Any Buddy Fite fans?

**gitrman** · 03-11-2017, 02:32 PM

I saw him at the same gig in Lake Oswego. I still find it unbelievable to hear so much out of guitar and drums. And what a sense of humor. Yes, I am a fan!!

**sgcim** · 03-11-2017, 03:54 PM

I was intrigued by the stuff he did with Bob James (not the Bob James everyone knows), who played keyboards and flugelhorn.
He was involved with two bands that backed Buddy up, "Three Play", and "The King James Version".

Does anyone know if either of these two groups ever recorded? I did a search on the net and couldn't find anything.

**MikeBloomfield** · 05-24-2017, 03:11 PM

Hellow everyone. I found this unbelievable guitar player half of the year ago and always try to find any type of materials about him. If you got something (tapes, photos, lessons, video) just let me know on private message. I know he was a stepfather for a guy named Christian (I think) so if you read this message please share some Buddy Fite's legacy with us. Cheers.

**Firmajean** · 10-24-2017, 03:52 PM

My dad was also a jazz guitar player in Lake Oswego and was a friend of Buddy Fite's. My dad told me that Buddy was number 11 member in the original Hells Angels. My dad passed away June 2017.

**Hep To The Jive** · 10-25-2017, 12:12 AM

Glad I happened to come across this thread. Never heard of Buddy Fite before, but I gave it a listen and totally dig his playing. And especially his tone. What a great player! I love the bright tone of his Guild, it's def. not another Gibson 'dark' sound, but so much livelier! His rhythm feel is off the hook too, love it. What can I say, I'm a fan now, thanks for the thread!

**Pat Gatti** · 02-12-2018, 05:54 PM

Hi;
Buddy's name just came to mind today...so in searching (and U Tube) I found this site.
I used to see Buddy in Lake Oswego, OR @ a place they called the Beachcomber, around the early 70's I think.........I played guitar...but he was so far above my league that I didn't even know what he was doin'...or how he did it...I just knew it was great...really great.
Now, I know what he's doin'........but I still can't do it...but I sure do appreciate it.

**sgcim** · 02-13-2018, 01:50 AM

I'm glad I downloaded the entire Tasty album that AndyV linked to on you tube before they shut it down. That had the only recorded example of his amazing approach to solo guitar. Kind of similar to Lenny Breau with the thumb pick playing the bass line.

I posted some BF things on TGP; not a single reaction. Just pearls before swine...

**billybob1128** · 03-30-2019, 11:41 PM

I played with him for a decade or so... Bob Christianson built a G9 pedal for him ultimate steel and only 33 that I know of.. Buddy and I played the shit out of that pedal all around Portland and believe me,,, he was the best by far of any one on the pedals.. He told me E9 sucks and beat the shit out of this machine.. he also told me once in his house by Hawthorne, that every note will fit,,,, then he always proved it!!!! My steel GOD!

**curbozer** · 04-28-2019, 02:54 AM

So much is not known about the mysterious Buddy!...but, he does mention himself, that he once worked in a machine shop when he was in his late teens...and, by the 80s, the Timber industry was in steep decline in SW Washington State...we do know that Buddy Fite was one of those reclusive, not so interested in publicity types, and it appears that he largely achieved his goal of being anonymous!

**sgcim** · 04-30-2019, 01:02 AM

Originally Posted by curbozer

So much is not known about the mysterious Buddy!...but, he does mention himself, that he once worked in a machine shop when he was in his late teens...and, by the 80s, the Timber industry was in steep decline in SW Washington State...we do know that Buddy Fite was one of those reclusive, not so interested in publicity types, and it appears that he largely achieved his goal of being anonymous!

He claimed in an interview to be of Native American heritage, and said he wanted to go through life invisible, like a fish through water.

**Irez87** · 04-30-2019, 01:43 AM

It's cool to read and listen to a guy who came up the ranks in Oregon and Washington. I just moved to Washington, so I'm really interested in all the jazz that came out of this state. I'm sure all the natural surroundings contributed to Buddy's playing, cause it's beautiful in Washington state. I mean, there's a great scene in LA, but it's got nothing on what I see outside my window.

I also like that he plays pedal steel, I love that sound!

**sgcim** · 04-30-2019, 02:30 PM

Originally Posted by Irez87

It's cool to read and listen to a guy who came up the ranks in Oregon and Washington. I just moved to Washington, so I'm really interested in all the jazz that came out of this state. I'm sure all the natural surroundings contributed to Buddy's playing, cause it's beautiful in Washington state. I mean, there's a great scene in LA, but it's got nothing on what I see outside my window.

I also like that he plays pedal steel, I love that sound!

Yeah, but are there any recordings on which you can hear Buddy play pedal steel? He plays regular guitar on all of his recordings as leader.

**Mick-7** · 09-04-2024, 01:49 PM

I used to have his LPs....

I have this book with the CD (it's out of print). If y'all are interested, I could notate the music/tab and upload the CD tracks.

Buddy Fite Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar Solos - Amazon.com

**pingu** · 09-05-2024, 05:15 AM

Hi Mick7 and all ,

Can you tell me the tuning Buddy uses in that book ?

Standard ?

His Bass lines do sound like electric bass don’t they

are the lower 2 strings , bass strings
as mentioned here

amazing player
ps
I can’t ask you to do it ‘cos it’s a bit of work , but a pdf scan of the instruction book would be great

**Mick-7** · 09-05-2024, 12:29 PM

Originally Posted by pingu

Can you tell me the tuning Buddy uses in that book?

It's in standard tuning, but a couple of the tracks are arranged for two guitars - lead and accompaniment.

Originally Posted by pingu

I can’t ask you to do it ‘cos it’s a bit of work , but a pdf scan of the instruction book would be great

My plan is to copy it to Guitar Pro, but it may be faster to scan it with my phone, I shall see.

P.S. - I scanned Buddy Fite's arrangement of "Tasty" and converted it to pdf, here it is with the accompanying audio file from his out-of-print book (mentioned in my previous post). Maybe I'll start a new thread for the rest of the arrangements.

Tasty by Buddy Fite [pdf/mp3] -- Tasty by Buddy Fite - Box.com

I found this website that has a copy of it but the catch is that it's a "premium" download, which means you have to subscribe to an expensive file sharing/storage service to download it or anything else from the site.

Website: Buddy Fite - Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar Solos - faststrings.com

Premium subscription service: TakeFile