I'll be interested in reviews of the LSD-2. I've considered it as well. But in the end I decided to add a second AKG C414B-ULS to my collection. I know I was taking a chance on getting one that matched pretty well, but I'm happy with the results. It's more than you are budgeting - even on eBay - especially when throwing in good stereo bar and shock mounts. But a pair of multipattern mics is obviously much more versatile than a stereo mic. I was able to use them as spaced omnis today when recording the local high school orchestra.

Something to think about at least.

Thanks Bob. You can find a review of this mic at:

http://www.emusician.com/mag/emusic_studio_projectslsd/

This is the only review I've found on it so far.

Spark

I have an aversion to stereo mics. I'd rather have two good mics and a t-bar that I can use in a variety of applications. The AKG Blue Lines work well for me on guitar - good detail without being bright.

Assuming you are talking about a multi-track studio recording (as opposed to recording a live performance), I would second Zemlin's suggestion about using a pair of mics to retain flexibility.

When deciding how to mic a new singer/guitarist, I will talk to the artist about what sort of recorded sound (s)he wants to achieve. Then I listen to the acoustic sound for a while, watch how still (s)he can sit and look at exactly how (s)he achieves the tone. Only then will I decide how to mic it. Often I will opt for recording the guitar in M-S using a pair of LDCs. Sometimes a single SDC can give better results. Although I have had good recordings from an NT4 stereo mic, the positional flexibility is not as great as with individual mics.

I will always take a pickup track as well, as it is a valuable resource at mixdown, used sparingly.

As I have said in other thread replies, the artist frequently wants to be represented by a recorded sound that is never present acoustically. So you as the engineer have to be a bit of a magician as well.