[Insomniaclown]

Just to steer this thread in a different direction for a moment. I think the OP was also looking for a little amp sim comparison discussion as well as amp vs amp sim discussion. I have had experience with a few, and from a guitarists point of view, some are better then others. I have used Guitar Rig 3, Amplitube metal and fender, peavey revalver MK III, and waves GTR solo.

Guitar Rig 3- First one I tried, and I bought it. Had it for over a year. Out of all of them it has the best interface, and the crazy FX sounds you can get are very cool. As a straight up amp sim, I don't like it at all. Clean sounds are meh, overdrive sounds have a very machinelike feel to them, and clear distinct high gain sounds are difficult to get. Some of the amp models are unusable for me, and the stock presets are not great. Some of the features didn't work like I thought they would (stacking cabinets), and the "expert mode" on the amps is not very useful.

Waves GTR solo is not for me. The sound is good, but it feels and sounds produced to me which limits its tonal variations. Everything sounds compressed. Preset management is clunky, but the interface is simple enough. Maybe Waves GTR 3 sounds better? Still, I think it sounds better that GR 3.

Revalver is pretty nice as well. All components on one screen, lots to choose from, and the tweak features are crazy. My main issure is that the Peavey models were the only usable ones (for me anyway). The sound was actually pretty decent, however, it sounds as if the "air" has been completley removed causing a little bit of a 2D feel to the sound. With all of the options available, I experienced a sense of "option anxiety", and I really couldn't nail down a sound that I really liked. I am the type who wants to see what everything sounds like before I get down to creating my own sounds. Helps me to build sounds faster. Good luck in revalver.

Amplitube Metal/Fender- Worst GUI by far for me. Everything on a different screen makes tweaking tedious, and seperates you a little bit from an actual setup. However, out of all of them, these two are my favourite. Limited options = less option anxiety= more creativity. It forces you to work with what you got a little more instead of flipping through a zillion presets looking for a sound. I also really enjoy the sound a lot more, especially overdriving those fender amps. Best overdrive sounds in amp sim land. Amplitube metals sounds damn good as well. I am actually working on a project right now where I will have my recorded mesa on one side, and amplitube metal on the other. I'll post a little clip when I get it worked out.

Just thought I'd share my opinion on some of the sims. Take it or leave it. As to Amp vs Amp sim for performance, you will never see me cracking out the amp sim on stage. Ever. When I am tracking though, anything goes as long as it does the job.