Indeed, if you're ever thinking of buying a new instrument, you have to start playing them. I'm a double bassist. When it was time for a new bass, my first few trials in shops were practically wasted because I was still wedded to the sound of my old bass, and the adaptation of my own technique to the instrument.

One luthier told me: "Every bassist starts out wanting a bass that sounds like their old bass." Like any other musical activity, auditioning an instrument requires practice, which can only be done with real instruments. The luthiers know this. You have to do it.