I think the synths were more prominent on the MM and LOG tours anyway.
Huh ? The BIA tour was filled with synths all over the place, I don't think they were less prominent than on the OL and LOG tours...
They were different fo sure.
on the OL tour they were quite crude, very 80's "cheap synthetizer" style.
on the LOG tour they were filled with warmth... I quite like them. Think of the intro of RAJ on Alchemy, or Portobello Belle.. .quite beautiful.
on the BIA tour they were much colder, and also quite overused; with some nice parts though - the layers of sound effects (or pads I believe is the right word) are fantastic in the intro of TOL (something quite lacking before), and help to smooth BIA a lot, Wembley 85 versions of both songs are my very favourites.
on the OES tour did you notice that the influence of keyboards was much, much less ? to the point that I miss them ! Pedal Steel is not always an adequate subsitute for synths...