Hello Everyone,

I recently purchased an X-Keys 128 Key controller with a T-Bar. First of all I am very happy with it for many reasons.

1) It is well built. Solid constructions, extra long usb cable, etc. Lots of little touches that let me know that it was conceived and manufactured with care and intelligence.

2) I especially like the ability to have activators (the keys can be set to flash in a different color when activated -- via the vMix contol panel -- (not unique to X-Keys -- but I really like knowing which input is live by seeing the flashing light. AND I have set up a big "Cough Button" that I can toggle on and off by a Audio shortcut. So as long as it's flashing I know I can be heard. But when I hit the key my own audio turns off and I can clear my throat, scream etc. and no one will hear me.

3) 128 keys is wonderful. I had a smaller Xkeys and it was okay. I think it was a 10 keys version. But having 128 keys is really nice. After I finish setting it all up for vMix I'll add a photo to this thread. And you will see that having 128 keys gives me a lot of functionality.
=== HOWEVER ===
What I have found (I've only had it for 2-3 days) that I may not need too much is the physical T-Bar. At the moment I am mainly doing talk shows, and I see no big advantage to have the T-Bar.

I come from a traditional broadcasting background where a T-Bar was essential. But I bet in 90 percent of vMix productions you really don't need a T-Bar. While at the moment I don't think I really need it for my current talk show type productions, I could imagine in the future I might want to use it for a music production or a production more elaborate than a talk show -- where having the ability to hand control the transitions would be nice. So I am happy to have that T-Bar. But don't think I will need to use it much — or at all — because of the way vMix is set up.

But if you are thinking about getting an X-Keys and are tempted to get the x-keys 128 Tbar version -- think twice. For most of you just a regular 128 X-keys without the T-Bar will work just fine, And you will save about $300 by not getting the T-Bar version. It's really good to have 128 keys, but the T-Bar is not essential in many cases because of the way vMix works.

I welcome comments and discussion on this topic.

...Rowby.

There’s also a 32 key version with 16 buttons on the top row and 16 on the bottom row. It’s called the x-keys32. Solid design and rack mountable.

I worked as a vision mixer (TD if you're American) for a long time and can tell you if you're serious about live production you need the T bar.

The ability to change a mix duration on the fly, to compliment the content, gives hands down the best output.

You just need to decide if your mixing skill and your type of production is worth the extra money.