*Williams Legato has been discontinued by the manufacturer.
Roland GO61PC is a decent and cheaper alternative that I am listing*
If you are not that into pianos and digital pianos, you probably never heard about the Williams Legato brand yet. The Williams Legato 88-key is not a mass-produced digital keyboard that you can buy readily available for you.
It can be quite of a deal-breaker if you want a keyboard to use as soon as possible. Well, overall, the Williams Legato 88-key is an entry-level piano that is more suitable for beginners, so some people might not really want to wait for a unit to become available.
If you are in a hurry to get an available unit, you can probably opt to buy a Roland RD-300NX, or a Casio Privia PX-350. These two examples are excellent for on-stage performances with the digital features that you can use for recording and music production.
Is buying the Williams Legato 88-key piano really worth the money and the wait?
Let’s find out as I will spare you no details and go all-in with this Williams Legato 88-key digital piano review.
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Features and Specifications
Let’s check out the most notable features of this bad boy:
No. of Keys: 88 semi-weighted keys
Built-in Tones: 5 rich sounds such as piano, electric piano, organ, synth, and bass
Dimensions: 55.1 x 13.2 x 6.5 inches
Polyphony: 32 notes
Warranty: 1-year warranty from the original date of purchase
Sound Quality
The Williams Legato may not have a lot of sounds. Still, for an entry-level keyboard, it does have the rich essential sound you can appreciate. Most intermediate piano players might not want this keyboard as their first choice for performances.
However, the Legato 88-key can be useful for practicing and for writing compositions. It has the essential piano voices you would need for practice and creation, such as an acoustic piano sound, a synth, bass, and electric piano. You will also have the ability to combine and split these sounds for a fuller tone when you are playing solo piano.
With only 32 notes of polyphony, it is aimed for beginners that play simpler piano pieces. You can play this piano anywhere in the house without setting up any amplifiers because of the two 10-watt built-in speakers included in the package.
These speakers sound pretty impressive even when cranked up to the highest level. Although you cannot use these speakers for jam sessions as it might get overpowered by drums or electric guitars, it is substantial when playing solo.
The sound may not be as impressive as other keyboards in the market, but for its price range, the sound may be a little above average.
Key Action and Feel
The semi-weighted keys are decent enough for a seasoned piano player to enjoy. If you are just learning how to play the piano, these keys are good enough to practice on before moving on to a more weighted keyboard with accurate resistance and feel. They are velocity-sensitive keys, which is a pretty nice feature for a digital piano in this range.
The keys might have good weight and responsiveness, but there is still something missing with the dynamics. What would you expect for a keyboard at this price?
I would say that beginners can still have fun without noticing the dynamic changes depending on how you strike the keys at first. Overall, the key weight and action are still suitable for a little bit of dynamic range and realism.
Features
The Williams Legato may not have a whole lot of sounds in its quiver. Still, you can remedy that by using MIDI and USB connectivity. You can connect this digital keyboard to a host and use your own digital sound connection on your computer. It also has a mini library of five practice songs you can use as accompaniment.
What makes the Legato 88-key excellent for practicing is the built-in metronome. With this feature, you can practice playing accurate tempos to become an even better player.
It also has a headphone jack so you can practice quietly, and a sustain pedal for extra dynamics and modulation with the sound.
Who Should Buy Williams Legato 88-key Piano?
I would recommend this piano for people interested in learning how to play the piano. Without the inclusion of a massive sound library, you can focus on practicing and playing without getting distracted by extra features.
The MIDI connectivity feature can be used for recording purposes as well. However, without the pitch and modulation wheel, you cannot manipulate synth leads for your electronic tracks.
For a low price, this keyboard is perfect for people looking for their first practice keyboard on a budget. Honestly, if you add a hundred or more dollars, you can still get a better sounding keyboard with more features that you can use for a variety of applications.
Final Verdict
This digital piano is a suitable beginner piano. Advanced players may not enjoy this piano as much because of the limited features and borderline above-average sound quality. Still, for a low price, it can be a useful tool to harness your piano playing skills.
It is a one-stop-shop practice tool that you can use anywhere. It is battery-powered (6 D batteries with the option of plugging it in with an AC adapter) and has a built-in speaker, which makes it portable.
I would feel that this keyboard would be a better choice for recording MIDI if it had a pitch and modulation wheel. It would be more versatile with tones from your VST library, especially if you want to use it for producing synth-heavy music.
On the contrary, you can still make use of the sound by recording acoustic piano sounds straight from the keyboard headphone jack by using an audio interface. With the number of keys and its price, it could have been a useful MIDI controller for your studio.
Pros:
- Nice key action
- Velocity-sensitive
- Battery-powered
- Affordable
- Built-in metronome
Cons:
- Limited features
- No background beat
- Batteries are not rechargeable
- A little bit dated
Ratings:
Build Quality: 3/5
Sound Quality: 4/5
Touch Sensitivity: 4/5
Extra Features: 2/5
Total: 3.25/5
Related Questions:
- What makes a good piano for recording?
A good piano for recording depends on the sounds you will use. If you want to use the built-in sounds on a hardware digital piano, you need excellent sound quality with the key action and feel that suits you.
However, if you are going to utilize your own sound library, you will need a keyboard that has a USB to MIDI connection. This feature allows you to use the keyboard as a controller. With a MIDI controller, you only need to worry about the feel.
Conclusion
The Williams Legato may not be the best of the best. However, it is still a realistic-sounding keyboard that is suitable for practicing and early recitals.
It has the needed response and key weight that is perfect for people who want to learn how to play the piano for a reasonably affordable price. I hope this Williams Legato 88-key digital piano review helped you in looking for a keyboard you could use!
Last update on 2024-04-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
