Chessrock...and interested others...
I realize that whatever mic i choose will not by any means get me professional-sounding recordings. I'm not asking for that necessarily. At the same time, a SM57 is a very professional microphone, for under $100, that will do a rather good job on almost anything electric guitar. Not the best mic all the time (and as i've said not necessarily my cup'o'tea) but certainly nothing to be ashamed of using.
No mic will ever fill all needs. I think what you might be thinking about in terms of clean vs. distorted is nu-metal guitar sounds - you know, the triple rectum-fryers that every rich teenage kid seems to have. Those very-high-gain sounds are a whole 'nother ballpark well covered by Slipperman's posts at Recpit. I'm talking about blues-type gain, which involves a lot more subtlety and more often than not, using the guitar volume control to manage the amp's dirt level. Most of the time one mic WILL have to cover the gamut of sounds just to preserve continuity.
For other instruments (vox, drums, bass, etc) there is a very definate increase in quality as price increases. The same holds true for guitar, but at the same time, all electric guitar history is based around (relatively) cheap guitar, amp, and effect designs. Almost all components in all the "vintage" stuff that (whether it sounds good of not) is so popular were chosen because of price factor - not sound quality. That is the history of electric guitar sound - cheap. Even the SM57 was used on guitar amps partly because all the nice mics were used elsewhere.
So if I were an audiophile with golden ears and unlimited budget, I would agree wholeheartedly - I'd be asking too much for too little. However if that were the case, I wouldn't be posting on Home Recording BBS. Thats why I posted here instead of other places like Recpit that are full of professional AEs.
All that said, I do appreciate whatever advise you have, if for no other reason than you know whats out there. Part of the reason I'm buying this mic is because I'm using a low-powered amp (Fender Deluxe Reverb) and will have to mic the amp for gigs. Having my own mic will provide me with a consistent sound gig-to-gig and also let me use it as a starting point in the studio. For studio work, I do have access to 57s, 441s, various AKG condensors including a matched pair of 414s, a Neumann TLM-103, and a matched pair of Neumann 140s. Not the most expensive compared to U47/67/87, C1, boutique mics, etc but then again I need to spend time worrying about my chops and not the difference between $1k and $20k mics.
Having done several searches here and elsewhere, I think I've narrowed choice down to two mics: Marshall V67 and Marshall V93. What is the difference between the V93 ($110street) and V2003 ($250street)? I couldn't find any info on that.
Thanks for all your help
Dave
