Okay, so I've done multiple experiments recommended above and have discovered some things, but still question others... The CLR is an outstanding piece of gear, and I now "get it" that it isn't supposed to give me amp-in-the-room "feel" (even though it can be tweaked to get close if I want it to do that). Rather, it is a stellar monitor that excels at it's intended design of truly representing actual tone, but can also get close to simulating "amp-in-the-room" feel if I so choose. HUGE thumbs up to CLR!!! Now, as for the mic'ing issue, my real Dirty Shirley into my 4x12 sounds better "to me" mic'd up with an e609 and run through my board and output to my CLR (and QSC) THAN IT DOES right out of the 4x12 regardless of proximity distance from my ear-to-speaker-cloth. The tone from the CLR is so rich, lush, thick, full, and "better" than how it sounds coming straight out of the 4x12 itself. Incidentally, the CLR also blows away the QSC/CP12 in this regard. In this signal chain, the CLR rocks its ass off both in "cut-through-the-mix" and solo jamming scenarios. It's definitely a well-designed piece of gear with great internals (and probably a good amount of Baltic Birch? - I've got the older and heavier CLR)... HOWEVER, if I run the FM3 Dirty Shirley PRESET either into my CLR directly or into the MESA 2:90 and out to my real cabs (disabling cab simulation), and even if I mic'd those cabs and run that signal into the CLR, I still CANNOT get anything near the real tone of my real Dirty Shirley (or my Splawn or my JVM for that matter). So, my question remains, I KNOW the "true" tone of a Dirty Shirley and a Splawn Nitro because I own the real amps and have mic'd them into a CLR in the various ways that ethomas and jlynnb1 recommended above, BUT I am not getting anywhere near the "true accurate tone representation" of those three real amps with the FM3's corresponding presets of those amps... For clarification, I'm not talking about "true tone" when running those presets into my MESA 2:90 side (obviously, that signal path is full of extra tonal variables). I'm talking only about OUT1 into CLR with those presets. Thankfully, several of you have shown me the error of my "FRFR/amp-in-the-room preconceptions/perceptions/reality/physics of the situation" and all, and rightfully convinced me that the CLR is flawless/near flawless, and you have my gratitude for that.... All that said, SO what's up with those particular presets then? I was thinking I might sell my real amps when I got the FM3, but there's no way I can do that now. Does anyone have "better" "truer?" amp presets of the Dirty Shirley or the Nitro?