NOTE: I AM PLAYING DEVIL'S ADVOCATE.
For me to go back to amps, it's gonna be a complete reconfiguration of my guitar AND recording setup. If I make that leap, I want to make sure that I've covered every possibility and angle. So I'm going to argue against absolutely everybody in this thread as a way of "testing" the ideas yeah? Don't interpret my stubborn-ness as "Well he's already made his mind up"
I haven't. I just want to make sure all bases are covered from both sides of the fence
With that in mind...*cracks knuckles
Different routing with the FX loop and placing stuff in between amp and cab blocks. Series/parallel hybrid routing. The biggest thing for me is the expression pedal control. Being able to press one button and change delay feedback percentage, chorus rate/depth, trigger an lfo on a mix parameter at the same time is crazy. Sequencer and envelope filter too. Awesome tone for recording. Amps require very good mics, a very good room, and excellent preamps. Then a great a/d converter. Enjoy recording with headphones for hours and moving mics like a crazy person? I don't. Do you have a dog that makes noise, kids, a noisy living area? Axe FX equals no problem. Sure use a load box with your amp, you'll burn the transformer if you drive it too hard. To route like the axe you'd need a ton of inputs/outputs and a large format console with a patchbay.
Putting stuff in between cab\amp blocks isn't something that I do. I can see why people prefer their modulation\delays there but for me it's not a big deal. Generally for recording, if I'm using a time-based effect (Delay, Reverb, Trem, Rotary etc.) I prefer to use a plugin so that I can synch it to the song. In terms of live use...eh. I don't do U2 style delays, more of a "I WANT ECHO" sorta delay and if an audience member is out there literally counting my repeats, they're not the sort of self-obsessed wanker that I care about either.
The way I've got things set up, I'm treating the AFX like I would an amp head. Guitar (Or Reamp) -> Pedals -> AFX -> Interface. What I'm thinking of doing is going Guitar -> Pedals -> Amp -> Two Notes Torpedo -> Interface. (NOTE: IF YOU WANT TO TELL ME HOW\WHY A TWO NOTES TORPEDO IS SHIT, PLEASE DO SO HERE!
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/axe-fx-vs-two-notes-torpedo.143958/#post-1703513). That means I've still got silent recording and all the convenience of using one of those amps (admittedly, they're still a pain in the dick to move)
Honestly the only pedals I find better than the axe is true fuzz pedals because of the volume knob dynamic. Modulation, delay, and reverb is not beatable by pedals. Some strymon stuff is good but if you know the axe you can do the same thing and more. The only FX I use with the axe FX is my h3000 for very specific FX(swept verb, similar to Plex delay detune mode.
I've found the total opposite. I've found the real works better almost every time. With effort, you can tweak the drive block to be basically identical, but it's not a case of slapping on an 808 Drive block and calling it a day. Plus there's something else that the real thing offers...
A bit of security. See, if I plug a REAL TS808 into the front of the AFX, then if there's an issue with things not sounding "right", I know I don't have to worry about the pedal (assuming it's the right pedal blahblahblah). Whereas if I'm using a drive block, maybe I don't have the mid frequency set perfectly? Should I try a different kind of clipping? There's a lot of tweaking to the drive blocks (in particular) to get them sounding right.
With the real pedal? Chuck it in. Twist the knobs. Done. Move on.
With the real amp? Chuck it in. Twist the knobs. Done. Move on. No fucking around with dynamic presence, sag or whatever.
The audio game is a game of inches. Each inch you can be certain of is one less problem down the line. While I'm pretty sure that the AFX does the job correctly, if I'm staring down the ACTUAL bit of gear I want to use, it's either right or it isn't.
Note: This approach only works if you HAVE the right amp\pedal. That's definitely one point to AFX ownership instead of real amps. I aint gonna have 200 amps.