Tim, I'm not guessing what modeler Ralph heard or was using, BUT I can tell you, I have a newer Vox Tonelab LE and a Vox Tonelab SE with a rolled in NOS 12ax7 Telefunken ( a little crazy huh) and I used to own a Pod 2 ( which IMO isn't even close to the Vox's)....neither come close to the sound of the real amp. My Mesa Boogie has FAR FAR more tone expression than any of the amp models that are actually modeled after it. I know you have used a deluxe reverb in the past, question is how long has it been since you were using that amp? Playing through a Tweed Princeton reverb a couple of days ago, I REALLY WISH that any modeler could get that sound. I really DO!!
I don't think Ralph is right about the modeler being 60% of the real thing...
IMHO, it's not even 30%!
Horses for courses. It all depends on a number of things.
If you're recording, are you doing high-gain dropped-C metalcore à la August Burns Red or classic tweed Americana à la Bill Frisell? How many tracks are you stacking? If you are stacking tracks, are you combining amps - say a Deluxe Reverb for some clean definition, a Plexi for some mid-crunch, and a Mesa for some buzzy bottom heft? How good is the player's technique? Does the modelling amp help compensate for some of the player's deficiencies?
If you're touring, is it practical to bring three amps on the road? Can you afford a tech? What size venues are you playing at? Is the backline being provided for you? Are you touring as support to a headliner and therefore first on and off the stage? Can you afford to have a groupie pour beer all over your priceless Two Rock and not worry about it?
When I was producing and engineering we used modelling a quite a bit, but would almost always re-amp the track through an actual amp and mic it up, sometime combining the two tracks in the mix. Sometimes the modeller by itself was too dry, too synthetic, and sometimes re-amping helped the player feel a bit more connected in with their playing when tracking. Sometimes you simply got more dimension by re-amping the modeller, and sometimes re-amping helped it sit better in the mix. Sometimes the modeller would just be used for a solo, or a clean picking part at the start of a song. Sometimes the track would end up using a real amp, a SansAmp, a modeller and a re-amped version. Sometimes the modeller by itself was enough, but again, it all depended on the player, the tone we were after, the song itself and how many tracks were going into the mix. And of course, it depended on how much time the band had and their budget.
Guitar tone is subjective, but in my limited experience with them, I think the best modelling amps are the Fractal Axe FX and the Kemper Profiler Amp. Strictly speaking, the Kemper isn't a modeller but a sampling amp, that mimics an amp where a series of signals played through the user's amp are analysed and stored in memory. 1000 virtual amps can be sampled and stored this way. Nice idea. There's no doubt modelling amps like the Fractal and the Kemper have brought modelling/profiling a long way since the early PODs, and I'm in no doubt they'll continue to evolve. Pays to keep an open mind.
Personally, however, I doubt I'll ever tire of plugging a guitar in to the input jack or a real amp, tweaking the tone, cranking the master and using my hands and my heart to make music, but as another colour in the paintbox, I think the Kemper or Fractal would be worthwhile additions in making art.
oh and 853gus experience above? Completely different. I'm doing what I always did with the tube amps -- plugging straight into the amp and playing. Live in fairly small rooms. Rarely even mic the amps. But it is, IMO, the most natural, organic use of a guitar rig. Best tone test around.
