You need SOME kind of condensor mic; a dynamic generally won't cut it for acoustic. Whether large or small diaphragm is a taste call, and might depend on what ELSE you might want to record with it. If you'll want to do vocals, get a large diaphragm. Lots of other acoustic instruments, maybe a small. Either can be gotten for $100 if you gat a cheap Chinese job. Not great, but serviceable given your tight budget. If you CAN go higher, something like an AT 4033 for $300 would be an improvement.
I would say get a small mixer with 2 XLR imputs & phantom power; they aren't any more than a stereo tube pre, and may well give you features you can use later. I'd prefer a Mackie or Soundcraft, but most people on the cheap go for Behringer. At this stage, it shouldn't make much difference. Listen to the cheap tube pres if you want, but make sure you like the sound. Most are not true tube circuits; they're cheap solid state pres with a current starved
preamp tube stuck in them. Almost like putting a tube fuzzbox on a solid state pre. If you LIKE the sound, that's all that matters - they can sound fine. Just don't buy into the hype.
The best cheap compressor is FMR's RNC (really nice compressor), but it's $175-ish. If you can't go that high, try a Behringer Composer. IMO, stay away from the Alesis.
You will get lots of opinions. Read 'em, then go listen for yourself.
