I can think of fifty quid guitars thatI've sold and passed on that I would be happy to do a gig with. And you can always sell it - I usually DO.

But it really is a bugger to spend your money and then blow it out - and you're left with zilch. If i were you, I would talk with pro musicians.

You want to play harp - you must do what the pro's advise.

I've never done it - but common sense would suggest to me that if you paid a little attention to amplifying the harp - you wouldn't need to blow so hard onstage.

It works that way with guitar strings. For noisy gigs I play a modelling acoustic guitar that i can wind the amp up to 11, and make the noisy bastards ears bleed. I never break strings. If you play amplified you can actually be more subtle at normal volume because the sound is more compressed.

Perhaps I am talking crap, but you never know It might work for you.