a good tube amp is cheaper than all that.
 

munmun
Sounds great!  What is your secret?

Thanks! The secret is:
 
1. Capture a good performance
2. Uh... twiddle with the knobs until it sounds good (it was an accident)
3. Apply EQ to the recorded track so that it sounds good IN THE MIX

I have been interested in the PodHD, however, I have been to dozens of guitar and music stores in numerous states and still have not come across a unit that I could actually demo and hear for myself. I have a good friend in Des Moines that records and plays live with the HD500 and swears by it; so much so that he also bought the 50w tube amp that goes with the Pod HD and works them programmed together. I guess I am old school though and want to hear my tone myself before I put money into a unit which costs as much as a micro tube amp.

The amp sims have never really gotten me all that enthused. However, I recently demoed S-Gear and then finally bought it 3-4 weeks ago. It has been the best sim I have tried so far. I have yet to record an entire song with it and completely put it through its paces, but I have been noodling the begeeberz out of it since buying the sim. Seems to react really well to touch and dialing back the volume and tone knobs like a real amp.

You can squeeze some good sounds from a POD, but to my ears, it's always let down by the distortion, so I've temporarily abnodned it in favour of a little Blackstar HT-5 + assorted pedals. 
 
The tone is just so much more instantly gratifying

I've been demoing that Blackstar as well Jonesy. Sounds very nice. That and the Class 5. I need a smaller tube amp than my 50 watter.

I guess that I have stayed away from amps because of my room stinks and I dont want to mic them.  Is there a way around?

Close mic with a SM57. It's more of an issue for me to get the tubes cranking with 50w; pretty much ear splitting if you want power tube satiation. I can fudge it by cranking it up on clean, using an overdrive pedal and controlling the volume from the pedal.

munmun
I guess that I have stayed away from amps because of my room stinks and I dont want to mic them.  Is there a way around?

yes, see my original reply.

I use the POD 2 (red kidneybean) on most of the guitars you hear in my music. Clean to distorted. I prefer to use the POD straight in with it's tone rather than to play it clean and then re-amp.
 
Here's the sound I get clean and disto  all guitars are straight to my POD and straight to the interface and into Sonar
 
Greensleeves>>>  http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11185701
 
Emerald Eyes>>>   http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=9414184
 
 

 Munmun the newer PODs respond  and sound much more like real amps. That example you posted is pretty self explanitory.
 The POD HD500 is not inexpensive,although compared to a pricey tube amp it's a bargain and compared to buying all the amps it emulates it's a no brainer. It is also an audio interface easily recognized by Sonar. Coupled with a JTV guitar the signal path is all digital into the computer. Good luck on finding something that works well for you. I am not a pro guitar player and I am not any kind of a purist as you can probably tell.This is what works for me but maybe not for you. I don't have anything bad to say about my POD.
 
 Mike I know the feeling of attempting to try something out in a guitar store and being unsuccessful. I think your friend has the right idea. I am seriously considering the DT 25. I don't gig out much with guitar though so I'm not sure the investment would be worth it for me.Very tempting though to have an amp that is class A tube and can change to any kind of amp at the push of a button. I ended up selling my 50 watter because it blew the shingles off my house before I could make it break up.
 
 Probably the first time I have ever heard this "fizz" others have mentioned was the other night when I was playing around with TH2 trying to get something with just a hint of breaking up. It sounded like a freshly poured glass of sprite at the top end. Honestly this is the first time I have heard the "fizz". If this is what you hear then no wonder you don't like simms.
 
 I don't hear that with my POD.