Lol I hope not, Eric...well you raise an interesting point. Does everyone go thru the same phases?
For me, the first 5 years or so I played, it was just a matter of getting gear that would do the job. Never had money to buy what I wanted, but not that keen on achieving any particular sound. Just the best I could with what I had.
Then another 5 years or more, didn't have the time to bother searching for tones; just gigged almost like working etc. and didn't really change my gear in a decade.
It was really only after I stopped gigging and mainly just played home that I became obsessed with sounds and tried dozen amps and guitars nd pickups...and only in recent years have finally gotten to a point I know how to get just the sound I want with many different gear pieces or amps even. I used to think I was late to find my niche but of late it seems it's quite the opposite for many people.
Dee
"When life's a biatch, be a horny dog"
Amps: Marshall JVM 410H w/ Plexi Cap mod, Choke Mod & Negative Feedback Removal mod, 4x12", Behringer GMX110, Amplitube 3/StealthPedal
Half a dozen custom built/bastardized guitars all with EMG's, mostly 85's, Ibanez Artwood acoustic & Yamaha SGR bass, Epiphone Prophecy SG, Vox Wah, Pitchblack tuner plus assorted pedals, rack gear etc. for home studio use.