I'm a noob builder (constructed my first pedal a week ago, woo) but I can kinda understand this. Most effects tend to overdrive their components. This by definition means that they operate beyond what a datasheet and the manufacturer specifies. Tiny differences that aren't noticeable when going by the specs can become much more obvious when hearing it overdriven.

Yes, the community is really based in "older is always better" kind of mentality, but there is a reason some old components are so valued, and why respected pedal manufacturers commonly hand-pick parts that meet their designed specs best (especially fuzz and overdrive effects), and this includes everything from picking transistors with ideal leakage etc, to hand picking resistors (though the resistor bit I'm not sure on why they don't just buy high precision ones for a few cents more)