Honestly you can get any of these amps to sound great on a recording. Even in the bedroom where you're not pushing a lot of volume. I don't hate the VII at all, I think for a lot of home / studio guys it's a great tool for the job.
The thing is, mics don't pick up feel and how much air an amp is moving. And TBH, this really only matters to the guitar player- *mostly. But, that can be important as for example I am more inspired & play better when an amp hits me in the tone AND the feels. If it doesn't I just don't dig in as hard and things feel flat.
*I will say when I A/Bd the VII in the (loud metal) band, both of my guys complained that the sound was mush, lacked definition, and they couldn't hear me. This was the case in every channel and various settings. I agreed so off it went. Only had the amp 6 days, which is the shortest amount of time I've kept any amp (due to not liking it) aside from the Splawn Nitro that lasted 1. I did a whole series of comparos of the VII to the OGs when it came out. The differences were huge for me, and I respect that they may not be for the next guy.
I think this C+ reissue will settle the debate if modern amps CAN be made to do what vintage amps do. I think it's possible because I really liked the single channel Cali Tweed a lot in terms of feels. Generally speaking I think the simpler the amp, the better the tone. If it doesn't pull it off, IMO it's time to stop trying.