I wouldn't dream of using iAnything to be honest Hehe, I'm sure there are plenty of ways of managing such projects now too and it'd be a good idea to use them but he doesn't really have a stringent approach to recording quality like I do. Despite both of us doing the same course at uni, he never really seemed interested in the actual technical recording side of things (strange really, considering the nature of the course was about 50% just that). So I have the decent interface, mics, preamps, etc etc and he is happy to plug a strat into a laptop and strum away. One of the major problems I've noticed is timing - he doesn't think about things such as latency compensation and compresssion. I have a lot of outboard gear but if the input is bad, it's only going to get worse as it goes through various stages of AD/DA.
Anyway, I digress - the issue isn't really that, but rather thatI am the one who likes to do the recording and experimentation (not just with guitars too - I have a fair few synths and also would reamp drums and other instruments for effects) and I don't do guitar. The Cornford sounded like it would be just right but apparently production has ceased indefinitely. I'm more interested in buying something used, probably a head/cab combo so my mate can plug his Night Train into it if he brings that round. The Fenders sound interesting but I don't fancy the digital DSP much - I just want something simple and to the point - clean, valve grit when required, separate control over gain and volume.
The Valve Jr. is looking like it might be a good modding platform when paired with a suitable cab ans plus it's nice and cheap. A decent valve and new transformer would be a good start I'm sure!