anmpr1, I'll react to your numbered points:
1) The relic stuff is mumbo jumbo, Keef kinda gets credit for starting it in my book. He was taking vintage blackguard Teles on the road and they were @50 years old at the time and getting worn, very expensive to replace and even if you found one for sale, no guarantee it would sound and play like the one you loved. So, someone at Fender offered to replicate his main ones down to the wear marks, the replaced neck pick up PAFs...These would be "stage props"; Keef could keep the look of the instruments he was associated with, get 85-90% of the tone and 100% of the look. For him and Fender it made sense, there was a period in late 1980s when he would show up on stage with some new stuff (not Fender or Gibson vintage instruments - he plays Jrs and 355s, as well)...Fender would keep the icon playing Fenders. Then Fender and others started the relic stuff. Found this to be ridiculous as I had for decades been on the hunt for vintage instruments that were great examples, in clean and original condition as possible, paying premiums for clean stuff as folks by the boatload were spending extra money to by new, generally bad looking simulations of worn vintage guitars...utter nonsense. Only relic I play is the relic I relic (wear by playing).
2) Had to look up Josh Scott, never tried one of his pedals. Most of the pedal junkies buy pedals thinking it will make them play better. Playing with people and practice/study (which is hard work) is what will make a player sound better.
3) Bought a Positive Grid Spark amp (a small modeling amp) for my 30 year old son for Christmas a couple of years ago. He "borrowed" a guitar that Roger Sadowsky made 30 years ago or so and taught himself to play (with some pointers from the old man). Studied music theory and voice as minors in college, sang in concert choir and an a cappella group there. So he was/is a quick study on musical matters. Anyways, he doesn't play out or have a band so the Spark is a great apartment amp for him. I guess one could plug it into a PA and get a fair facsimile of a good sounding guitar rig...but YOLO, why settle for less than the real thing?
On Dumble, it is a Fender circuit modified with extra SS and tube gain stages, further customized to get what the player wants. Robben Ford's Dumble is not the same as what Howard built for David Lindley or Lowell George or Christopher Cross or SRV or Eric Johnson...some have more headroom, some more gain, some 100 watts and some 50 watts, some 6L6 output stages other EL34s...Dumble was a man and his brand, he had several models that he further tuned for individual players. To get him to build you one, either he had to know your playing (EC) or you had to come play for him and if he thought you were "good enough" he'd build and voice an amp for you, like a custom tailor. So, that's why they are all different.
Agree conceptually with all your letters. For example, sold a guitar for $60K that I paid $12K for recently. Audio gear, to my knowledge, doesn't of that fringe benefit of ownership. Additionally, I recently acquired a 1934 Gibson L-5...great playing and sounding instrument. Pretty sure I'd not enjoy 1936 audio equipment.
