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. I'm happy to endorse Gibson basses. Another is 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 both Gibson and Godlyke is personal, and they've both been very supportive of me. Thank you...

Thanks to Shannon and Lou Vito at Gibson for providing guitars and basses for the musical, Rock Of Ages. David, Joel, and Tommy are rocking Les Pauls, SG's, a Flying V, and Gibson J-45's 50's. I'm bringing the rock with a black Thunderbird, and a Steinberger! Haha! It's the perfect bass for the 80's. Both are running through a tuner, (my favorite stompbox as you know), and a bad sounding chorus pedal from the 80's (when I say bad, I want to clarify... NOT anything from Guyatone, Flip, Maxon or Godlyke. Nothing they make sounds bad so it's not in the show). After that, it goes straight into an old SansAmp Classic, then into a BSS AR-133 DI box. No amp...I'm just hittin' it nice and hard! We tried a bunch of different DI's, tube, solid state, but then everything came together when the SansAmp warmed the signal up. Thanks to Lloyd at Tech 21 for getting me the correct power supply in record time! I called him up, and had a new one by the next show!

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 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...

I always try to select sounds that are right for the music that I'm playing. Lately, I've been very excited about a couple of new items. One is the MSD EQ-2 Automagic Earthquake Revolution Bass Wah Pedal. Whew...that's a mouthful. This thing really has a special sound. See Godlyke for more details.

Do you ever wish you had a third hand? Well now, it's possible. Just get yourself a Tone In Progress Third Hand pedal. It's an expression pedal for analog effects. You have to see it to believe it.

Another favorite of mine is the Super 2-in-1 by Z.Vex. It does clean (and dirty) boosting in a totally unique way. Check one out.

All right here comes another long title: The GST-U05 Ultron Envelope Filter. It's made by Guyatone. Thanks a million to Kevin over there for making it happen. He demoed this pedal for me when it was in the prototype stage, and now it's in production. It's a hybrid analog/digital effect that combines 100% analog audio in the signal path, with digital control. It's big, heavy, expensive as...., and worth every penny.

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:

Singer Patrick Spencer Bodd.... We tracked in Brooklyn at the Steele Factory. All the songs were cut with my trust 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.

Danielia Cotton...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 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 equiptment 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.