Modeling software has matured to the point where it is very convincing at capturing the tone of guitar amps, cabinets, and effects. IK Multimedia was one of the first companies to produce modeling software and it continues to be one of the best. And while very few guitar players have replaced their live rigs with laptops and software, modeling software excels for recording, allowing almost any guitar player the chance to play through dream rigs and capture the tone in a recording for a very reasonable price.