Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree (Also produces Opeth) has said he uses the Line 6 Pod in the studio all the time. In an interview he said something along the lines of "I use it to jot down ideas quickly, but sometimes the sound is just good enough to leave as is."
Dimebag Darrel and George Lynch both used solid state Randalls in the studio for a long time, also.
LOL. Ever hear of endorsement deals?
Yeah, those SS Randalls sound fantastic, that's why they are pretty much worthless. Are you really saying they are great sounding amps? Really? Have you ever heard one? I saw a video of MW working on a project, where he explained the bass setup. They were using a behringer bass thingy (don't remember which one) in combination with a DI and a mic'd cab. He explained how it was "used" in the mix to satisfy an endorsement deal. While technically it was used on the album, it wasn't really there. He said that is a common occurrence.
And again, I've never said you can't get great sounds with the modelers. Sometimes it is the right sound for something. I've used them on projects. But I would guess that very few Pro rock recordings have distorted guitars done with SS or modelers.
I'm gonna put something together within the next couple days, and put some samples of different stuff I've worked on, with different tube, SS, and modelers to see if anybody can tell the difference, or at least which sound better. It won't be totally amp dependent, since it will be a bunch of different guitarists, but it will give some sort of idea.
Lastly, let me say this again too - the BIGGEST difference in sound on an amp is the guitarist. I'll take a great guitarist on a modeler over a hack like me on a Dumble any day.
also, the room is HUGE to the sound of an amp. Modelers just don't have the depth. I'll usually run them thru an amp/speaker just to get some of that depth, or drench them in verb if it fits the song.