Hey man. Yeah, I use the Axe live going straight into the board. The live cab is just to feel air moving and to get some feedback when I want it, but it's not mic'd or anything. As for the cab block cuts, I have those on so that things feel more "mix ready" in the IEMs and I can send FOH a solid tone without too much low end (but enough for him to throw some into the subs if he wants) and not too much high end (but enough to have a little air in our IEMs). I test my tones out in my studio by making sure that they have clarity and punch at low volumes, but when I crank my monitors up, the tone is forward, but doesn't hurt. FOH may still cut on either the top or bottom end depending on the song, but I like to give him juuuuuust a little extra on either side of the spectrum in case he needs it.
For recording, it depends on the amp model and IR I'm using. I always cut the low end anywhere from 80-120 just to help clean up the mix. I'd say 95% of the time, I don't even touch the high cut. I like that air on the top end, and it actually really helps to widen the stereo image. Most of the time, if there's a weird frequency happening on the upper register, slight changes on the basic eq page or the GEQ page can take care of it, so I normally just leave the cab block high cut alone. I'll tell you….one thing that really helps a lot… is using a looper block, playing your part, and then tweak your tone to what you're hearing coming through your speakers. That way, you'll be tracking more mix-ready tones and your song will come together faster and sound more natural.
Does that help at all?
