Hi!
My 2 cents…
I feel that having the right environment to properly turn up the amp, get it to it's sweet spot, and let the speakers push air and breath throughout the room…without the stress of disturbing neighbors, or having to compromise the sound by excessive blanketing/isolating…is probably about the single most important component IMO. Although..yes you can get the benefit of a pro studio session with it's tuned rooms, variety of mice/pre's, skilled engineers, etc…but you can also achieve and learn a ton just by having a single mic or two, and just experiment with the luxury of time to try different mic techniques, blends, amp settings, profile refinements, etc… all without the stress or expense of a studio clock running up the bill. So…if you can find a space, basement, empty room, barn, whatever…that allows you to turn up and play and experiment, then that might be a good starting and eye opening place. Just keep in mind that if the space has too many reverberant reflections, or odd slap back, standing waves that you might need to creatively find a way to reduce these, especially if you are using omni condenser mics. But…To summarize..I say just find a space with a friend and go for it!!! Ya never know what you can come up with and it's fun to learn