Sampling acoustic instruments - methods

[Faldoe]

I was given a hand piano by a friend and I'd like to sample it. I realize I could just mic it any number of ways and get some basic samples/capturing of the sound that way but I wanted to know what other methods there are for achieving higher quality samples. In those situations, are multiple mics used - say a contact mic, condenser, etc. and the multiple recordings of each note are combined into one sample?

[Derelict78]

There are really no rules, I would try as many mics in as many positions as possible.
That way when you are done recording you can choose what sounds best and if you would like to combine mics.

[tuj]

often times the mic's are mixed. if you have a good sampler with sample-fading on velocity, you can use two mic's, one to capture the attack and one to capture the sustain.

beware, piano is a hard instrument to mic. I recommend repositioning your mic every octave.