Talking About Tours, Clinics, And Gear

Hello everyone! Peter Szendofi from Hungary here “On The Beat!” I would like to share some news from 2019.

I’ve played on more than two hundred albums of all kinds of music since 1992. I’ve been so lucky and honored to have performed with Eric Marienthal, James Morrison, Will Lee, George Whitty, Brandon Fields, David Friedman, Gary Willis, Oz Noy, Jerry Z., Al Di Meola, Tony Lakatos, Chris Hunter, Kip Reed, Shankar Lal, Ferenc Snetberger, Alegre Correa, John Gunther, Allen Vizutti, Jojo Mayer, and Tom Brechtlein to name a few.

I’ve been a member of the Percussive Arts Society’s Drumset Committee since 2013 and am a visitor artist at the legendary Collective School of Music in New York. I’ve also been a faculty member of the Kodolanyi University Jazz Department in Hungary since 2007.

I am the founder/bandleader/composer of the jazz-fusion band Fusio Group and co-founder of the electronica-jazz drum ’n’ bass crossover-oriented duo Loop Doctors. Loop Doctors will have a short tour in Hungary, featuring the Grammy winning saxophone giant Brandon Fields, then we leave for the Los Angeles area to play a tour with Eric Marienthal in October and November. Fusio Group is also on an album release tour in Hungary until August. Advertisement

I will have an international clinic tour in Europe and Asia this spring where I perform my original tunes in jazz-fusion, odd meters, and drum ’n’ bass-jungle styles. One of the most important goals for me is to combine the strict materials such as exercises with improvisation during the groove playing and soloing. I always try to do original music, which is fresh, individual, and progressive. It’s a challenge to figure out the best communication with the drumset during playing, in any style and I believe that if we have any problems in terms of the technical stuff (independence, etc.), we will be unable to play free and enjoy the drumming. That is why I spend so much time with technical exercises. We have to know that when we play an instrument we are in a symbiotic circle with the instrument.

I also have a lesson pack at Drum Guru, which is based on some sixteenth-note and sixtuplet-note oriented creative fills. I also have a groove-ghost notes-half time shuffle exercise package at Faster Hands.

My favorite go-to gear is a Tama Starphonic maple 6×14 snare. For me it has a perfectly equalized sound, very rich overtones, very sensitive strainer, and universal-tuning possibilities from the low-deep sound to the very high-pitched sound. I love Tama Speed Cobra pedals, as I sometimes use the Moeller technique with the kick and hi-hat pedals. It’s the only pedal I’ve met so far that is powerful and sensitive at the same time. It has perfect weight balance and control. Advertisement

I also use Meinl Byzance Sand series cymbals. They are perfect sounding rides, hi-hats, and crashes. I love thin crashes in a bigger size and the Sand crash is just phenomenal. I use mostly 22″ rides—the big surface gives a rich sound. The Sand ride is a quite thin but not too washy with great cup sound. The Roland SPD: One WAV Pad was the very first electronic percussion pad that I could use not only to start/stop some sounds and loops but be a part of my acoustic drumset. It has great dynamic attributes, better than any others I have checked so far. It’s really simple to use, no complicated menu, just plug in and play!

I recently became an endorser of Roland electronics. I am also a new Vic Firth sticks and Meinl cymbals artist and international artist of Tama drums, Remo drumheads, Cympad accessories, and Humes and Berg cases.

Below are a few videos of my playing to check out. Thank you for reading and thank you to Modern Drummer!

Watch Peter Szendofi “Inventions,” featuring Will Lee (bass):

Vic Firth promo playing video: 

Peter Szendofi: Drum ’n’ Bass and Jungle Style Grooves – Full Drum Lesson (Drumeo): 

Check out Peter’s drum solo from his latest solo album Quintessence:

For more, visit www.facebook.com/szendofi/ and www.instagram.com/szendofipeter/.