I love these quantative "my sports car is faster" comparison.
I got a Axe 2, AmplifiRE, bunch of plugs, real amps miked...
As a matter of fact recording template is DI gtr routed into DAW... With Axe running as external plugin through digi I/o.
AmplifiRE as external plug, through analog I/o
overloud TH3, miked cab with 3 close, 1 room mic.
Point is that I mute/unmute the channels so i get what i want to hear.
Works for tracking it reamping.
My experience with the Axe is that I get pretty much all sound I can hear in my head.
In controlled situations nothing beats it.
I got well enough a handle on it that it's pretty instant.
The AmpliFire for me is magic when it comes to having a grab and go box for unknown situations.
When I first got it a year back I did an outdoor show. Was running late missed sound check walked on stage plugged in used one patch the whole set with boost and delay and called it a day.
Box sounds good.
Here's where I mirror Larry Mitchell, I don't care if its emulated the amp right, care for the sound to be dope and it to respond as if expect to my hands.
That said I was able to make the Park 75 in the HD500 work great.
But I digress...
I did a 10 week Euro tour on FX8, loaded down 4 watt head into Amplifire as an IR loader, and half the shows used it without the head just fx8 into AA.
Loved it...
It's not highlander "there can be only one"... I use different screw drivers for different screws.
Hell I use different DAWs for different jobs.
Over the years I had 2 Ultra, Axe2,Fx8, Cablab, 2MFC, Fractal Verb.
2 Atomic Reactor wedge style, 2 straight style, AmplifiRE, EL84 power amp, 1974 style head proto.
I'm on both companies artist roster, as well as Tyler, Gibson, Marchione guitars. Life is too short to make tone such a serious worry.
Fwiw Steve Vai Passion and Warfare 25th anniversary and Modern Primitive.
The new one has this godawful YouTube sensation drum sound, Passion has vibe.
Same withvguitar.
On Passion you can hear the Marshall with pedal vibe it's glorious. Open a JCM and a ML cab or two with a pedal and adjust dynamic parameters and mic pre eq. And it's done.
Whereas Modern Primitive sounds like any type of modern preset with a blanket across the speaker.
On amps I can get there with analog pedals or FX8.
On other modellers I need to deal with it the same way and I get there.
It's all eq, gain and attack, decay, release...all there is.