Reader Guitar of the Month: Coffee

My “super strat with a twist” project began in 2021, as I wasn’t happy with my heavily modified Wolfgang Special. I was looking for more versatility, better comfort (less weight, more contours), as well as a more old-school EVH-style vibe. I soon realized that no such guitar existed, and that I would have to build one.

The name “Coffee,” which is laser-engraved on the headstock, was inspired by the look of the roasted parts of the guitar, because the color reminds me of an old coffee pot. My original vision was that when I have the blues, I can grab my Coffee, and everything will feel good again.

The roasted swamp ash Warmoth Soloist body has a quilted maple top (with copperhead dye and gloss), with a belly cut, forearm contour, and contoured heel. The Warmoth Warhead maple neck (roasted maple, no finish) has a 24.75″ scale length with a 12–16″ fretboard radius and 6150 stainless-steel frets. The tremolo system is made up of a non-recessed EVH-style Schaller LockMeister 6 equipped with an EVH D-Tuna.

There is only one pickup, a Pariah Pasadena White humbucker, located in the bridge position, and wood-mounted. However, one of the things that makes this guitar special is the rest of the hardware, which includes a 3-way super switch and three pots, as well as a separate “mini-pot” component. The knobs are MeisterWorks Luminlay knobs.

“Damn good coffee—and hot, too!” —Agent Cooper, Twin Peaks

The main pots (excluding the mini-pot), available only in position 3 in the 3-way switch, are as follows: a master volume (Seymour Duncan Yngwie Speed Pot 500K, with added treble bleed), a no-load master tone (500K), and a no-load spin-a-split “tone” (500K). The spin-a-split is stepless and controls the output of the second coil of the humbucker.

The preset positions of the 3-way super switch (for the single pickup) are:

1. Solo/Rhythm: There is only a fixed 500K resistor to tame the tone a bit, before the signal goes to the output jack.

2. Bluesy Solo: The signal goes to the output jack through a “mini-pot” component (Schatten Pickups Thumbwheel Controls), hidden in the guitar cavity. The mini-pot has the volume on 10, and the tone on 5.

A special solution? Sure, but it allows me to create a wide variety of sounds, and the presets are easy to use. As an example, the switching solution and the presets mean that if I set a specific sound in position 3, I can play “Hot for Teacher” by switching between position 1 and position 3, or “Still Got the Blues” by switching between position 2 and position 3. Only proper guitar skills have to be added! Or, if I want to play Coffee like a “normal” guitar, I´ll just stay in position 3 and fiddle with the knobs.

The guitar weighs 7.8 pounds, which, compared to my old guitar’s weight of 11.9, is very comfortable—and it sounds great! All in all, I am incredibly pleased with the outcome!