ENDORSEMENTS: TC Electronic, Godlyke, Guyatone, Maxon, HAO, Emma, and Flip effects, Big Bends Nut Sauce, In Tune Guitar Picks, Rhythm Tech percussion.

BASS STUFF: .... skip down below for drum stuff

There are a lot of things that I use, but only a few things that I endorse. Check out a company called Godlyke. They carry a bunch of very cool boutique effects. Some of the ones I use are Maxon, HAO, Emma, Flip, and Guyatone. I first encountered these great sounding effects while touring in Japan. I highly recommend them to anyone who wants a change from the ordinary. My relationship with Godlyke is personal, and they've been very supportive of me. Thank you...

I've been putting the TC Electronic RH450 through it's paces lately. This very cool bass amp is lightweight, (it fits in my computer bag, and travels as carry on at the airport) powerful, and has some very unique features. Three channel presets, built in multi band compressor that actually sounds good, onboard tuner that actually works, DI output that you can actually use. Haha! It's loaded. Check it out...

Also, the new TC Electronic tuner...

Still rocking my black Fender Precision Bass for the musical, Rock Of Ages. It's a real workhorse. Even though I've been out, it's played 8 shows a week, in a row, for the last year and a half! I'm running through a tuner, (my favorite stompbox as you know), and a chorus pedal provided by the Music Supervisor. After that, it goes straight into a vintage Tube Direct DI box, Tube Tech EQ 1A Parametric EQ, and a UA 1176. Got enought tubes in there? No amp...I'm just hittin' it nice and hard! That DI is probably FROM the 80's.

Thanks to Roy Abbate at Battery Plus in Mount Laurel NJ for making me the custom made, Battery Farm. As soon as I get a minute I'll pop it onto my pedalboard and give it a spin.

I've got a cool new product for you, I endorse Big Bends Nut Sauce. Don't let the name put you off, it's an amazing lubricant to keep strings from hanging up in the bridge and nut area. It's also great for tuners too, especially the Hipshot bass tuner. Joel turned me on to it, and it's pretty rad. Check it out...

Thank you to InTune Guitar Picks. I am very happy to endorse these great picks from a great company. All of their stuff is custom made. I was able to select the precise materials, artwork, gauge and style. This is a boutique operation from the US run by actual people you can count on. Tommy from Rock Of Ages turned me on to them, and my days of using generic picks are over!

Try this, the Batt-O-Meter. This unique device measures the amount of charge a battery has while it's still in the unit. No need to get a screwdriver to open up effects pedals. And as an added bonus, it tells you how long the battery will last with the unit it powers. Go to their website to find out more...

DRUM STUFF:

One of the companies that I've always been a fan of is Rhythm Tech. I just added their cool new Pro Tambourine, and Hat Trick to my arsenal. Thanks to Pam Gore for staying in touch with me for all these years, and making great products.

On the Kidz Bop World Tour I use a Yamaha Tour Custom kit. 12" rack, 16" floor, 22" kick. A variety of snares and cymbals including, but not limited to an 18" Paiste 2002 crash, 20" Paiste 2002 Ride, and 15" Paiste 2002 Sound Edge hi-hats. For spice, Rhythm Tech tambos (see above) and the Roland SPD-S drum pad/sampler. I run the whole thing through a Sennheiser EW Series wireless unit (it's fun to be able to get up and move around) into Ultimate Ears UE 10 in-ear monitors. Sticks are Vic Firth 5B nylon tips, or American Classic Rock if I need a little more wood. Clancy says I should break out my 24" Paiste 2002 Ride, so I might take up his challenge!

RECORDING DIARY:

Just finished tracking the new one by Jason Shand. It was me, Clancy on drums, Alec Berlin on guitar, and John Roggie on keys. It was a hard charging industrial strength track! There were four bass parts! A combination of sequenced keyboard bass, clean fingerstyle, VERY distorted, and a pick part. All of them (except the keys) were tracked with my '62 P-bass, and for distortion, a Z. Vex Super Duper turned way up...

Broadway Cares benefit album...Joel, Tommy, Jon and I cut the basics live, Joel overdubbed a solo. The whole thing took maybe an hour from rehearsal to finish. I used my "Brown" bass straight into a no-name DI box. The session was done at Quad Studios NYC.

Rock Of Ages Cast Album...Here's how it went down. All of the band (not the singers) tracked live at Legacy Studios in NYC. We cut it like a rock album, in three days basics and overdubs. Producing was Dave Gibbs, and engineering was the mighty Michael Barbiero. Once again "Brown" was the bass of choice for most of it with my '62 P-bass as backup. The amp was an Ampeg B-15 with an RE-20(?) and a custom made tube DI box. Neve's for mic pres, a little compression, and straight to ProTools HD. The only effect was a guitar pick. Haha!

Our Time Theatre benefit record...I tracked at Everett Bradley's studio. Just my '62 into an Avalon VT-737, straight into ProTools.

Danielia Cotton acoustic...an Ibanez acoustic bass guitar. One channel, a Shure Beta 52 mic (with API 3124 pre) in front of my Ampeg BA115HP combo amp.The other channel, from the guitar's onboard Fishman preamp straight to a Grace M802 remote preamp. Clean AND crunchy!

Singer Patrick Spencer Bodd.... We tracked in Brooklyn at the Steele Factory. All the songs were cut with my trusty 1982 "Brown" bass, with an overdub on my Gretsch six string bass. Universal Audio 6176...tremolo plug-in for the six string...straight into ProTools HD.

Maiysha Simpson...my 1970 Hagstrom Concorde into a blackface Fender bassman head, into a no-name single 15" bass cabinet. I forget what the mike was.

Danielia Cotton electric...mostly a mix of an Epiphone Jack Cassidy, and 1962 Fender P-bass into an Ampeg B-15 Fliptop. The producer insisted on passive pickups, and I was able to oblige.

If you have any questions about any of the devices that I use, just write me.
" Do you have.....?" Yes, I probably do. I can provide a detailed equipment list upon request.

Here is a transcription of an interview I did in the January 2007 issue of Bass Guitar magazine:

BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE TRANSCRIPTION

Q-"Winston, you've worked with some pretty big female artists-Lauryn Hill, Patty Smyth, Alana Davis, Jewel...What about your playing attracts them? Or is it that great smile of yours?"
A- Smiling helps! I try to put myself in their shoes, and that sets the tone for how I play their music. Some men are a little too macho in the way they interact with female musicians. But I work with a lot of guys too-blues guitarist Billy Hector, [electronic artist] BT, [legendary keyboardist] Bernie Worell-I don't discriminate.

Q-"Your resume-from the Armageddon and Christmas With The Kranks soundtracks, to pop acts like Joey McIntyre, and your drum gig with Ace Of Base-is all over the place. What does "versatile" mean to you, and how would you teach someone to be versatile?"
A-Being versatile means having a strong, authentic grasp of a lot of different styles of music. I try to really get into the music-whatever it is-and not be superficial about it. If I had to teach someone how to be versatile, I'd tell them to listen to and study a lot of music. Versatile also means learning songs quickly. A lot of times, things happen at the last minute, so I've developed some novel ways of absorbing a lot of music. Sometimes charts aren't available, so I have to hear the songs, and then start playing them with conviction. My ear training is pretty good. That helps a lot.

Q-"Knowing how much jazz organists like to play left-hand and pedal bass, what was it like to play with Jack McDuff?"
A-Playing with him was pretty special. It all started because he thought I was a guitar player, and told me to sit in. When I told him I was a bass player, he said, "if you trip up walking through the changes, I will take over, and bury you." I dropped a few notes and he sent me home, right on the spot, and told me to come back the next week. After that, I never messed up. When I recorded with him, some of the lines were written out note for note, but a lot of times he let me stretch. His motto was, "Bass sells records!"

Q-"In a world where music is becoming more and more impersonal, how important do you think it is to develop one's own sound? How would you define the Winston Roye style?"
A- I think it's extremely important to have your own style. If you can find your own voice, it makes what you play that much better. My style? I try to put as much emotion into my playing as possible. If I'm playing a sad ballad, I want to FEEL sad.

Q-"Tell me about your gear."
A-I've got a pretty extensive collection of stuff-a little bit of everything. I endorse Fender basses and Godlyke effects. Live, I like to use a good quality cabinet with the lowest-watt amp I can get away with. I like to make the amp sweat! Pedals? I've got tons of 'em! My all-time favorite is the tuner. I also love the original Boss Octave OC-2 pedal, the Z-Vex Super-Duper 2-in1, and a new envelope pedal from Godlyke called the Ultron.

Q-"What is the most important thing you've learned from being a bass player in New York York?"
A-[American Idol bassist and musical director] Ricky Minor told me to try become a music director when appropriate. He felt that is was important that, as a bass player, I try to get as involved as possible in the business side of the music business. I started out slowly, and built to the point where managers and labels will call me to help put things together. I can do a lot of the things that a manager will do, and that frees them up to do other things. That's something I do a lot of, and I can thank Ricky for that bit of advice.