Please let me throw in my two cents about direct recording.
First of all, let me say I agree with Altanon, although part of the mic configuration seems novel (I can't wait to try the glass pitcher!). Most all professionals I've talked to about recording the electric guitar seem to think that micing your cabinet is the only way to go. For example, much of your warm tube tone occurs from saturating the tube power amp, and you can't get that directly from a preamp. Moreover, another significant character of your tone comes from overdriving your speakers. For perfomance, micing your cab into the PA is usually accomplished with one dynamic mic place off axis and close to the speaker off center in the speaker cone region to avoid the ice pick highs that typically beam from the speaker driver. In the recording studio, three mics seem to be the norm. The three mic configuration I've been taught is one dynamic mic up close, off axis, off center like for performance, plus two cardioid mics on axis about two or three feet away. Then you can independently eq and mix your three channels to get your tone. I've been hearing more and more about micing from further away, such as the next room, but haven't tried it myself. I may have to add a fourth channel in the mix, and maybe a fifth for an on axis, off center, up close dynamic mic.
That said, I've heard that some professional recordings have been accomplished using the Palmer speaker simulator, but my understanding is that you need to use the one with the dummy load that allows you to crank your power amp and get liquid distortion. Thus, the Palmer just replaces your speaker cabinet and mics.
I've never tried the Palmer, but I did get to hear the new model of the Axe Trak at the NAMM last month and was impressed. The new model Axe Trak has a custom 6" hemispherical speaker that is really just a speaker driver, while the walls of the isolation cabinet serve the function of the speaker cone. I have not tried the Axe Trak with my own equipment yet, but I plan to do so before long. However, in the end I expect that I likely will return to micing my cabinet when possible because speaker choice has such a huge effect on tone, and the choice of speakers is limited with the Axe Trak. Also, the so called "air" or "ambience" from distance micing is another parameter that can't be achieved with a speaker simulator or isolation cabinet. For a portable recording studio, however, I think the Axe Trak or the Palmer could become my weapon of choice.
