R.E.M. – Automatic For The People
The music gear and equipment used by the artists, producers, engineers, and more involved in the making of the 1992 album Automatic For The People.
Music from Automatic For The People
Artists on Automatic For The People
Gear Used On Automatic For The People
Explore the instruments, equipment, software, and production tools used in the making of R.E.M. – Automatic For The People (1992). Click more on each item to see exactly how it was used.
Mike Mills
Roles:
Keyboards and Synthesizers used by Mike Mills on Automatic For The People
Avg price: $197.04
The Roland D 50 can be seen at around 5:50 while the band is experimenting in the studio with their song 'Find the River'.
Strings used by Mike Mills on Automatic For The People
Dean Markley 2604A Nickel Steel Bass Guitar Strings - .045-.105 Medium Light
Avg price: $18.01
Listed on REM's official Dean Markley artist page from 2005. It is corroborated by an August 2, 2011 TalkBass forum reply and a mention by Mills' technician, Mark "Microwave" Mytrowitz, in a Bass Player interview published to Guitar World's website on November 11, 2023.
Dean Markley Artist Page
REM uses Nickel Steel Bass Med. Lt, Nickel Steel Electric, and Vintage Bronze Med. Lt.
TalkBass user 597feetdown, post #8 on "REM Mike Mills strings of choice"
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.
Karl Coryat, "'Early on I discovered that the bass player decides the chord – not the guitar player': R.E.M.’s Mike Mills on finding the perfect bass part and becoming a 'one-bass guy'", Bass Player via Guitar World, November 21, 2023
Although Mills has gathered about a dozen basses over the years, he usually favors his 1969 Fender Precision, which he bought during the recording of 1992's Automatic for the People. “Mike's pretty much a one bass guy,” R.E.M. tech Mark ‘Microwave’ Mytrowitz told BP. “His strings are Dean Markley Medium Roundwounds, and his picks are large, triangular and Dean Markley Extra Heavies. They're the heaviest picks made, you could crack ice with those things!”
Bass Guitars used by Mike Mills on Automatic For The People
Avg price: $1,285.37
In this photo, Mike Mills can be seen playing a Fender Precision Bass.
