The Korg Liano is an 88-key, budget-friendly stage piano aimed primarily at beginners. With a few premium touches, Korg’s Liano should provide stiff competition to every other keyboard in its class.
Having tested many beginner keyboards, I’d expect the Liano to deliver a good piano sound in a reasonably portable package. In this review, we’ll find out if the Korg Liano meets expectations.
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Contents
Design
(Korg Liano Blue – also comes in Black, White, Silver, and Red)
The Korg Liano 88-key digital piano is a very streamlined, simple product. It’s designed to be affordable, but still bring a certain level of quality that will attract some more experienced players.
The first thing you will notice about the Korg Liano is how small it is. It is only 7 cm thick and that includes speakers. It also has a very small depth of 130 cm.
Another unique feature of the Korg Liano is that even with its built-in speakers, the Liano can run on 6 x AA batteries, giving you approximately eight hours of playing time. This is also plenty of time for buskers to make use of the instrument!
Sound
The Korg Liano has eight Stereo PCM voices with a max polyphony of 120 notes. A max polyphony of 120 notes is more than enough for beginners, even with a full-size keyboard.
The onboard sounds include acoustic/electric pianos, organs, a harpsichord, and strings. The electric pianos are good but if I had to be fussy, I’d have liked a more soulful sound rather than them being more pop-friendly, but it’s not a real beginner issue.
You have a reasonably big-sounding pipe organ and a lovely jazz organ in the organ section. The strings are great fun and offer more control over articulation than many similar sounds.
The star of the show is undoubtedly the Italian grand piano, which comes from the Korg Kronos/Nautilus. It’s one of the most authentic and richly detailed piano voices you’ll find anywhere in the beginner range, and particularly good in this price range.
Korg’s Liano has a built-in speaker system featuring two 3.1-inch speakers and dual 8-watt amplifiers. The speakers might be smaller than many competitors, but they are more powerful than some and deliver plenty of volume for home use.
Connections
The Korg Liano has a USB port that allows you to connect it to your computer. This is a great feature for beginners who want to record their playing or use the Liano as a MIDI controller.
- Combined 3.5 mm mini jack stereo line/headphone output
- USB (MIDI/audio)
- Pedal connection
- Input for external power supply
Performance
The Korg Liano has a Light Touch action, which won’t suit everyone. Weighted keys aside, the Liano is very good and does everything a beginner keyboard should.
It’s lightweight, portable, and easy to use, and the piano voices are exceptional for the money. The Liano is also bundled with software to help improve as a pianist:
- Skoove: Several levels of piano lessons
- KORG Module and KORG Gadget 2 Le: For DAW-based music production
- 50% discount coupon for TuneCore: An app that helps you sell your music!
Comparisons
The Korg Liano is a great beginner keyboard, but how does it compare to other pianos in its price range? Let’s take a look:
1. vs Alesis Recital Pro
The Alesis Recital Pro is an excellent beginner-intermediate piano with weighted keys that offers a lot of features for the price. If you are looking for real weighted keys and a good action this could be a better choice for you.
2. vs Yamaha P-145
The Yamaha P-145 is another popular beginner keyboard. It has a full-size keyboard, weighted keys, and a good variety of sounds.
The piano sounds are similar in quality to the Liano but it has more sounds and the feature set is better than the Korg Liano overall, but it’s also not as portable. The P125 from Yamaha generally costs more than the Liano and is a more professional instrument.
3. vs Roland Go Piano 88
The Roland Go: Piano 88 also has a full-size keyboard, weighted keys, and some decent sounds. You may prefer this lightweight keyboard, and it is worth checking out in-store if you can, to compare it to the Liano.
Cons
The Liano has a Light Touch action, which won’t suit everyone. Weighted keys aside, the Liano is very good and does everything a beginner keyboard should.
Specifications
- 88 Velocity-sensitive keys
- 3 Adjustable velocity curves (light, normal, heavy)
- 8 Tones
- Polyphony: max. 120 voices
- Effects: Reverb, Chorus
- Integrated metronome
- Loudspeaker system 2x 8 watts
- Power supply via external mains adapter or battery operation (6x AA batteries alkaline or NiMH, batteries not included)
- Battery life: ±8 hours (with alkaline batteries)
- Dimensions (W x H x D): 1282 x 290 x 73 mm
- Weight: 6 kg
- Colour: Black
- Includes a music rest, damper pedal PS-3, software bundle
FAQ
Q1: What Is the Price?
The Liano is priced at roughly $330 at the time of writing.
Q2: Does it Have Weighted Keys?
No, the Liano has a Light Touch action (semi-weighted).
Q3: How Many Voices Does the Liano Have?
The Korg Liano 88-key slim-line digital piano has eight Stereo PCM voices.
Q4: What Is the Max Polyphony?
The Liano has a max polyphony of 20 notes.
Q5: What Is the Italian Grand Piano Voice on the Liano?
The Italian grand piano voice on the Liano comes from the Korg Kronos/Nautilus.
Q6: What Is the Size?
The Liano is only 7 cm thick and has a depth of 130 cm.
Q7: Where Can I Purchase It?
You can purchase the Korg Liano from a variety of online stores including Sweetwater (US) and Thomann (UK) at the time of writing:
Related:
The Korg Nautilus Full Review – The Best Workstation in 2023?
Korg D1 Full Review: The Best Budget Stage Piano?
Conclusion
The Korg Liano slim-line digital piano is a great beginner keyboard that offers a lot of features for the price. It has a small and portable design, a great variety of sounds, and a built-in speaker system that delivers crisp and clear sound quality.
Although it has a Light Touch action, which won’t suit everyone, the Liano is very good and does everything a beginner keyboard should do. It’s great value for the price and is sure to provide hours of enjoyment for anyone who wants to learn to play the piano!
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