Since the day we launched the original BzzzzKill, one question has come up more than any other: when will there be a version for Telecasters?

It surprised us at first. There are way more Stratocasters in the world than Telecasters, and yet the demand was louder, more persistent, and very specific.

Of course, it made sense beyond the base number of guitars out there. Telecasters tend to be noisier by design, they’re used heavily in recording environments where hum is impossible to ignore, and until now there has been no true dummy-coil option for them. You couldn't hack one together out of pickups, because it would never fit inside the cavity.

Most fixes forced a tradeoff: tone, feel, appearance, or all three. And Tele players are famously unwilling to make those compromises.

This post explains why the demand has been there all along, why solving it properly took time, and how BzzzzKill finally approached hum and buzz reduction for Telecasters without changing what makes them Telecasters in the first place.

Why Telecasters Are Uniquely Prone to Noise

Telecasters have always had a reputation for clarity, immediacy, and responsiveness. Ironically, many of the same design traits that make them so darned effective musically also make them more vulnerable to hum and buzz.

It’s also worth remembering that the Telecaster came first. Its design predates the Stratocaster and reflects an earlier set of assumptions about stage volume, wiring environments, and electronic interference. With one fewer pickup, a much tighter control cavity (therefore less internal space to isolate or manage noise) there was simply less margin for adjustment built into the instrument from the start.

Those constraints helped define the Telecaster’s sound and simplicity … but they also left fewer places to escape from hum.

The bridge pickup sits on a steel plate that interacts with the magnetic field. The control cavity is compact. The wiring layout is simple but exposed. And unlike Stratocasters, there has never any plausible dummy-coil option to cancel noise without messing with the pickups themselves.

None of this is really a flaw, per se. It’s more a consequence of a truly classic design that predates modern stage environments, home studios, high-gain rigs, and densely wired rooms.

The result is a guitar that sounds incredible, but easily became the noisiest instrument in the room.

Until now, that is.

Why Existing Fixes Fell Short

Telecaster players haven’t ignored the problem. They’ve simply been forced to choose between options that never felt right.

Shielding helps, but only marginally. Pickup swaps reduce noise, but often at the cost of attack, high-end detail, or the unmistakable Tele snap. Noise gates work in some contexts, but interfere with dynamics and feel … especially for players who rely on touch rather than compression.

Most importantly, many of these fixes change the instrument in visible or irreversible ways. Telecasters tend to be “forever guitars.” Players live with them for decades. They’re far less inclined to rout, replace, or cosmetically alter them just to solve a noise problem.

That left a large group of players stuck with a known issue, and no acceptable solution.

Why the Demand Was Stronger Than Expected

So, even though there are more Stratocasters in circulation, Telecasters are disproportionately represented in recording environments. They’re favored for rhythm work, layered parts, clean and edge-of-breakup tones. Exactly the situations where hum becomes totally impossible to ignore.

Modern recording workflows magnify noise. Interfaces are quiet. Monitoring is revealing. Edits are precise. What might pass on stage becomes a distraction in a mix.

At the same time, Tele players are often MORE resistant to compromise. They choose the instrument because of what it does naturally, not because they want to sculpt it into something else.

When a fix changes the feel, they notice immediately.

That combination of higher sensitivity to noise and lower tolerance for tonal change created demand that had nowhere to go.

Tele owners suffered, although not in silence.

What a Real Solution Required

Solving hum and buzz for Telecasters wasn’t a matter of adapting an existing design. It required starting from the realities of the instrument itself.

Our goal was not to “quiet” the guitar at all costs. It was to reduce noise WHILE preserving the qualities players depend on: immediacy, touch response, and tonal character.

That meant:

• No changes to pickups

• No routing or permanent modification

• No visual impact

• No tonal smoothing or compression artifacts

Anything short of that would have been another workaround.

And it would NOT have been a BzzzzKill.

Why This Version Took Time

The Telecaster BzzzzKill exists now because it could finally meet those requirements without compromise. Rushing it would have meant accepting tradeoffs that Tele players have already rejected for years.

The demand didn’t surprise us anymore once we understood the problem clearly. What mattered now was earning the right to answer it properly.

Where This Fits Going Forward

This launch marks more for guitarists (including us) than a new compatibility box. It reflects a broader shift in how players think about noise: not as an unavoidable side effect, but as a solvable constraint that shouldn’t dictate tone choices.

Telecasters shouldn’t force players to choose between silence and character. Ideally, they never should have, and we're delighted to bring that chapter to a close. 

Hum and buzz reduction for Telecasters without sacrificing tone isn’t a slogan. It’s the standard this solution had to meet to exist at all.