REM Mike Mills strings of choice

the low one · #1 03-13-2009, 05:42 AM

Mike Mills of REM always gets a good punchy and growly tone from his Fender basses. What strings does he use on his various fretted and fretless precions and jazz basses ?

stephenq · #2 08-09-2009, 09:10 AM

i would def love to know.. find anything yet?

the low one · #3 08-10-2009, 01:59 AM

No, not yet. I may have read somewhere that he uses DR strings but can't find it again.
This web site gives a good round up of his gear including basses, amps and effects with photos but doesn't mention strings:
http://www.pbs.org/klru/austin/blog/.../gear-rem.html

stephenq · #4 08-16-2009, 08:12 PM

ya i have seen this site to, just wish i knew the strings ha, whats your fav REM song btw

the low one · #5 08-17-2009, 02:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephenq

ya i have seen this site to, just wish i knew the strings ha, whats your fav REM song btw

Probably "What's the frequency" but to be honest I love the early stuff like "Don't go back to Rockville" through to the latest album.

Rezlax31 · #6 08-17-2009, 03:16 AM

According to this he uses Dean Markley Nickle Steel Bass.

http://www.deanmarkley.com/EndArtists/REM.shtml

the low one · #7 08-10-2010, 02:52 AM

Is he using flats or nickel rounds here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJlvgHwemXE
The strings shine like flats but do sound quite bright

597feetdown · #8 08-02-2011, 04:36 AM

The Dean Markley website is accurate. Mills uses Dean Markley NickelSteel Bass (the ML or .045-.105 set). When I saw R.E.M. back in '04, Mills's bass tech gave that exact set to a fan when she asked what strings he used. As far as the strings on "Animal," they do look like flats, but damned if I know what brand.

His gear is still in large part a mystery, but I always liked his tone. Did you guys ever watch the Rockpalast 1985 show where he breaks the jack on his Guild Pilot and switches to a mysterious Rickenbacker with no pickguard and P/J pickups?!

SoVeryTired · #9 08-02-2011, 06:08 AM

Good to hear some mention of Mike Mills. I love early REM and some of those simple but melodic basslines. I don't know if they were played on a P, but when I got my first bass (P-J) recently and put the P pickup on full, it instantly felt perfect for those nice bass intros to 'Old Man Kensey' and 'Cuyahoga'.

Ironically I only came across REM when they started getting popular over in the UK, around 'Out of Time' and 'Automatic For The People', but much prefer their earlier output.