[Killahurts]

I have a Yamaha DC7 Disclavier Grand in my studio, and I also use samples (lots of different sets, actually).

As a composer, it's just more convenient to use the samplers when possible, especially for bit parts, because they are always tuned and because sometimes I need a specific piano texture.

But if it's solo piano, or something really important for realism, there's nothing like the real thing of course. I usually use 2 or 4 Earthworks mic's to capture the reality, and then maybe some LDC or even a dynamic into the Vipre to supplement the bottom, or not.

The grand piano is a very large instrument and your room will come into play when you're recording it, no matter what. Make sure your room sounds good before you tune, voice and record the piano, and you'll save yourself a lot of headache.