How long do you trial a RE before you decide?

[TritoneAddiction]

How long does it take before you decide whether or not to buy a RE?

Even though I have 30 days to try it I never use all that time.
I usually know whether or not I like something pretty fast. It takes me about 15-60 minutes depending on what kind of RE it is. If I can't get good results with it within the first 30 minutes I pretty much know it's not for me. It's either lack of results or just a workflow I dislike, if it feels unintuitive to me.

Sometimes I'll give it a second spin just to confirm my initial feeling was right and I usually end up with the same opinion.

I know what I like. I like simple stuff that just works. If I have to fiddle around with it forever just to find a decent sound it's not for me.
I don't mind many options as long as results come quickly (like with Expanse).

[odarmonix]

It hardly ever takes me more than 15 days to decide whether a RE can be useful in my tool set or not, products that make me hesitate this long usually are the priciest ones (starting from 39 € and above) because as a broke cheapskate I must think twice before spending a considerable amount of money on anything. Most REs I've tried either convinced me or didn't within only a few days or so.

On some rare occasions I've let my trial expire, only to realize many months later that the related RE could actually make my life easier in some very specific situations. This has mostly been the case with exotic FX units and CV utilities.

[Loque]

Within a few minutes i know if i buy it or never in most cases. Only if it takes longer to get used to the RE it will take a couple of hours. The price does not matter to me, but i make my decision on "is it worth the price?" or "do i need it?" or "does it inspire me?". In a few cases i would not buy some RE again (but dont regret them anyway) and a few i was wrong in my first decision not to buy.

For synths and FX it is very important to have good presets with good categories and a bit more presets are better than just a few. CV utilities should have good and directly usable examples to get a clue what is possible.

A good quality of a RE can make me instantly buy a bundle if i think its worth, even if there is something in it that is bs imo.

A deeper dive into details i do, when i have enough time.

[zeebot]

Depends whether it's on sale or not. If it's on sale usually from instabuy to before the sale runs out or if it's just a normal trial I'll use up the whole 30 days and see if I miss it or need it for any of the tracks I used it in.

[chimp_spanner]

I mean typically if I need to buy something it's for work. So if I'm sure I need it and I know the job will pay for it I complete the work on trial and then reinvest the fee into the full version! Helps me not to spend what I don't have!

[Peter]

No more than five minutes. I usually abandon ship if a device (or the way it sounds) doesn't pull me in right away and I know it's wrong.

I've regretted burning through my trials on more than one occasion.

[sdst]

One minute for synth RE, (When the subtractor sound is better) If the synth sound like Expanse then it has my attention

i don't trial sample base things or GB RE, In general from 1 to 5 minutes

[Galaxy]

I'll wait till the 11th hour b4 pullin the trigger. This is because I'm looking for reasons not to make the final purchase. I won't trial something unless I'm already convinced that I want the new toy, so there's an element of G.A.S already. I've pretty much made my mind up on 95% of my purchases, but there were a few racks that I just said "fuck it", let them time out, and moved on (PunchBD, Uh-Bik G, Tick Tock, and ABL3. All for various reasons).

Oh btw, Urs needs to fix his shit! Fucking bastard

[Mysterygrimms]

15-30 minutes usually? Sometimes a couple of hours. Due to my work schedule, If it takes me more than a few hours, then it is usually because I am working during the week and don't really have the proper time to delve deep into an RE I am interested in purchasing. Also, I usually don't trial something unless I am already interested in purchasing it beforehand. It took me 1 minute to demo "The Legend" and buy it though. This is was around the time that they had the song challenge right before they announced TritoneAddiction the winner.

[chk071]

Oh btw, Urs needs to fix his shit!

What happened to this anyway? I thought they pulled those plugins, but they are still in the shop: https://shop.propellerheads.se/browse/?developer=u-he

[challism]

Oh btw, Urs needs to fix his shit!

What happened to this anyway? I thought they pulled those plugins, but they are still in the shop: https://shop.propellerheads.se/browse/?developer=u-he

Pulled them, or did U-he just stop developing/supporting REs? I think it is the latter.

To answer the OP, I usually know pretty fast if I want an RE. Within minutes or at the longest, a few days. I usually buy it before the trial is up. Maybe 15-20 days in, unless it is on sale and I am up against a deadline. I should probably do as Zeebot does and wait until it's gone to see if I truly miss/need it. I think that is a really good idea. And I have way too many REs at this point. I think I am finally over my GAS! No (big) regrets... I'm really, really happy with my rack

[chk071]

Oh btw, Urs needs to fix his shit!

What happened to this anyway? I thought they pulled those plugins, but they are still in the shop: https://shop.propellerheads.se/browse/?developer=u-he

Pulled them, or did U-he just stop developing/supporting REs? I think it is the latter.

I see. I thought Urs stated on KVR Audio once that they pulled the Uhbik plugins completely, like, also removed them from Propellerhead shop.

[Ostermilk]

It depends, if it grabs me straight away as being good (or bad) then it's an easy decision to buy or pass by, I tend the trial the ones that fall in the middle of those two poles for the longest.

I've only bought a couple of things that I consider to be turkeys which is kind of a testament to the trial option as I've bought plenty of woeful VST's in the same amount of time, either because demo's weren't available or if demo's are available they've been too badly crippled to make a fair appraisal.

Mostly though, largely due to financial constraints no doubt, I don't end up with too much I don't use.

[PhutureD]

The best way is to use it as often as you can in a test project. For the last , which was Fuzz, i used it extensively on two tracks.
Even though I was blown away by the sound quality at first , i needed to be sure, in case there was an alternative. it took about two weeks.

[Data_Shrine]

Usually a few days to a week.

[gak]

Usually, as long as the demo allows. This is not the case when there is a time limit before the "deal" expires.

However, I simply do not regret any RE's I've bought.

[ejanuska]

I never downloaded a trial version of any RE.
I just buy them.
I'll listen to the demo tracks and maybe browse the manual.

It's like buying a bottle of wine for the most part. You get what you pay for.

[Steedus]

I never want to 'waste' the trial of a RE unless i'm already pretty sure I'd buy it - which most of the time I can't tell until I trial it. This ofcourse leads to never trialling, OR buying RE's. Such is the limited trial model...

[selig]

Oh btw, Urs needs to fix his shit!

What happened to this anyway? I thought they pulled those plugins, but they are still in the shop: https://shop.propellerheads.se/browse/?developer=u-he

Pulled them, or did U-he just stop developing/supporting REs? I think it is the latter.

I see. I thought Urs stated on KVR Audio once that they pulled the Uhbik plugins completely, like, also removed them from Propellerhead shop.

Don't know what he said, but his products are all still in the shop - and all with 4-5 stars fwiw!


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[gullum]

useably within hours. with synths I always listen to the demos first ( I don't use many synths in my music ) and there are quit a few that I just did not trial just because the demo songs didn't sound good, So to me a good sounding demo of the synth is important, if the developer can make it sound good how am I going to make it sound food

[kuhliloach]

I use the full 30-day trials. Then when they expire I usually do not buy the product, but wait around 1-2 years to see if it goes on sale. It is difficult for me to justify spending more than $30 on a plug-in. So the reality is my true use of the trials is so I can have 30 days of testing something I am never going to own, and perhaps using it in a song. The Softube Tube-Tech Classic Channel is a perfect example.

[Re8et]

IF it is an Hot Deal, sometimes I do not need to evaluate a lot an RE, as the T2 phaser, but the Hot deal ended before my trial expired, and I'm not going to buy it at 39. Hot deal was the reason i tried it in the first place.

But then I must compare its capabilities with what I've got. Dynamic EQ's are on the list.
A compressok took me all 30 days before ending me feeling empty without it..
And that takes time.
If its really useful and a must have, I get it day one.
Other stuff, I used all the month evaluation without buying the stuff, lack of presets.combinators-patches is one factor.
First I see if there are decent tutorials, if there are, it fasten up my time decision a LOT. Videos are second in importance after presets-combinators.
that can be also articles but Youtube is much easier to follow than have to google around... Primal presets for example, why they are not linked in the shop page in the first place? I discovered them two months after evaluation expired...
Last but not least, is the creator active enough, i.e. free update, presets, fixes??
Ochen K, that guy is unbeliveable, you know something from him will live through the next generation because he's so active!
U-he is the exact opposite. I don't want anything from them. Presswerk? Satin? Whats???? No active, no bucks.

Other stuff, with no real alternatives, takes much less to decide; Charlotte or Movement? That was hard pick...

[Bonkhead]

The Softube Tube-Tech Classic Channel is a perfect example.

This is exactly the reason I have not tested it yet. I'll test it when I know I can and would like to buy it. In this case only during a sale.
Takes me about 10 minutes to 3 hours to test a RE, depending on what it does, how compelx it is and how it compares to other simular re's I already have.

Sometimes test multilpe simular re's at the same time and compare them, then pick one.

[ejanuska]

Well, I bought the CL-1L because it was on sale.
That's how much thought I put into it.