It seems so simple, but I want to know the least expense mics to use and where to place them around the piano in stereo for recording purposes. I don't see much published on this topic. It seems so basic...

You need a condenser (as opposed to dynamic) mircrophone. A cheap brand/model is the Marshall MMX series. Give them a shot.
Preferably you would want two of them to create a nice stereo image of your piano. Open the lid, and place the microphones about 10-15 feet away from the sound-board (obviously facing the soundboard). You could either have them next to eachother facing in a 90 degree "x/y" patter, OR, keep them about 6-8 feel away from eachother, creating a triangle between the microphones and your piano's soundboard. If the room you are using a very reverberant, you may want to place the microphones closer to avoid a washed-out sound. Good luck

This post has been edited by Septer Polanski: Tue 3 Feb 2004, 02:40