Sidroe
Mettelus, I converted over to using a POD 2.0 when they first came out and while it took getting used to as far as the feel and response of the guitar being a little different it sure made my life easier both on stage and in the studio. I took so much flak because I was the first guy around here to go straight in the PA. Horror of horrors! Are you crazy? Go get your amp! They freaked when they were still tearing down gear to load out and I was unplugged and getting in the car!

Reminds me of the electric guitar player accompanying (with the rest of a band) a choir I sang in a few years ago.  At the time I was into building tube amps and was deep into the folklore.  One concert night this guy shows up with a Pod and a Twin that he'd rented.  When I prodded him for some tube-related insider info he explained that he just wanted the cleanest sound out of the twin so he kept it around 4.  The Pod gave him all the heavy distortion he used during the performance (it was most likely miked into the concert hall PA system).  Now, what fun is that ?
 

RobertB, I couldn't agree more with you. I do most of my work around 6 in the morning. I have always been an early riser!LOL! There's nothing like slipping those headphones on and hearing big, clean Twin rhythm track grooving in the back while that Dual Rectifier is burning out! Nothing goes better with a cup of hot chocolate. hee-hee

Paul, I can't tell you how funny it was to see fellow guitarist coming to the gig and craning their necks looking for the amp rig and lining up on the break to find out where that killer guitar sound is coming from. Anyone that knows me knows I have quite a collection of amps and guitars I acquired thru the years. When the amps disappeared off the stage it took a long time to get everyone to understand I wasn't going to sell anything. The PODs and amp sims are just another tool in the box.
I have been using TH2 on a laptop at gigs for about a year now with a patch on my HD500 setup as a controller for TH2! All the guys are looking at this and saying "Oh, well! Here we go again!"

mettelus

I was curious if you feel they can replicate a tube amp nowadays? I

I still feel that there is nothing like a good tube amp. I have a Carvin Nomad. A very distinctive clean sound. 🎸😊

The subtle sound you can get from a Les Paul by moving the volume control even one number is astonishing. Then throw in the tone control of the same pickup and it just keeps getting better. Same with a good Strat. Except the tone varies with the volume knob getting lower.

A hot pickup turned wide open will give distortion. If you are going for that, great. But I would suggest like others here have: Try the volume of the guitar on 6-7, the distortion on the amp sim "may" be better. More definition. Depends on the sim.

Thanks for the feedback! I definitely think the ability to use headphones definitely sent me down the path to the amp sims. The incredible reduction in set up times (and ease of recording) turned it into the "standard" for me at home. Several months ago I did take pity on my Carvin XV 212 and asked folks in another thread about bringing it back up to spec (which turned out to be nothing more than a good electronic cleaning!). I live out in the boonies now, so have no concerns to be "too loud" and got re-acquainted with it afterwards and had incredible fun. The setup in my den is not the best to record it (and I admit I prefer to record clean signals anyway since being jaded by amp sims), but it is getting more use these days just for straight up playing - nothing like truly feeling the music
 
I have always had a weird stigma with laptops, but see their usefulness attested to in this forum more and more. I am definitely not keen on lugging 75lbs equipment around, and plugging straight into a PA is what I do most times anyway. I need to rethink that one, since the right laptop could be a benefit.

Well I can't say enough good things about amp Sims. Bought Line 6 Gear Box Gold about Five years ago and really leaned fast how quick and easy it was to start a song, grab a sound, get a trk down and go back and play with it using different patches that I had never thought of, layering them.......and on and on!

So for about three years, I didn't use my amps. In fact I got really fond of playing through the amp Sims into my monitor (especially Head Case). I just love the response I get from those monitors.

About six months ago I started playing through tubes again. Wow, I realized what I missed.

Then as an off hand trail, I stuck my 4040 in front of the speaker cab and recorded a take. It was very different than the takes I made with the Sims. It sounded great with hardly any effort!!

Not to make this into a " real vs itb " post, I'm just saying both are really good. And both have their weaknesses.

Given the choice, I may go with the.......😊

We've been talking about guitars, but don't forget you can use amp sims with soft synths, too.
I'm particularly fond of a really dirty organ sound, so I called up a an amp sim to get it.
This is a nice, clean organ from DimPro being pumped through an old favorite, FreeAmp2:
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=5915248
 

Nice, Robert! Shades of Jon Lord!

Grem! The way the volume control on the guitar makes the sim respond is one of the first things I try. I have used a volume pedal for my control because it keeps me from having to stop and twiddle knobs in the middle of a riff. My hands stay on the guitar almost permanently. Also, how the amp sim responds to my dynamic picking is crucial, as it is to all of us. The last couple of newer sims that I have tried and used have gotten closer to that tube amp mojo. They still are not perfect by any means but they seem to be making some steps.
My only quandary is that most sims seem to be aimed at either squeaky clean and shredders! I was glad to see the BIAS demo actually had a few videos of the player getting that slightly overdriven sound that I live in most of the time. The S-Gear demos sound good but I haven't tried it to see how it FEELS. I play a lot of Ford and Carlton style jazz where you really use that region of clean with some grit. The struggle has become easier trying to replicate that slightly overdriven sound with TH2. I had to make the jump from TH2 Producer to the full version to get the compressors and the Brunetti amps in there REALLY do a fantastic job!
Right now, HD500 and TH2 are the frontrunners when using sims for me. I sometimes use Torpedo Wall of Sound cab sim for some different colors. 
 

scook
It could happen depending on routing. If the clean signal is slightly ahead of the affected signal check the interface direct monitoring setting.

That fixed it. Thanks again!