Very true..
.. But there are 1000's of 'old' tones out there to try to recreate, if you're into that sorta think...
Certainly plenty that are
Kind of like the guitar pedal business in a way, we have 100’s of different tone benders, tube screamers, fuzz faces etc, all based on the same circuit, but someone says they used a “rare NOS carbon cap that you can’t buy anywhere” and they charge $200 for the pedal, even when a $0.02 ceramic cap has zero tonal difference. Thing is, a lot of buyers have zero idea what circuit it’s based on, or believe that a “nos” part has a certain “mojo” etc, so they happily pay their $200 and talk about how their new pedal blows away any other OD they’ve had before, even though it’s the same thing, fancy box and product name.
Mind you, I don’t fault the buyer or seller in a h way, more power to anyone to earn a living and buy what makes them happy.
At the same time, I’m a big fan of DIY, learning a process so I can craft my own stuff etc. learn how an input cap affects the fuzz factory circuit and for $2 and some soldering skill you can make all the “booteek” you desire, or, learn a bit about guys signal chains, that they used a compressor etc as part of getting their signature tone and it’s a bit easier to dial in what your after.
Though again, I do get that some people just want to play