rough rule of thumb i was always taught was that you get the guitar sound right before you record but that time based fx like reverb, chorus, flange and phase etc are best put on 'on the desk' as we used to say but now i suppose that means in the DAW

so tone, distortion or drive and speaker emulation (and wah of course) are the elements you use in the POD (and maybe compression)

hank marvin had a strat, a vox ac30 and a watkins copycat and i guarantee that whatever fx you use you will never sound exactly like hank

weird i know from bits of steel wire vibrating in a magnetic field but its the guitarist that makes the sound

most classic guitar sounds are quite simple - where the POD excels is the amp simulations and speaker cabinet options.