Alison - as a general rule, I don't busk; however, I do a few gigs where I would otherwise be expected to be "unplugged" but these days
I'm not so unplugged and it is both convenient and sounds great.

With these gigs in mind (one a street gig and one a festival)I recently made a great move - I bought a Roland Micro Cube for $100 and I love it. It weights almost nothing and it comes with a chorus, a reverb and three or four other settings that work really well; and, the joy of it is that I can play my instrument without beating it to death - and, I can fingerpick and still be heard above the traffic or other noise. I cannot speak more highly about the
Roland Micro Cube - the sound it puts out is outstanding and I think you would really like it. Go give it a test drive. Cheers.