Can anybody recommend a good 'amp just starting to break up' sounding pedal?

[Tightpants]

Just to clarify I use a Fender Strat through a Fender Hotrod Deville 2x12. I only use the clean channel (drive channel is horrible imo) and I use stomp boxes to get my sound. I can get great distortion and overdrive sounds but I'm struggling to get a just breaking up, almost clean sound. I can get a totally clean sound using a compressor but it needs a little bit of grit (the Deville just doesn't break up at all, even at high volume). I have a couple of overdrives that clean up quite well but when I back off the gain to thye point that I want they sound too muddy. If you don't know what sound I mean just have a listen to the original Hendrix studio version of Little Wing, can I get that sound from a pedal or am I just dreaming?   
Thanks in advance,
Pat

[bloxstompboxes]

I may be wrong in saying this since I don't own a tube amp and I believe the one you mentioned is one. I am at work and cannot browse much. But, wouldn't a booster be just the thing you're looking for?

[midwayfair]

If you don't want to go through the trouble of adding a pedal, you CAN make the yellow distortion channel on the Deville and Hot Rod Deluxe (they're mostly the same) sound pretty good with a simple tube change: Swap V1 for a 12AY7 or 12AU7, and you'll lower the gain of the first couple stages considerably. These in turn drive the two additional stages for the yellow and red channels, bringing the total distortion down until it is much more natural sounding. Turn the master up and put the gain at about 2-3. It'll sound very good. Here's a recording using that exact setup (through my HRD) (skip forward to the second guitar solo at 2:22):

https://midwayfair.bandcamp.com/track/fairest-of-them-all-2

I think that's before I even swapped the speaker in that amp. (Pretty much everything on that album was through the yellow channel.)

Otherwise, I'd suggest one of Runoff Groove's amp simulator circuits if you just want a little hair. The Azabache and the Supreaux Deux both do really good edge of breakup sounds.

[Kipper4]

As does the professor Tweed. If thats the sound your after?

[GibsonGM]

I like the Timmy, but mainly use that to push the front of my HRDx on the yellow channel, gain turned down quite a bit on the amp and barely up on the timmy (fancy Tube Screamer).    Don't know what that would do with the DeVille, but worth a try with any booster IMO.

I get very early Aerosmith-like tone this way - a bit harder than you seem to want.  But I'd try out one of the mentioned pedals or even just a Mosfet Boost to see if you can get earlier breakup.   I get "Little Wing" if I dial things back...

Nice tone, Midway  

[wavley]

If you don't want to go through the trouble of adding a pedal, you CAN make the yellow distortion channel on the Deville and Hot Rod Deluxe (they're mostly the same) sound pretty good with a simple tube change: Swap V1 for a 12AY7 or 12AU7, and you'll lower the gain of the first couple stages considerably. These in turn drive the two additional stages for the yellow and red channels, bringing the total distortion down until it is much more natural sounding. Turn the master up and put the gain at about 2-3. It'll sound very good. Here's a recording using that exact setup (through my HRD) (skip forward to the second guitar solo at 2:22):

https://midwayfair.bandcamp.com/track/fairest-of-them-all-2

I think that's before I even swapped the speaker in that amp. (Pretty much everything on that album was through the yellow channel.)

Otherwise, I'd suggest one of Runoff Groove's amp simulator circuits if you just want a little hair. The Azabache and the Supreaux Deux both do really good edge of breakup sounds.

Yeah, I find the drive channels to be not my taste in the Hot Rods.  I agree with this, try a few different tubes to see what you like.

[blackieNYC]

I'm also looking into an "overdrive" so subtle that it, fully dimed perhaps, will still barely be something you could call distortion, OD, whatever. What about the fetzer?  Choosing the FET will dictate the headroom.  But others have pointed out before that there is a definite coloration there, below the clipping threshold.  I've had to put it aside for a bit, but I've been playing with fetzers, and there's something in there, I tell ya.  With a little extra effort they can go a pinch beyond being a booster with color.

[Gus]

NPN boost version 2

Is a simple build, people who I let try it often like it. 

[Tightpants]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I will certainly be trying some of these, just trying to narrow the field down a bit before I start.  I was looking at various boosters on Youtube but usually they are demoed using an amp that is not totally clean - these would distort more anyway with a boosted input so it's often not clear how much of the sound is attributable to the booster.
I really liked the sound you got from your HRD Jon. With my strat on neck & middle this would probably give me the sound I'm looking for. Trouble is it's a mile away from how mine sounds at the moment. I tried subbing a 12AT7 that I had lying around but that didn't sound any better (less gainy but not in a good way). Can you remember which tube you used? I had a quick Google and it seems that 12AY7 and 12AU7 (and 12AT7) are quite different in gain and plate resistance so thay might sound quite different to each other.

[midwayfair]

I really liked the sound you got from your HRD Jon. With my strat on neck & middle this would probably give me the sound I'm looking for. Trouble is it's a mile away from how mine sounds at the moment. I tried subbing a 12AT7 that I had lying around but that didn't sound any better (less gainy but not in a good way). Can you remember which tube you used? I had a quick Google and it seems that 12AY7 and 12AU7 (and 12AT7) are quite different in gain and plate resistance so thay might sound quite different to each other.

I use EHX 12AY7s for V1 in basically all my amps. They're cheap and they sound good.

A 12AY7 is about half the gain of a 12AX7. It's a good deal less gain than a 12AT7 even. The 12AY7 is also usually a hair darker than a 12AX7 in my experience, but that could simply be because the gain is lower.

I use these settings almost exclusively on that amp, but I don't have my session notes to verify that this is exact: T7 M4 B5 P7 M4 G2 R2.5. I was using my 3-pickup red tele on the neck and middle, which is similar to a strat's middle and bridge setting.

It's not close miced at all -- we actually forgot to hit record on the close mic. It's a condenser about 6 feet away, so it should actually be close to what the amp sounds like in the room. I also use a compressor all the time; that would have been an orange squeezer at the time (the Hartman I think), but if you don't have one around you could just roll off your guitar's tone control a little. Oh, and I play with my fingers, so roll off your tone control a little more ...

[Tightpants]

Thanks for that Jon, I will order a 12AY7 and see what happens, if I can get it sounding something like your amp that would be great.

[aron]

NPN Boost is great. For just breaking up, I love my Shaka pedals.

[thom]

The valvecaster is a simple build that might do what you're looking for.