[IAmGraydon]

That's actually the opposite of what most guitarists would say from my experience. As a gigging guitarist, modelers still sound weak and anemic in a live mix. I always hated hauling around a 100 watt full or half stack tube amp to my gigs, but it's worth it in terms of mix and tone. Modelers seem to work in a live setting when you need a very clinical sound and are playing large venues with excellent sound systems. Meshuggah is a great example, and there's a trend in progressive/math metal bands to use modelers for this very reason - they do cold/surgical/highly distorted sounds well.

In a studio, I'll use a good modeler all day long. Going direct and modeling in the box is the best - you can change your virtual amp and cab after recording to get the perfect sound/mix. You would never be able to tell the difference in the right hands.

[sickcodebruh]

I’ve been using an FM3 through a Fryette Power Station 100 into a 4x12 and it’s pretty awesome. I’ve only used it for rehearsals so far but it sounds better (subjectively) than my main tube amp. This to me is a good option for folks who want to go the modeling option live but aren’t down with running it through the PA.

[IAmGraydon]

Definitely. I was talking more about going direct to FOH with a modeler. Using one as a preamp into a tube power amplifier works well in my experience as long as you disable the internal cabinet modeling.