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Springsteen Keyboard Rig Upgrade


JohnH

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Yeah there are some things I want to work on it. It's highly stylized so the phrasing is strange sort of. I know more of Roy's playing and songs post 1975 then anything but I still like that second album. I have been following the band for years and don't remember that P50m being referenced. I have a 1986 interview from the December 1986 Keyboard Mag scanned right here.

"Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello"

 

 

noblevibes.com

 

 

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I can't find the original reference to the P50m that I'm thinking of (or I'm imaging??!!!), I'm afraid, but have a look at this 2012 video on Keyboard Mag with Marty Gelhaar:

http://www.keyboardmag.com/artists/1236/tech-of-the-bruce-springsteen-tour-2012/28765

 

At about 1:10, he mentions Yamaha P50 modules and says these are "what we used for many years for piano." He says they really liked the way the P50 cuts through the band, but they "loop really quickly", hence the switch to Ivory.

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Well I have been following them for years and have never seen that mentioned in the past but it may have been in the late 1990s for the reunion tour April 9, 1999 through July 1, 2000. The P50 Module came out in 1996 so it makes sense I guess. They may have used them on the rising tour August 7, 2002 through October 4, 2003 also. I also wanted to mention those guys are not the original techs either because one of them didn't rebuild the two B-3's that Bruce owns that are on tour. It had some weird things done to it so they replaced the components with TREK stuff.

"Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello"

 

 

noblevibes.com

 

 

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Well myself and one other contributor to this thread have been to a High Hopes concert this year. My take the sound in the arena setting I was in there was that there was too much wall and too little detail.

 

Roys piano sounded very digital in the mix. By comparison it was a relief to hear the B3 in the mix - it sounded organic :D and soothing. But given the AP I was hearing was 100% amped I don't think it would have made any difference if there had been a real acoustic grand on stage. Both keys were lucky to be heard at all over the four guitars.

 

my show on this tour was outside (the only stadium on the tour, all the rest were indoor). I always stand in front of the stage in GA, as close as I can get without waiting 8 hours. The most I've ever waited was 4 hours. I'm mentioning this because I am such an unapologetic fanboy that at an E Street Band show I like the wall of sound. That way I don't care all that much about the little details and just enjoy the songs. :D

:nopity:
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  • 3 years later...
Bittan is a hell of a player and plays so hard he breaks strings regularly. At this level you should be able to have what you want.
Roland RD-700, Nord Electro5, Vox Continental, Heritage 535 Guitar, Have owned Hohner D-6 Clav, Korg CX-3s, DX-7, Oberheim Matrix 6, Roland MKS-20, Yamaha Electric Grand 76, Wurli 200 Hammond SKS
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I was searching for which Yamaha piano module they used before switching to ivory. Seeking the elusive great live piano sound.
Roland RD-700, Nord Electro5, Vox Continental, Heritage 535 Guitar, Have owned Hohner D-6 Clav, Korg CX-3s, DX-7, Oberheim Matrix 6, Roland MKS-20, Yamaha Electric Grand 76, Wurli 200 Hammond SKS
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can only guess, don't know myself. Which years are you referring to? The Yamaha P50-m was very good sounding in the mid to late 1990's, replaced by the Motif Rack in 2001. By 2001 I was out of music retail, so if anything else was around by Yamaha I am not aware of it.
:nopity:
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I wow I remember this. As a side note I was watching this last tour in 2016 and the rigs sounded pretty much the same except Charlie had a couple of Nords on the side of the Hammond, he didn't use them that much. I was seated right near his rig in 2/2016 here in Rochester and could see it pretty clearly. I am pretty sure the Leslie they are using is beneath the stage now also as I didn't see any presence of a ventilator.

"Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello"

 

 

noblevibes.com

 

 

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Yeah that's true. Hope he tours again. The band is not the same anymore but at least Max, Garry and Roy are still in the fold. If they lose Roy it's kind of over.

"Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello"

 

 

noblevibes.com

 

 

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  • 11 months later...

Zombie thread! Been looking for the video of this rig rundown, since it's not on the Keyboard Magazine site anymore. The David Rosenthal one with Billy Joel from a couple of years later is still up on YouTube, but I can't find this one, though I know I saw it at one point.

 

My tenure on this forum began when someone (Dave Bryce, maybe? Forgive my memory) dug up the 2009 Benmont Tench videos and re-uploaded them to YouTube. Boy, do I love that.

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

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So since this thread is 5 years old, I think many (not all of us) probably understand now the absolute need at the arena-level for redundancy. I still get sweaty palms when I see a performer at a bar use a soundless controller and a laptop, especially when that laptop has obviously been used for his personal correspondence, web browsing, games, etc. I get even more nervous at clubs when I see laptops subject to MASSIVE vibrations without backup.

 

I'm getting old.

"For instance" is not proof.

 

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I get even more nervous at clubs when I see laptops subject to MASSIVE vibrations without backup.

 

I'm getting old.

I"m with you on redundancy. But vibration is thankfully no longer really an issue with SSDs and soldered components.

"The Angels of Libra are in the European vanguard of the [retro soul] movement" (Bill Buckley, Soul and Jazz and Funk)

The Drawbars | off jazz organ trio

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