I go back and forth on this although I do tend to do more simulated sounds of late simply because I'm not playing in a band and have no need of turning an amp on (Mesa Boogie Lone Star Deluxe and Fender Twin 65 reissue)
 
Sim wise I've got Guitar Rig 5 and Scuffham S-Gear and an external POD XT rack mount thing. I user GR 5 for effects but not so much for the amps. I use the S-Gear a lot and I like the results I get. Once a year I plug the POD in.
 
Oddly two weeks ago I was using a DAW mostly noted in EDM circles and I built a rack out components that come with it with the exception of an NI compressor going in and an NI reverb on the tail...I tracked a lead part and in re-listening to it I was surprised that I actually liked it - I am never satisfied with my tone.
 
So what can I say? Use what works for now and keep working for better tone in the future.
 
Regards,

That's one of the conclusion I came to when it comes to amp sims and software - there is no single solution for me. Which is why it can be just as cumbersome and even worst than recording a real amp. 
 
Every amp sim I own has been usable with excellent result in x number of situations - all of them! My POD 1, Guitar Rig, Amplitube, GTR, S-Gear, Line 6 Spider IV, POD Farm, etc...
 
And all of them have failed to work for me, even more often. I can't neglect to factor in my lack of patience, which only gets worst when you have hundreds of different solutions a mouse click away. It's just so easy to move to the next thing.
 
On the other hand, with a real amp, that doesn't happen as it's very easy for me to dial in and capture something I like. And it has that sustain, that density which just isn't there with sims.
 
But things being what they are, I'm looking forward to tracking with the POD HD again, this time running it through the new Mackie board. This means I'll be able to take advantage of a much needed low cut and maybe dip a few things here and there live, on the way in. 
 
 

jude77
kennywtelejazz:
 
I LOVE this line in your post:
"to this day I have never had anyone hire me to play my guitar after hearing me play out of my rig and request that I use an amp sim ...it has yet to happen."
 
Truer words were never spoken.  I use sims because they're easy, but amps are MAGIC!!

thanks jude77   
 
Yes , I agree amps are Magic ….that is when I get to play out of them…such is apt living  .
 
on my most recent tune  I didn't even use an "amp sim" or an "amp"  
 
Late Night Tele 
https://soundcloud.com/guitarist-kenny-wilson/late-night-tele
 
sometimes it's just better for me to go old school . I will go direct and just use the DAW's built in plugins and tools 
usually compressors , EQ, delay and a little bit of reverb 
I can usually get away w doing it that way on a clean jazz guitar sound .
 
Kenny 
 
 
 
 

They're all tools. Not unlike a hammer. Some will smash their thumb while others build a palace.
Some talk about hammers while others use them. Almost anything one can imagine I guess.

I own a Bogner XTC, JSX, MESA Lonestar, MESA Mark IV and a EVH 5150 III.  They all sound great live, but I could never capture that sound to "tape."  I got so tired of looking for that elusive mic/speaker sweet spot, changing tubes, trying out different cabs and speakers.
 
I finally sprang for a Kemper.  It took be a couple of months of trying out different profiles and tweaking but eventually I started to figure out how to get the tones I was looking for.  Now I have a set of profiles that I record with.  I don't have to set up or tweak any thing...I just hit record and play. 
 
I haven't played one of my real amps in months.  I'll still keep the amps because it is fun to crank them in the room and get that pant leg flapping in breeze vibe coming from the shear power of the amps.  But, for recording, the Kemper is just to easy, spot on and consistent every time.

" I'll still keep the amps because it is fun to crank them in the room and get that pant leg flapping in breeze vibe coming from the shear power of the amps."

It's still the first thing I do when all of the family is gone and out of the house for a couple of hours. Turn up and flap some pant legs. 😄

Danny,
 
I may totally regret engaging on this topic, but that FXII is VERY interesting. I love complicated sounds but I've been looking to simplify my setup and my workflow. I have a bunch of vintage pedals and I run an old Boss SE70 set to do U2 shimmer. Listening to some of the samples of the FXII, it seems to be able to do everything I can do with my setup but is recallable. That's the part that kills me - I an almost NEVER get the exact same sound a day alter with all of the analog gear. I've been spending a lot of time with Amplitube because of this, but it's not quite there (though very impressive).
 
I used to run a large rack with a Axxess switching system (three GCXs!) and I'm back to a regular pedal board. Still, the idea of a single rack unit - that is appealing.
 
Do you run this through a PA speaker? I have a Marshall Bluesbreaker style cab from mojo tone with a Greenback and a Vintage 30 in it - would this work with a nice power amp? I'm guess you could split the single coming out of it, so you could record direct while also hearing yourself through the cab, which would be great.
 
I'm really going to chew on this. I have a few amps that I'm not really playing that I could roll into the Axe FXII.
 
Ug, I knew I shouldn't have opened this thread... :)

I have that same SE-70! (somewhere)
Back in the day, well '94, I ran that and a GSP2101 off the sends on my Tascam 688.
SE-70 for clean, and the 2101 for drive.
Great for the bedroom recordist.
You are so screwed now, you'll have the Axe.
I'm afraid so will I; Danny if you're listening, I can "sample" my amps, right?
You like that Vint 30?
I have a "Tall Vintage" with 4 greenbacks, and a 1960A with a couple of "Heritatge" is that right?
The rub on the Vint 30 is they take a while to "break in"?
My '69 stack was loaded with the 15 watt Pre Rola's.
Now that was a rig!
 
Tom

Hi Tom,
 
yea, the SE70 was an impressive unit in it's time - and still pretty darn amazing! I also have the half-rack EQ that goes with it. :) I'm just using them to create the shimmer effect and it works well.
 
I had the Bluesbreaker cabinet built to house my 50 watt 78 Marshal JMP MKII (not an amp I'd sell), but I hated having the chassis in the cabinet (facing up and backwards) so I just have the head sitting on it now and treating it like a standard 2x12. I had a 4x12 I loved but the thing was just way too loud. I couldn't decide if I wanted Vintage 30s or Greenbacks in this, hence one of each. :)
 
I've been watching videos of the Axe FXII and I'm soooo interested. It's got the pitch-shifting stuff that I love built right in - wow. I've started a spreadsheet of things I could sell to get this. Dang, I think I am on the path...
 
For all you high gain fans, check out this video. Not my style, but props to the guy that put this together:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3vdra-gxJ0
 
 

So it appears that the Axe FXII also has bass amps. In theory, I should be able to get rid of my Bass Pod Pro and use this instead, right? If so, that frees up my 500wx2 channel Crown power amp that I could use with the Axe FXII. hmmmm, seems like karma! :) I could still use my Mesa Boogie cab for bass, but I'm thinking my Marshall cab for guitar.