I'm a noob, too (a yearling)
But I'll second the SL+ by eyeball987. It's got enough gain for most rock and it sustains sweetly as it "sings" every note.
Some others on here have told of the 1086 being the "do-it-all" module for rock & metal. After hearing the talk, I'd tend to beleive them.
The modules that came in miy amp I'll briefly cover.
Blackface: Good clean tone, not much breakup with gain at full. Lacks the low end of other modules.
Plexi: A great middle/vintage distortion for rhythm sounds like old Clapton or maybe Foghat. Good balanced tone.
XTC: Nearly over-the-top distortion but lacks definition, slightly muddy (a blanket over the speakers) even with the treble on full. Not a bad lead channel, but not my cup-o-tea.
I ordered an SL+ module along with my amp after reading the reviews and opinions on here (BTW...Thanks everybody!).
They were right and I immediatly replaced the XTC with the SL+ and used it at a gig right away, (with excellent results).
BUT...5 days ago, I bought a used Deluxe that has been modded (supposedly by www.Gigmods.com) to be beefier with a tad more gain.
It ROCKS now! I think that having these preamps modded is the DEAL!
No matter how good you might think your module sounds, it CAN BE BETTER! (no joke)
Worth every penny (unless copper goes through the roof) :lol:
my 2?