A few beginner questions...

[zircon]

Lucky. I wish people would chuck some good mics out every now and again... hehe. Do you have any idea, or guesses as to what it would cost for me to get even just half of those mics? I don't plan on doing any recording right away, but it wouldn't hurt to know.

And judging from that, you'd need quite a few mics to get good enough quality out of a piano? My piano is located in just the perfect spot right now, it has just the right amount of an "echo" when you play it, would that affect which mics I use?

www.sweetwater.com ! They have an absolutely massive stock of pretty much every music-related item you can imagine, and the prices are generally good (you can use froogle once you find an item you like and see if you can get it for a bit cheaper, but I don't mind paying a little bit more for the service). They are also knowledgable, for the most part, so if you have questions about specific items - or just questions in general - they are good about answering them. Calling them is toll free too so you have noting to lose.

In regards to actually micing the piano itself, a technique you might try is X/Y micing with two condenser microphones. This will give you a good stereo image and minimize phase problems. Here's how you would set up the mics.

I don't think you would need more than two mics. In fact, you don't even really NEED two, it's just nice to get the full stereo picture.

In terms of how you position the mics in relation to the piano itself, this is really trial and error. It also depends on how much of a room sound you want, or if you want a really close sound. Your best bet is to just experiment until you find the sound you want.

[Kriko]

The Audigy is adequate for now if you never do mic recording.

Why is the Audigy not suitable for mic recording?

[Shadix]

More like, what do you consider good for mic recording?

I'm still getting by with a BUILT-IN SoundMAX card, so I guess I don't understand what the difference is between using that or something in the 2-300$ range, and I surely wouldn't do it for enhanced midi or a smidge higher audio quality. Could someone explain to me the difference between a "high-end" soundcard and a regular one?