Guys, please bear in mind I don't actually own the Axe Fx 2 yet. I'm in Europe, but should be getting one soon, I have been waiting since July 2011.
I agree totally with immortal_soloist, it's sorta laziness. Whilst waiting for the Axe I have read the manual about three times, followed the updates [version 3 seemed to prompt a lot of chatter]. The Wikipedia was very sparse months ago, but now I read that too. I try and read everything I can, even stuff about the real-life amps the simulations are based on, in case it'll help me dial in a sound when I get one. Basically, I should have a pretty defined idea where to start!
The thing that makes me annoyed about all the digital units [except the Axe Fx 2] is that someone will say something along the lines of: yes, but I can get my <insert generic modeller here> to sound really great after spending months and months tweaking it. WTF??? I reckon, as long as someone isn't completely stupid, you can get a real tube amp to sound great just by using the drive, master and tone controls. Indeed, I think it's been remarked that the Marshall JVM410 is a great amp for some people and it's hard to get a bad sound out of it. I'm really pleased the latest Axe seems to have this vibe, too. No eternal tweaking just to get a good sound. I recall reading somewhere that prior to Version 5, that the first generation Axe required a lot of tweaking and that put me off quite a bit. Tweaking should mainly be for polishing a sound, I reckon.
I would expect, from any decent digital amp-sim device to get a great sound using the basic controls, otherwise forget it. I want to play, not spend hours when I could be practicing, playing about with adjusting sounds, just to get it sounding passable. I'm not totally lazy, I was watching the stuff by ccroyalsenders, where he goes through all the presets. I absolutely loved the sound of the Fryette Deliverance, I had never heard of this amp before. You know what my first thought was?... I'd love to have a go with the advanced parameters and customise this baby to make one of 'my' sounds!
You guys on the forum have been absolutely awesome so far. I wonder if you're all in the vanguard of a sonic revolution that's happening right now. The possibilities are immense. I was trying to think myself actually, how to go 'beyond.' Just that amps have sweet spot and wouldn't it be great if the range of the sweet spot could be extended, just to give an example. But I think Cliff has already covered this? There will be other possibilities, but I'm not technically savvy enough yet about tube amps.