He has played with many other artists, both live and in the studio, including Willie Nelson, Steve Goodman, Ringo Starr, Lita Ford, Michael Bolton, Cher, Alice Cooper,[4] Ricky Martin, Gavin Whittaker, Michael Bublé, Poison,[5] and did a few dates during Shania Twain's the Woman in Me TV tour.

[5] At this time, McDonald was left out of most publicity shoots and album covers but did appear in some of the band's promo videos.

Regardless, his work with the band earned him a 1995 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Award for "Best Bassist" (tying with White Zombie's Sean Yseult).

[7] McDonald was one of the studio musicians that recorded Jon Bon Jovi's original first demo for the song "Runaway".

[9][5] In 2018, McDonald was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Bon Jovi.