Heh,when I can sequence something similar to gene hoglan or richard christy i'll know things are progressing.

I actually am not a massive fan of chucks sound...I think the best example of guitar distortion would be that of Necrophagist.They use engl power and pre amps.The heaviest "clean" distortion ive heard.
Michael Romeo's sound is awsome too.He uses line 6 vetta's.