Is the Aneros Vice a bad first choice?

They'll be lots of opinions on this.

Probably on the first few pages of threads on the forum, you'd find a post where i listed all the toys I have. Some of my favorites are the ones with vibrations.

So - in answer to your question, even though I like the vibrations and get some of the best results from those toys, I would say that isn't the way to go for a beginner. So much of what is going to make someone successful is all in your head. And it's about learning your body. Learning to pay attention to and enjoy the most subtle of feelings. Like a slight twitch, a slight movement, slight ache, slight contraction or pulsing. Even just noticing what sort of energy you feel radiating from one part of your body.

If you start with the Vice, it's going to be harder to pay attention to these subtle signs since you've got the vibrations happening which will be hard to ignore. So my own recommendation is to start with the non vibrating toys - which will seem frustrating at first. You might have several sessions where you just lay there expecting something to happen, but nothing does, and feel like you should be doing something, or the toy should be doing something more. But treat it like a meditation and getting more observant / mindful / and aware of what your body feels like and how that can change in very subtle ways over time during a session. That will probably work better than vibrations at this stage in your journey.

I feel that, as @shockedwaves states, there are many very subtle feelings and signals that exist along the path to full body intense dry orgasm. I think as well that vibes, electro-stim or 'sensory flavorings' in lubes can mask these subtle signals and cause one to miss out on the pre-orgasmic feelings many of us cherish and cultivate. I too own a Vice which I employ for vigorous prostate massage to deal with BPH. It's a great tool to support edging, advanced Kegel exercise and very "thorough" Super-T finishes to an athletic session not aimed at generation of intense full body dry-orgasms. I reserve two of my classic tools (Dames Eupho and Helix) for those occasions.

You might be interested in how you respond to the Vice with the Muse vibrator removed -- Vice, without the Muse becomes very flexible laterally and provides some unique canal and ano-rectal sensations unavailable from other tools. I also partially extract the Muse to adjust both the intensity and location of the Muse's many vibe modes. Enjoy.

I have anal toys with vibration and they don't get used all that often. If a hand on my cock is pleasurable, a vibrator on my cock must be intensely pleasurable, right? The same, I believe, does not apply to my prostate. It is a much more subtle, elusive kind of pleasure. So a vibrator on it does not always guarantee an immediate pleasure. I agree with previous comments, you must learn to listen to the "whispers" from your prostate. You will feel it during Aneros sessions and yes, even Aless. It is a exquisite yet deep sensation but once you have felt it, it is unmistakable!