I guess real guitarists are those that are releasing professional products. I'm sure you mean "real" in that the guitarist does it for a living, and that "real" is not an absolute statement on talent level. There are plenty of excellent guitarists who have other jobs.
I still like the sims for cleanish sounding guitar or light overdrive/crunch. I'd put the POD XT Pro above the software type sims. I have GR2 and don't regret the purchase.
I also have an amp and some great microphones for recording purposes. I'm not a real guitarist though.

