how can i record my amp without using the speaker?

[paintanddestroy]

hello,

i'm new here, and i know very little about recording. i'm hoping someone can help.

im playing through a mesa .50 cal with a line from the direct into a 4- track. the trouble is, i'de like to be able to record at 4 am or so, and not have the speaker waking the neighborhood. the amp does not have a headphone jack. and even i know not to simply disconnect the speaker and wreck my amp.

is there anything short of buying a 300 attenuator i can plug into the speaker jack, that wont damage my amp while i record?

i'de really welcome any advice. thanks

[boingoman]

If you don't mind the sound of just the preamp you can take a line out from the effects loop. No power amp section, but.....

Another solution is to get a high-power resistor, like 50 or 100 watts, at 8ohms, for $25-$40, a little metal box to mount it in as a heat sink, and a little block of wood to mount the box on. you can wire the resistor to a 1/4" jack, and run a speaker cable from your speaker jack to your resistor box.
I use this set-up to bench test power amps & guitar amps in my shop, without having to listen to them.

This will let you use the direct out without hearing the speaker. The direct out in the 50 caliber comes from the output transformer, which will give you a much better sound. Not as good as the speaker, probably, but way better than the preamp out.

[chessrock]

Get a Palmer Speaker Simulator.

http://www.mercenary.com/pga04addimop.html