I am new to home recording/self recording with computers. I am trying to record some guitar tracks using the direct out to my computer. It records fine but the distortion tones sound really junky, "fake", and overly distorted, even when turning my drive way down (like to 20). I have tried both my own patches and some factory patches and both have the same result. Cleans aren't too bad.  Thru my 4x12's my sound is great but living in an apartment I can't mic it well and turn up the volume enough to get a good volume level on the recording. Anywho.... I got a mixer and it helped slightly but still my recorded sound sounds like junk. The recording program I am using is Cakewalk Studio 7. Anyone have any suggestions?  While I am at it, I am thinking of getting a Line 6 HD400 or HD500 to maybe record with. Has anyone used either of these and the Spider Valve? If so, how do they compare?