“They’re the all-in-one stop for what I'm looking for”: Seymour Duncan debuts signature Blackouts for Trivium’s Corey Beaulieu, treating its active metal humbucker to a distinct sonic twist
Available for six- and seven-string guitars, the pickups feature an EQ voicing sculpted for Beaulieu’s “chugging riffs and intricate leads”
(Image credit: Seymour Duncan)
Seymour Duncan has unveiled signature Blackout electric guitar pickups for Trivium guitarist, Corey Beaulieu.
He joins the likes of Slipknot’s Mick Thomson (who recently switched to Fishman pickups) and Jeff Loomis to have personalized production models of one of the firm’s flagship metal humbucker sets.
As per Seymour Duncan, Beaulieu has used Blackouts for nearly a decade, finding they help deliver his “onslaught of chugging riffs and intricate leads” and break through the “monumental wall of guitars” he produces alongside Matt Heafy.
The Corey Beaulieu Damocles set features a specific voicing that sees the active pickups’ presence, balance, and clarity cranked. The result is said to be a full-sounding high gain tailor-made for Beaulieu’s progressive and down-tuned playing style.
Reflecting both Trivium’s gear preferences and that of the wider playing market, the Damocles humbuckers are available for six- and seven-string guitars, as sets and singles. Active and passive mounts are also available to suit each player’s preferences.
“I got introduced to the Blackouts at NAMM 2016,” says Beaulieu. “They definitely enhanced the aggression and tone of our guitar playing and I've been playing them ever since.
“They have a certain EQ setup and I was using a six-band EQ, pushing and pulling different frequencies. I sent a picture of my EQ settings to Seymour Duncan, and they voiced those settings into the pickups. With just the noise gate and the amp, it sounds exactly how I want it to sound.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
“The EQ had to sound aggressive but also have a mid-range cut, that snarl that really hits you when palm muting. The high-end has a really nice cut which brings the notes out in a riff and the mid-boost helps my leads cut through the band.
“Surprisingly for active pickups, they also work with a clean tone – that boosted mid-range lets that sparkle pop out.
(Image credit: Seymour Duncan)
“I feel the pickups are more EQ-balanced; there's not anything that's overbearing the front end of your amp. They’re the all-in-one stop for what I'm looking for in my guitar playing.”
Single pickups start at $145, with a six-string set priced at $290.
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
