There is a certain irony with all the digital stuff, isn't there?
I mean, I love it. I gig with it. I get compliments on the sounds I create with it.
But, ultimately, it's modelling something else.
I've built many patches in my Helix and every single one is utilizing some amp model, whether a JCM800, a Plexi, a Fender Bassman, a Vox AC30, et cetera, et cetera, and even more et cetera. You get the point. My Helix has no sound of its own; it is modelling some other sound.
But, if you have a band and the only sound you need is that JCM800, for example, and it works for you to place that puppy on stage...then go for it. There is little reason in such a situation to go the route that I have gone. I have reasons for doing things the way I do, but it is by no means the only way to do it.