What’s your opinions on:

I use the 350w Marshall ModeFour. Got it about 6 months ago. I used to have a JCM 800 50w. The Modefour is a hybrid with two preamp tubes so warming up is faster but the rest is solid-state. I've spent this time tweaking it and got the 400w slant cab to avoid the distortion I got pushing my old one. I pleased with it right now, mainly because I can still get some good gain at lower volumes but still growl with the best of them. The 800 had awesome tone but drowned out other members to achieve it. I didn't want to invest in a Powerbrake or anything. I would recommend it. If you'd like to hear it in action check out our songs  http://www.everyotherfate.com

Not sure about the first one, but the other guitarist in my band uses a GT8 to record with (not to play with since he got his rack together) and it sounds real nice. I'm going to be getting one myself when i can afford it to play life with, since there's no way i'll be able to afford anything top-notch any time soon.