i don't understand why you wouldn't share your adjustment layer presets. not one bit. tutorials explain the reasoning behind decisions, instead of keeping them from readers.
Well, I assume this tutorial wasn't made for absolute beginners, so any tagger following this tutorial would know how to work with them. Plus, depending on your own personal tag you make and the render you choose, different gradient maps and p.filters would work best for your tag compared to the ones that Sean would have provided.
The purpose of tutorials should be to give followers an idea of how to make a tag similar to the original's and to help learners discover different processes to use when making their own stuff, not the same exact tag with the same 100% exact settings.
Long story short, this tut wasn't made for total beginners and Sean probably thought that that stuff wasn't needed, plus having to find your own settings and whatnot brings out more originality and makes the follower make their own decisions.
Anyways, this is a great tutorial, Sean. I also really love that tag.
Plus it's nice to get a look inside your tagging process. I'll probably post a result later.