We all know that to get any real decent tone out of your amp you have to wind it up a little right? The amp then sounds great but the reality is that in some places, it is just too darn loud. If you turn it down, it becomes more bearable for the audience (and your fellow players) but the amp ends up sounding like a strangled chicken. Yeccchh!
If there was a way I could turn down the gain on my amp (Marshall Valvestate 8080) and still have it sound great, I wouldn't even be thinking of going direct. The world I am in however, forces me to start exploring these alternatives