@pyrolord314 I played a Conn 6D for 38 years. I got to the point where fast passages were really muddy. I finally began taking lessons again from a doctoral student in horn performance. She had me memorize a fast passages. When I came back for my next lesson, she put a blindfold in me and had me play the passage. It was as bad as before. She then took my horn while I was blindfolded and did something. She put a horn back in my lap and told me to play the passage again. The notes came out really clear. She then removed the blindfold and I was playing her horn which was a Holton 179. The valves on my Conn 6D had become so worn over time that they leaked badly. I bought a new Holton 179. About six years ago, a colleague could no longer play and I bought her Holton H 178. I liked that horn as it plays really freely in the high range.
Just before Christmas, I bought an Alexander 103 from a friend. I really like the tone of the Alexander.
I can understand a professional mechanic wanting quality tools that are a good fit.
I suspect its not possible to generalize about why a guy who wants to be or is a mechanic buys expensive tools. Some are serious and want the best for the long haul. Others have an inflated view of their abilities and try to impress others or themselves as they begin a new venture with all the great tools. One mechanic at the can plant that I remember only lasted a few months. Had all the new stuff, cabinet, shoes, and greater than thou attitude. Found out it was hard work and took experience. Decided to go sell cars instead. Others bought good stuff but appreciated quality and knew how to use the tools.
For myself, I tend to be cheap so buy cheap stuff to add capability. Then it either get thrown away or I end up replacing it with better quality. I’ll never learn. I remember hassling my buyer for paying so much for quality tool sets when cheaper ones would do. I guess she was right though. Still I had to watch the budget.
Went to school with a guy who after 40 years sold his Snap-On franchise. In his truck he had well over $100,000 worth of tools and cabinets. I’m not a professional mechanic, but I have acquired a good collection of tools over the years. I have Craftsman and Husky cabinets. It was really tough to beat those Craftsman Christmas sales Sears use to have a couple decades ago. My 3-piece cabinet was about 1/3rd the price of the comparable Snap-On cabinet. After over 30 years I’ve never had a problem. It’s moved a couple times. But I just boxed everything up and moved them empty.
My friend who owns a 2017 Vette upgraded his toolbox to Harbor Freight. A direct quote from him - “I HATE Harbor Freight tools, but I think their cabinets made by US General are top notch.” I seriously doubt I’ll ever upgrade…but something to look at for those who are thinking about it.
Humbled I am, I am only a hillbilly mechanic, have 3 plastic toolboxes and one metal all small enough to have a handle on top, 
I tend to try and buy “middle of the road” tools (and other stuff). Not top shelf, but not the bargain bin at harbor freight. Seems to work out well. I might buy pro grade stuff if I was a pro at…anything. More of a jack of all trades, although some would say I’m a jack of a different sort. And sometimes they’ve been right! Less often lately, I hope.
The harbor freight boxes have gone up a lot in price lately. They no longer have coupons. They seem to be shifting to higher priced tools. May as well go to a big box store.
They have two lines of boxes…The US General box’s are still a lot cheaper.
Enjoy the Alexander, I had the opportunity to play one once…they are beautiful instruments. And yes, it’s interesting comparing the Holton vs Conn instruments. I found I could play in the upper register easier on the Holton, but it was too easy for me to over blow the instrument.
One big advantage for me with the Conn was the soft case that had the detached bell on top of the body of the instrument. It was far easier to load into and out of my 94 Saturn sedan I was driving at the time!
I don’t remember which line is which. HF has 2 different lines of tool boxes. US General and some other name I can’t recall. One of the lines is junk. Janky slides, very thin metal, the whole thing flexes. The other seems quite good, actually. I considered buying it, but I’m lucky enough to live in a state that has a Menards, where you can get Masterforce tool boxes. Those things are really stellar for the price. 100lb slides in every drawer except the big ones, which get 200lbs. Good, heavy gauge construction. Thing’s a tank, and the drawer layout is really good, with lots of thin drawers instead of a couple of tall drawers that cuts down on storage. I’ve had it more than 10 years and it sees a good deal of use, but it still looks new.
My only regret is that I bought too early. They’ve re-vamped their line now, and they’re all 24" deep instead of the 18" that mine is. And you can get them in more colors than “grandma’s old carpet” green.
You can get 'em through Amazon now, but the prices are crazy high compared to getting them at the store. A 36" upper from Amazon is the same price as a 36" upper and lower from the store.
I’ve realized there are many things in life that we buy, beyond a certain price point, basically to impress other people. Functionally, they do or accomplish the same purpose as the cheaper one, but people either want to project a certain “image” or live a certain “lifestyle”.
Expensive tools are an example; I also think about all the YETI mugs, cups, ice chests out there too.
Not to say those things aren’t nice and functional and all that. But I’d argue that about 3/4 of people doing outdoor activities really don’t NEED to keep ice for a week. At least not for a premium of hundreds of dollars. I’d make a similar argument for Craftsman vs. SnapOn tools.
Just my two cents.
We had a rash of people putting Yeti stickers on the back glass of their pickups a couple of years ago. Yay, you’ve got a Yeti cooler! Congrats! I always saw those stickers and thought…hmmm…if I was the kind of guy that would steal a cooler of beer, I know whose I’d go for first.
Pretty good product, though. I did buy my wife a Yeti mug as a gift. But I didn’t put the sticker on my truck window.
At Yeti’s price of $300 for a cooler chest, I would expect something better than “pretty good”. 
That being said, it is definitely a good product, but… Do most people REALLY need this kind of wretched excess for a mundane product like a cooler chest?
Short answer…nope. But if you want it and can afford it, I guess go ahead. Most of us don’t need most of what we have. We need food, shelter, and water. But we all live in excess of our basic needs, really.
I’m far to cheap to buy a Yeti (or Snap On, or insert top quality or overpriced comparable quality item here) anything for myself.
I do get the appeal of top of the line quality, though. I suppose if you buy a Yeti and keep that same cooler for 30 years, it’s not a bad investment. Similar to Snap On tools. Designer jeans and exotic cars are a little different. They generally don’t survive as long as the cheaper alternative.
Dont forget AIR. lol
Heck yes, air conditioning is a necessity in MS. 
Craftsman USED to make really tough tool boxes. Around 1971ish, I bought a Craftsman 3 drawer tool chest, it was gray with red drawers and held all my tools at the time.
In 1985, I was moving from Virginia to Tennessee on a U-haul 26’ truck with 12’ trailer, way over loaded at 68k lbs. Outside a rest stop trying to get up to speed at 2AM, I was up to about 25mph when I got hit by an 18 wheeler, it shoved the trailer up under the truck and everything on the trailer went flying down the freeway, including my tool box.
I found it almost a 1/4 mile down the road. It had tumbled that distance and on its last roll, the lock finally gave and the tools spilled out on the road, right next to the box. I shoved them all back in the drawers but could not close the box back because it was racked. Later I “unracked” it with a BFH and used it for several years more. My new Craftsman boxes were never that tough.
I asked Sears if they would honor their lifetime warranty but they declined. Personally I thought they passed up a golden opportunity to show off in their ads just how tough their tool boxes were.
I dunno, often people ascribe to others what they are guilty of themselves, but then we do like to stereotype. I paid $300 for my vacuum cleaner 38 years ago and has served me well. I even waxed and polished it. But when I went down to get a new bulb for it, I decided it was time to replace it. I paid more for my new vacuum than I did for my Toro snow blower. No one will ever see it except my wife and son. I bought it for me to enjoy. I even closed the garage door before unloading it so the neighbors wouldn’t see. Just for me. A quality tool. A lady worked for me that had a $20,000 piano at home. My former Doc had some pretty high priced fiddles because he valued them. I would never be able to tell the difference in a $500 piano or fiddle compared to a really quality one, but to the user, the quality was worth it to use, not to impress.
Even NJ can have excessive humidity and heat in the summer, and I consider A/C to be a necessity here. But, don’t tell that to my cheapo friend who says “I’d rather sweat and stink instead of paying for A/C”. He has A/C, but he refuses to turn it on, and he claims that his monthly electric bill runs ~$30.
Since he also considers soap to be expensive, trust me–he does stink.
Maybe that is why his wife lives in a different state. Very sad, IMHO.