Determine whether your guitar’s neck pickup is reverse wound (most common) or wound in the same direction as the bridge pickup.

If it has less buzz in position 2 of your 3-way switch, one of your pickups (usually the neck) is reverse wound, and you need a Dual-Coil Telecaster BzzzzKill.

If the buzz is the same in all positions, you need a Single-Coil Telecaster BzzzzKill.

Turn your guitar’s volume all the way off. Only turn it up briefly when testing, and make sure it is off again before making any solder connections.

Remove the strings at the headstock. Unscrew the control cavity plate and the bridge, placing them on soft cloths to protect your guitar’s finish.

On a Telecaster, the outer nickel neck pickup cover is usually soldered at the back to round via a ground tab. On older pickups, a third wire may be used for this connection. See video for more detail.)

NOTE: Due to variations in Telecaster wiring, wire colors are not consistent between Installations. For this reason, testing with a multimeter and alligator clips is essential.

If there are three wires, connect the wire from the pickup cover directly to ground, and not to the two coil wires. (You can use an ohm meter to identify which wire connects to the cover without disconnecting anything.)

IMPORTANT: If your Telecaster has copper shielding or conductive paint, make sure the pickup cover and its wiring do not contact these materials. Contact will create a ground loop.

On the bridge pickup, the large copper base plate is connected to the black coil wire with a short jumper wire. Disconnect this jumper at the plate end and insulate it with heat-shrink.

Using a sharp pen knife, create a shallow channel to run a new ground wire from the bridge plate to the control cavity. On some finishes, you can gently tap the wire with a hammer to partially embed it so it stays out of the way while still protruding slightly above the body. Route this wire through the
existing channel into the control cavity.

Use an ohm meter to confirm continuity between the bridge plate and the new ground wire.

NOTE: When soldering to a pot, keep all connections tight and flush to the back of the pot to avoid fitment issues when reinstalling the control plate.

Some Telecasters include a small internal wood block that must be removed to fit a BzzzzKill. If present, remove this block.

Reinstall the pickup and mount the bridge. In the control cavity, use a multimeter to identify the new bridge ground wire.

• The wire with continuity goes to ground.
• The wire without continuity connects to the BzzzzKill.

If all positions of your 3-way switch buzz the same amount, you need a Single-Coil Tele BzzzzKill.

Connect the two black pickup wires together. Using alligator clips, connect this junction to one lead of the BzzzzKill. Connect the other BzzzzKill lead to ground.

Turn the volume up and use high gain to evaluate the buzz. Reverse the BzzzzKill connections to find the quietest orientation. This is the correct orientation.

Solder the BzzzzKill lead to the joined pickup wires and apply heat-shrink. Solder the other BzzzzKill lead to ground, typically the back of the volume pot.

NOTE: Keep solder joints low and flush on the pot to avoid clearance issues. Position any capacitors below the plane of the pot base, as shown in the video.

If position 2 of your 3-way switch is quieter than positions 1 and 3, you need a Dual-Coil Tele BzzzzKill.

Keep the black pickup wires separated. Each pickup connects to its own BzzzzKill coil.

Using alligator clips, connect the black wire from the neck pickup to one BzzzzKill coil and connect the other lead to ground. Turn up the volume with high gain and reverse the connections to find the quietest orientation. Solder once confirmed.

Repeat this process for the bridge pickup using the second BzzzzKill coil.

You should now have both pickup leads soldered to the BzzzzKill, with one remaining lead from each coil. Solder both remaining leads to ground on the control plate, usually the back of the volume pot.

Perform a bench test to confirm everything is working, then carefully reinstall the control assembly. Gently arrange the wires so they sit beside the BzzzzKill without being pinched.

Remove the red backing from the mounting tape and press firmly to secure the BzzzzKill inside the control cavity.

You may still hear some buzz while the guitar is disassembled. The BzzzzKill reaches full performance only after the guitar is fully assembled, restrung, and hanging from your body.

After installing BzzzzKill, your guitar’s true single-coil voice will shine through without the buzz. You may need to adjust your guitar’s tone controls, amp’s tone controls, amp’s EQ or effects settings to get your perfect sound. Think of it this way: by removing the buzz, you’re unmasking your guitar’s unique voice and letting the pristine sound of true single-coil pickups shine through.

Your Telecaster now sounds the way it was always meant to!

Questions?
Reach us anytime at support@bzzzzkill.com