Voodoo Amps Mesa/Boogie Rectoverb Series 2 Combo Mod

See their website for the full list of Deluxe Mod features.
The deluxe mod is the standard mod with the addition of a higher quality Mercury Magnetics Transformer.

They do a number of things to the amp's tone but what I liked was they change increase distortion and remove the fizzy/fuzzy/buzzy distortion the stock amp produces. The amp also has a lot more clarity after the mod. Different pick attack will change the tone quite a bit now and you can hear all the notes in a chord even at high gain settings.

The clean channel is vastly improved as well with a more headroom and better overall tone. They improve the EQ drastically. Feels more independent. You can lock in better tones now with a wider range on each pot. The bottom end improves quite a bit... nice and tight. There is also a nice improvement in sustain. What I liked best were the cranked tones at lower volumes. They are not kidding. Its not the same tone at high and low volumes, but the quality is the same. The low volume flubbiness goes away. You can dial in some great tones.

Good tone/sound is what its all about right? I've compared my modded recto with a stock one and there's quite an improvement in all categories. It still retains the Recto sound but the quality of the distortion and clean channel are drastically improved.

The stock amp sound at low volumes is pretty flubby. The stock cleans are ok but move into raw/vintage/modern settings with higher gain and I found the stock amp useless except in a band setting. After the mod its like they converted the Recto into two amps, a boutique high gain amp and a killer low volume practice amp. I use a Les Paul as my main guitar and the amp just screams. At clean volumes I get a great chimey scooped mid sound that is similar to a Fender without the great Fender reverb (the Recto Reverb is below avg in my opinion, kind of digital sounding and lifeless). There are better sounding amps out there for a bit more money but none this versitile with great cleans, good pushed blues tones, and outstanding distortion.

So far so good. The mod changes some components but its still a Mesa after all and well built. I'm all for modding guitars, amps, and effects to create your own unique individual sound. The fact that Mesa won't cover this under warranty or service it doesn't bother me. I'd rather take it to a good amp tech anyway if there were an issue.

Trace at Voodoo is very responsive to emails and will call you back if you leave a message. I did have some issues during the process and Trace was responsive to my concerns. Some advice before you send your amp:

1) If you're not sure whether you want their standard/deluxe mod or a custom mod, review all your questions and decide before sending your amp. I talked to one of Trace's employees about a custom mod and followed his instructions to select the deluxe mod, add my custom mod request in the notes, add my suggestion of sending a DVD of the sound I was looking for, and doing a followup call after they recieve the amp. When I called, I was promised a call back after their vacation to review my form but instead I got a call that my deluxe mod was completed. After some emails back and forth, Trace called me directly to address my concerns and the miscommunication. He explained that most people get the standard or deluxe mod, since it has a fixed set of features and can be referenced when selling the amp. Its unfortunate this happened but his advice to me was not to send the amp in until you knew exactly what you wanted. So talk to them as much as it takes, figure out what you want, then fill out the form and send your amp in.
2) Before you call them, do some research on tone and tone terms. Try to articulate your desires using common terms everyone can understand. Be realistic and describe your equipment. It helped me a lot in talking with them and filling out the form. I used the following site:
http://www.webervst.com/spterm.html
3) Listen closely when they describe what can be done and what can't be done with the mod. Voodoo is very transparent and accurate about what they deliver.

I read the glowing reviews on this site and on forums describing how great Voodoo is to work with and how they work with you on your individual tone needs. I didn't find that to be the case but they are very responsive and Trace wants his customers to be satisfied with his product.

Its an expensive mod, but worth it if you want a Recto sound but with better cleans, distortion, and overall sound. These mods add tones to the Rectoverb that you won't find in similarly priced combos or heads. I got my Recto used for $900, add the mod for $695, and you're looking at $1600 amp with qualities and versatility you won't find at that price. If you don't like the Recto sound go with another amp. The mod will not make your Boogie sound like a Marshall or a Fender or whatever. I like the mod a lot. I'm still finding tones I like and can't seem to settle on just one. I could not say that about the stock amp.