How much time do you generally need with a piece of gear...

[Chankgeez]

… to determine whether you really like it or not?

I mean, sometimes you don't need much.

Just curious how long you'll usually spend before deciding if it's for you or not.

[crochambeau]

If it's not an instant hit I'll usually shelve it and come back later, often with a different instrument/mindset. Sometimes things take a long while to reveal their secrets, but there are fast pass/no pass gates that are telling - headroom response being the biggest. I find my tastes vary a lot with mood, so I'm usually willing to give time to the process. Maybe up to a year of intermittent play before I confirm something's a dud.

[adamajah]

If it's not an instant hit I'll usually shelve it and come back later, often with a different instrument/mindset. Sometimes things take a long while to reveal their secrets...

Ditto on this. I've fallen in love with pedals (and guitars) a week or two after shelving them and coming back from a different angle. The opposite also happens though, right? Love at first try, but then it fades quickly.

[Blackened Soul]

Close to no time at all. I've never been meh on something and changed my mind.

[cosmicevan]

Depends...

There are some pedals that go pretty deep that I loathed at first because I couldn’t understand them but became favorites after investing time and new stuff is found all the time...Tensor and 856 for Zellersasn come to mind. Some stuff is instant love or instant nah. It also depends on if I got the gear for a reason and if it serves the purpose and if it opens new doors I hadn’t considered.

Usually you know...but I try not to let complexity play a factor in knowing if something is right for me, but I consider it since I need to decide if I want to go deep w it and how that experience seems/will be.

[whoismarykelly]

Close to no time at all. I've never been meh on something and changed my mind.

Same here. Sometimes 10 seconds and I know something has an issue I wont get over.

[coldbrightsunlight]

Generally very little time. Most things I really like are instant winners and it's a pretty solid but not entirely universal rule that if I don't love a piece of gear within five minutes I probably never will. But there are exceptions

[Dowi]

Generally very little time. Most things I really like are instant winners and it's a pretty solid but not entirely universal rule that if I don't love a piece of gear within five minutes I probably never will. But there are exceptions

Same for me. Usually - unless I trade things just for the sake of GAS - I plan to buy something I really want months in advance, or at least after I have done enough research to be almost sure it's what I need.
I often keep a piece of gear for some months just to explore, but deep inside I know I'll eventually end up flipping it.

[coldbrightsunlight]

I often keep a piece of gear for some months just to explore, but deep inside I know I'll eventually end up flipping it.

Yeah I do this plenty. Something can still be fun for a while

[Jwar]

Your mom said about 5 minutes.

Hah.

Hah.

...

[Chankgeez]

Yeah, but, jwar, we all know you need to go back multiple times. Like, at least, 3 or 4. :surprise:

[coupleonapkins]

The GAS-induced preamble/hemming & hawing goes a long way, I think, as do normal considerations to whatever setup you have, but higher price tag stuff usually goes out faster, unless the learning curve is something worth exploring.

But there is nothing like the first few moments really hitting your synapses on something that just works the way it you've imagined straight out the gate, but the same goes for deeper dives, too (and cheapness helps the latter, always).

[Chankgeez]

Yeah, but, everyone knows: Yoo-Hoo > Quik

[coupleonapkins]

[Chankgeez]

Yes, but how much time do I need to find the right GIF?