Florida panhandle. My local store had a closed-door sale, hence the great price, but you can get them for usually around $199, and pay no sales tax (like I had to!), so it's probably a push...

MIDI is used as a way to EDIT a performance BEFORE it is recorded in audio. Like I said, as you appear to be quite new at this, some Googling or a Wiki search might get you some articles that explain it in more depth than I have the time for, right here...