You are absolutely right. Sometimes I just feel snarky when someone tells me about what I don't have. I've been doing this for a while now, and I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing. And you are right that nobody even cares what I'm playing when I'm in a dive bar. They care even less if the band sucks. However, what I did find out first hand, was that those vintage Yamaha's form the 60s could not keep up with the heavy beating. Because of the shell construction, they seemed to choke out quicker if you laid into them too much. I've also taken 1980s Exports to a gig only to have the lug inserts either strip out, or the lug pop off because the mounting screw cracked. So if I do the "very cheap and old" drum kits again, I'd have to really inspect the metal bits. When I stay with the pro-level stuff, I never seem to have any of those operational issues.
But it's nice to circle back to the brand I learned how to play on. There's a lot of nostalgia for me and Ludwig (along with Slingerland) and I figured "Hey, new decade, let's get some new drums, but go back home". I start playing these, close my eyes, and all of a sudden it's 1976 and I'm driving my family crazy with all the noise. I know you can't go back, but I miss those days
