Back when Tim was doing it, the parts of the month were pretty crude but your point is very well taken in the context of the past 20+ years. As LC used to say, there are no magic parts, it's just a question on how fast you want to go and how much money you have to spend.
He used to also say, the faster you go, the faster you will be here for work. Lotsa guys, today, believe you have to have all kinds of high technology and a personal tuner to go 12's.