Buy cheap? Or start with good gear?

There are two schools of thought - one is "go cheap until you know you're gonna stick with it". The other is "buy good gear from the start - it will save you money in the long run."

My personal story is that I started with cheap gear and, somewhat subconsciously, I blamed it for not getting the tone I thought I should have. Then I learned more and got good gear - gear the pros were using - and realized the problem was me. But I KNEW THAT gear was capable of the tone I was after and it pushed me to develop my own tone. I was more satisfied and it motivated me to hear myself sounding better. 

Here are some reasons to consider spending a little more up front. 

CUPPING is an art. It does not come naturally and the majority of players can't do it well. This is a fact - I've been paying very close attention to this for years because of what I do. 95% of the harp players in the world - even people who've played for 30 years - just don't understand what a good cup is, or sounds like.  The worst thing about most of the cheaper mics is that they will make these players sound EVEN WORSE because they have too much high frequency response and not enough bass. When you cup really well, you naturally mute the highs and bring out the bass, so you can make any mic sound decent. But when you're starting? Not so much. (This is one of the reasons The Heumann Element is getting such great reviews - it really helps most players sound better!)

I have had the opportunity to hear lots and lots of mics. Sometimes I'll say to myself "hmmm, that sounds pretty good." But then I will A/B it with some of my tried and true favorites - in particular a good Shure CM or CR, or THE, or Brush Crystal - and play them back to back. Then I can easily hear that the mic in question just doesn't sound as good. 

It's really  that simple.