does anybody out west still make them? I’d buy a few if they did!
Cheers,
Nick D.
Hey Nick, thanks for your comments.
I did buy a couple of garnet shirts online a few years ago (obviously), but it doesn’t look like they’ve still got them;
they do have a GARNET hat, which isn’t quite the same as the trust old shirt, but have a look
http://stores.ebay.com/Garnet-Amplifier-Company
you might want to ask if they’ve got shirts, I originally got them from here:
http://www.garnetamps.com/parts.htm