You can never have enough music threads!
Truth be told, I do everything direct and don't even currently own an amp. I had a poor old Zoom 505 that was awesome to me for years, but needed more. Right now, this is my COMPLETE list of equipment..... pretty thin.
Jackson Professional Series Dinky, standard Duncan Designed pickups (never had the courage to mess with the sound of the guitar- I'm happy with it and ain't gonna try and fix something that's not broken). Dean Markley 11's. Boss ME-50 effects unit. Dean Markley accoustic pickup, Old Harmony accoustic guitar that I got at a flea market for $100. Yamaha DJX 2 keyboard for beats and less conventional sounds, Roland upright piano (don't know the model) for more conventional sounds- piano, strings, etc.
Wow, that's it.....plugged direct into the Fostex. You can see that getting anything to sound good (in the mix, that is) takes some clever mixing. I have very little equipment, but what I have -no matter how simple- treats me very well.