If you HAD to use a software amp emulator...

[marzzz]

...which one would you recommend? My wife works at home, and does not appreciate hearing me "practice." So, is there anything out there that sounds reasonably decent for clean and vintage/classic rock distortion, especially something Mac/AU or iPad/iOS based?

[kevin h]

i use a carl martin rock bug pedal.

it has a guitar input and also stereo rca inputs.

i take the headphone out from my mac to the rca inputs.

it has a 1/4" headphone output and volume controls for both the guitar level and the stereo rca level.

[Pietro]

Honestly, the sims in Logic Pro (which are also in the very affordable MainStage if you have a Mac) are quite good. I use them for recording all the time.

I hear great things about S-gear and amplitude.

Alternatively, you could get a little Zoom G3.

[dannopelli]

I tend to use the sims in Logic also. They get quite good tones.

For ipad/iphone I use the Apogee Jam and JamUp. Sometimes I'll use Garage Band on the phone/pad, but not too often. The tones are great, don't get me wrong, but I like Logic on my MacBook and really have never really delved into GB.

I like Jam Up because it works in the background behind other apps. So you can load a few backing tracks into iTunes and play along.

I also use the Planet Waves TuneUp app and have purchased the Buzz Feinten upgrade. It is really quite accurate. If you play acoustic guitar and carry an iPhone you can toss all those old tuners. Guitar ToolKit is cool too. The iRealBook is handy, but there are only chords, no leadsheets.

Lots of guys use Amp Kit, Amplitube, or others, but I find JamUp to be just fine, priced right, and easy to use. It gets killer reviews too:
http://appcrawlr.com/app/uberGrid/556992

As far as the Apogee Jam, yes its a bit pricey compared to a few others. But its so small and easy to use, comes with iPhone/iPad and USB connectors, so to me it is well worth it. If you use an iPhone 5 you'll need an adapter, but it works fine. http://www.iosmusician.com/category/apogee-jam
http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2012/10/19/apogee-jam-review/

[dplight]

I use Guitar Rig 4 from time to time and it can sound pretty good. Mostly I use it to reamp guitar tracks that have major problems (when I'm wearing my recording engineer hat).

[marzzz]

Well, I remember the sims in Logic being a bit on the noisy side, but I will give them another go. I have also heard a few good things about S-Gear, and there is a downloadable demo. The only downside to any of the iOS apps is that you can't demo them first.

[Pietro]

Well, I remember the sims in Logic being a bit on the noisy side, but I will give them another go.

It depends on your input hardware, too.

[marzzz]

It depends on your input hardware, too.I am using an Apogee Duet, it's very nice.

[dannopelli]

I use either an Apogee Jam for iPhone type things or a Motu Ultralite. Never had a noise issue.