When you think about artists who demand the utmost in keyboard and virtual instrument technology, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band is probably not the first act that comes to mind. Yet, behind their hard-driving roots-rock sound are state-of-the-art virtual instruments running on both Apple MainStage and a bevy of Muse Research Receptors.

 

This wasn't the case until recently. The band had been using beloved old-school rackmount sound modules, but before the 2012 "Wrecking Ball" tour, brought in A-list keyboardist and programmer David Rosenthal (who you may know from his work with Billy Joel) to bring the rigs into the 21st century. See, those rack modules were getting noisy and cranky, and parts for them weren't exactly getting easier to find, either. David applied his knowledge of gear and sounds to phase the old modules out and the new virtual instruments in, all with zero downtime during rehearsals so that from the musicians' perspective, things were completely seamless. 

 

In these videos, Rosenthal, along with veteran industry keyboard techs Marty Gelhaar (for pianist Roy Bittan) and Bill St Amour (for B-3 player Charlie Giordano), walks us on, around, and under the stage to show you exactly how they did it. 

 

Can't see the videos below? CLICK HERE to open them separately.