Load Box

I have an Impact Status 120 head (basically a Sound City 120) I want to be able to play it at home via headphones and record my sessions. Can someone recommend me a good load box with a line out? Not really looking at spending £100s as it's only for demoing and all the recommended load boxes I've read about (Two Notes, Motherload etc) are well over £200 each. I would like a DECENT sound but nothing studio grade really- although my mind can be changed on that.

Alternatively my option is to have someone build me a 60watt cab (I have a Celestion G10 vintage lying around) and record via the headphone output on the amp whilst connected to the cab- saving me all the money of a load box, not sure if this will work on such an old amp though or sound good.. at all. Recommend away if you can. Thanks.
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Comments

  • andy_kandy_k Frets: 818
    This is only my own experience, but I think you will have to spend a fair bit to achieve anything like your expectations.
    Big amps, need big speakers (loads), and high volume settings to get the glorious sound we hear on records, and the recordings sound great on headphones, not the same thing as trying to listen to the same amp on headphones.
    My own take, is that for recording-or listening on headphones, it is better to use low wattage amps which can be driven harder at low volume, I have tried attenuating my 50w JCM 900 at home-with both Weber and Marshall attenuators--just doesnt cut it, even at half power settings.
    Had better results with a Class5 into a Weber mass, into a 4x12, just about doable at home-but not on headphones.
    Modern stuff like Two notes, or others, which allow high wattage stuff to be loaded and played through IRs
    is the way to go--if you are stuck on that particular head--but look at spending  3-4-500 pounds for it.
    I just got a Mooer Radar, which will do the IR part, and I already have the attenuators for the load, so I have some experimenting to do. High attenuation sucks the tone out of big amps, and big amps need to be played loud, I learned pretty early on that even a 5 watt valve amp ( Marshall class 5) is far too loud for home use-if you want it to sound the way you think it should.
    Expensive hobby, maybe get a cheap thing like a Code 25, which isn't perfect, but is ample for the stuff you are trying to achieve--for the price of a pedal.
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  • I use a Behdringer GDI into my DAW for generic sounds.
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  • ecc83ecc83 Frets: 1591

    JJJr, a "load box" for a 120W valve amp is never going to be cheap! To be safe, i.e. not go open circuit on you, and to keep reasonably cool it will need to be rated at 200W or even more. If you were to build one yourself from scratch I doubt you could buy all the bits for less than £100 and that for a simple load and a "sniffer" circuit to pinch a line level. A full attenuator would cost substantially more.

    If you have an interface with a high Z input I suggest you use that with some emulation software.

    Dave.

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