giantslayer
Experienced
1) I don’t need more than 2-3 amps. If you give a shot and use the same IR and Speaker setting, i think most will agree most amps sound almost the same. Like there are tens of Marshalls...100w Plexi can do all what others do in my opinion. I would only choose a modern version over it if the ghost notes/that vintage-dirty vibe was getting in the way.
2) Beside fuzzes and special sounds why a drive block?
I currently use the same IR for everything and have all 4 amp channels on tap. It has been challenging at times to decide what to keep in my 4, but I currently have:
1) Fender Tweed
2) JTM45
3) Plexi
4 Dumble HRM
As you can see, 2-4 are all Marshall sounds, but rather than taking multiple that are doing the same thing, they are all at different points along the vintage to modern scale and with different gain staging, etc. Each one is doing something the others aren't. I'll agree there's not a lot of point in having multiple amps that are doing the same thing, so it's best to pick the one you like most in that specific category.
As far as the drive block... I've been finding it a lot more useful since FW 13 than in the past. Pre-FW13, I would have echoed the sentiment of using the drives just to shape EQ. I've currently got the Tone King on my drive block and when I throw that in front of my JTM45, I get a great tone that I can't get from boosting the JTM45 or switching to one of my higher gain marshals. It's hard to put my finger on it, but I feel like the drive block now does more than just EQ and some dirt.
I will also note that I don't use the Drive block with higher gain amp settings, just my lower gain / edge of breakup tones.