Corey Beaulieu guitars gear is the subject of one of modern heavy metal’s most productive dual-guitar partnerships — the equipment and approach of the player who completes Trivium’s guitar-team system alongside Matthew Heafy, giving the band a twin-guitar attack whose complementary qualities are one of the primary reasons Trivium sound like themselves and not anyone else. Beaulieu joined Trivium in 2003 and has been the band’s co-lead and rhythm guitarist ever since — a tenure across twenty-plus years and nine studio albums that represents one of the most sustained dual-guitar partnerships in modern heavy metal. Where Heafy is the vocalist-guitarist whose dual role shapes the band’s creative direction, Beaulieu is the dedicated guitarist whose focus entirely on the instrument gives Trivium a level of guitar craftsmanship and technical accomplishment that the vocalist-guitarist format alone could not provide.
The Journey
His approach combines the technical ambition of the progressive metal tradition with the physical authority of American groove metal in ways that serve Trivium’s specific aesthetic framework — the band that spans metalcore, progressive metal, and melodic heavy metal without fully belonging to any of them. Corey Beaulieu guitars gear reflects this breadth: instruments configured for both technical lead work and heavy rhythm applications, amplification sophisticated enough for the full range of the music’s tonal demands, and a signal chain built for professional-level consistency across twenty years of relentless touring. This is the complete breakdown.
Background
Corey Beaulieu was born on November 22, 1983, in Merritt, British Columbia, Canada — a small interior BC city whose rural character gives it the same kind of music-development-through-isolation quality that rural Sweden gave John Norum and similar areas gave other players throughout this series. He developed as a guitarist in his teens, absorbing the classic thrash metal and progressive metal traditions — Metallica’s rhythmic precision, Megadeth’s technical ambition, and the European power metal tradition that Trivium’s music would eventually engage with most directly.
He moved to Sanford, Florida in his early adult years, the same Central Florida location that had produced Trivium, and joined the band in 2003 at age nineteen — in time to contribute to the recording of Ascendancy (2005), the album that established Trivium internationally. His timing was fortunate: joining a band at the precise moment before their commercial breakthrough, giving him the full arc of the band’s development and success as a participant rather than a late addition. His guitar contributions from Ascendancy through In the Court of the Dragon (2021) demonstrate consistent technical development and musical maturation — each album showing a player who has continued to develop rather than merely repeating his established approach.
His partnership with Heafy — two guitarists who joined the band as teenagers and developed their skills and musical relationship simultaneously across two decades of professional activity — gives Trivium’s guitar work a specific quality that doesn’t come from experience alone. The musical intimacy of two players who have grown up together musically, who have developed their techniques in response to each other’s playing, and who have internalized the same twenty years of shared musical history gives their dual-guitar work a coherence and completeness that planned, deliberate role assignments cannot efficiently produce.
Corey Beaulieu Guitars Gear: The Complete Rig
Guitars
The ESP M-II — ESP’s high-performance double-cutaway guitar in neck-through or bolt-on configuration, with maple neck, rosewood or ebony fretboard, Floyd Rose Original double-locking tremolo, and high-output humbucker pickups — is Beaulieu’s primary instrument and has been across much of the Trivium career. His specific M-II instruments are configured to his requirements: neck-through construction for maximum sustain and resonance, ebony fretboard for the brighter, more articulate attack transient that his technically demanding alternate picking requires, Floyd Rose Original for tremolo arm technique and tuning stability, and his specific pickup configuration. The M-II’s Super-Strat format gives excellent upper-fret access for the high-register technical passages that appear throughout Trivium’s more progressive material, and the neck-through construction’s continuous grain path gives the sustained, even decay that long-form lead passages require.
ESP has produced Corey Beaulieu signature instruments — including the CB-7 and CB-7H seven-string variants — that capture his specific requirements in production form. The seven-string signature models reflect Beaulieu’s expanding use of extended-range instruments for specific Trivium material — the seven-string’s low B string giving access to the sub-bass register that certain Trivium passages require without the detuning compromises of standard six-string instruments at extreme low pitches. His seven-string instruments use the same ESP construction philosophy as his six-string primaries but with the extended range that specific material demands.
Beaulieu’s primary pickup configuration uses EMG 81 (bridge) and EMG 60 (neck) active humbuckers — the same bridge/neck combination documented in the Richard Z. Kruspe article (Rammstein). The EMG 81 bridge: ceramic magnets, active preamp, extremely high output, tight and focused bass response for heavy rhythm work. The EMG 60 neck: Alnico V magnets, active preamp, warmer and smoother character than the 81, giving the neck-pickup lead passages their characteristic warmth and complexity. This combination — the standard EMG active set for modern metal — gave the aggressive output and low noise that Trivium’s high-gain amplification required while giving the neck pickup warmth for the melodic lead passages. The contrast between his EMG 81/60 configuration and Heafy’s EMG 57/66 (documented in the previous article) is itself musically significant: Heafy’s Alnico-active 57 bridge gives more warmth than Beaulieu’s ceramic-active 81 bridge, giving each guitarist a slightly different tonal character that makes the two-guitar blend more complex and interesting than identical setups would produce.
DiMarzio passive humbuckers appeared in some of Beaulieu’s documented instruments as alternatives to the EMG active configuration. His DiMarzio choices included the Super Distortion (DP100, bridge, approximately 13.7k ohms) and various neck pickup alternatives — reflecting the same pragmatic approach to pickup selection documented throughout this series. When the DiMarzio passive configuration suited specific recording or performance applications better than the EMG active setup, he used it; his equipment choices followed the musical requirements rather than manufacturer loyalty.
Extended-range seven-string instruments — both the ESP CB-7 signature and other seven-string configurations — appeared in Beaulieu’s setup for Trivium material that required access to the low B string’s sub-bass register. His seven-string use was compositionally specific rather than a wholesale shift to extended-range — certain songs’ specific harmonic and registral requirements were better served by the seven-string’s extended range than by detuning a six-string instrument.
Beaulieu uses D’Addario strings — specifically D’Addario NYXL in medium-light gauges (.010–.046 for standard tuning, .011–.056 or heavier for dropped configurations). His string choice was documented alongside Heafy’s D’Addario use in Trivium’s promotional materials — the two guitarists using the same string brand gave practical logistical advantages (a single string supply for both instruments) while the specific gauges for each tuning configuration were determined independently based on each guitarist’s specific setup requirements.
Amps
The Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier was Beaulieu’s primary live amplification through much of his Trivium career — the same amplifier documented in Willie Adler’s previous article, but used by Beaulieu in a dual rhythm/lead role rather than Adler’s pure rhythm application. For rhythm work, the Rectifier’s tight, authoritative bass response and high-gain Lead channel gave the physical impact that Trivium’s heavier material required. For lead work — where Beaulieu contributes co-lead passages alongside Heafy — the Rectifier’s 6L6GC character gave a slightly different tonal quality from Heafy’s JP-2C (which uses the same 6L6GC tubes but in the Mark IIC+-derived circuit’s different topology), giving the two lead guitarists’ tones a degree of complementary differentiation even when using similar amplifier platforms.
More recently, Beaulieu has also adopted the Mesa/Boogie JP-2C — moving toward the same amplifier platform as Heafy — giving Trivium a unified amplifier character across both guitarists. The JP-2C’s smooth Mark IIC+-derived high-gain character, the five-band graphic EQ, and the three-channel versatility gave both guitarists access to the same tonal framework, with individual EQ and gain settings differentiating each player’s specific role. The shared amplifier platform simplifies Trivium’s live production logistics while the individual EQ settings maintain each guitarist’s specific tonal character within the unified framework.
The Peavey 6505+ appeared in Beaulieu’s setup as backup amplification and for specific applications where the 6505’s characteristic aggressive, tight character suited particular material better than the Mesa/Boogie alternatives. The 6505’s Lead channel’s consistently saturated, tight character gave a predictable and reliable performance for backup use in situations where the primary amplifier needed service.
The Fractal Audio Axe-Fx is central to Beaulieu’s current live rig — profiles of the Mesa/Boogie JP-2C loaded for consistent tone reproduction, alongside the comprehensive effects processing that Trivium’s diverse setlist requires. His Axe-Fx configuration was developed in parallel with Heafy’s — the two guitarists’ presets designed to work together as a complete system rather than independently — giving Trivium’s live sound a consistent, planned relationship between the two guitars’ tonal characters that random individual choices would not efficiently produce.
Beaulieu runs his amplifiers into Mesa/Boogie 4×12 cabinets loaded with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers — the same standard Mesa/Boogie cabinet configuration that complements the Rectifier and JP-2C characters. The V30’s upper-midrange emphasis gave his EMG 81-equipped guitar the midrange presence needed to project lead lines through the dense Trivium ensemble context.
Effects
The Axe-Fx III serves as Beaulieu’s primary effects and signal processing platform for live touring — loaded profiles of his specific Mesa/Boogie amplifiers alongside the comprehensive effects suite. His Axe-Fx configuration includes: digital reverb (for spatial dimension on lead passages), digital delay (200–350ms for lead depth), chorus and modulation effects (for specific textural applications in clean and semi-clean passages), and the amplifier switching capability that allows instant transitions between clean, crunch, and high-gain settings.
The Boss NS-2 in muting loop configuration managed the EMG 81’s output through the Mesa/Boogie’s high-gain stages. Despite the EMG’s active-preamp noise advantage over passive pickups, the combination of active output and high-gain amplification required effective noise management — the NS-2’s threshold calibrated to gate background noise while preserving the natural sustain of both rhythm riffs and lead passages.
The TC Electronic PolyTune’s polyphonic tuning capability — displaying all six strings’ tuning status simultaneously — gave Beaulieu efficient on-stage tuning between songs in Trivium’s multiple-tuning setlist. The PolyTune’s polyphonic mode’s seconds-long retuning capability was specifically important for a band with the number of tuning configurations that Trivium’s diverse catalogue required.
The Tube Screamer at low drive settings provided midrange enhancement for lead passages — particularly useful for differentiating Beaulieu’s lead tone from Heafy’s when the two guitarists were playing in unison or near-unison passages and individual presence was important for the stereo mix. His TS application: Drive at 2–3, Level at 6, using the pedal’s midrange character to add harmonic presence to his lead tone.
The MXR Phase 90 appeared selectively in Beaulieu’s setup for specific atmospheric effects on chord passages. His Phase 90 use was restrained and purposeful — applied for the specific dimensional quality that slow phase modulation gave to sustained chord work in Trivium’s more atmospheric and clean passages.
The DigiTech Whammy appeared in Beaulieu’s setup for specific pitch-effect passages in Trivium’s material — the expression-pedal-controlled pitch transposition giving dramatic pitch swoops and interval effects that appeared in specific songs. His Whammy use was compositionally specific: particular applications designed for particular songs rather than a constant available effect.
Playing Style & Tone Philosophy
Corey Beaulieu is a guitarist whose approach has been specifically developed within the Trivium context — shaped by twenty years of playing alongside Heafy, by the specific musical demands of the band’s diverse catalogue, and by the specific physical and technical requirements of performing complete guitar parts for eight hours a night on arena and stadium tours. His playing reflects all of these contexts: technically accomplished enough for Trivium’s most progressive material, physically authoritative enough for the heaviest groove metal passages, and musically sensitive enough for the clean, melodic passages that appear throughout the catalogue.
His alternate picking technique is among the cleanest and most consistent in modern metal — developed through the systematic practice discipline that Trivium’s technically demanding material requires and refined through decades of live performance. His pick attack shows the consistency of a player who has thought carefully about the mechanics of picking and has developed the specific technique that gives even, clean note definition at high tempos. The specific pick angle and attack force he uses give a characteristic tonal quality to fast runs — each note fully formed, fully articulated, with a clean fundamental and controlled harmonic overtone series that makes technically demanding passages audible as music rather than as noise.
His relationship with Heafy in lead guitar sharing — both guitarists contributing lead passages to different songs and occasionally playing in unison or harmony — requires a specific kind of musical sensitivity that the pure lead or pure rhythm guitarist doesn’t need to develop. He must adapt his lead approach to complement or contrast Heafy’s in specific contexts: playing unison passages with absolute synchronisation, playing harmonised passages with accurate interval tuning, and differentiating his tone and phrasing sufficiently in solo passages to give a distinct voice that identifies the passage as his rather than Heafy’s. Twenty years of this has given him a deep understanding of both his own specific musical voice and its relationship to Heafy’s.
His rhythm playing serves a somewhat different function from Adler’s in Lamb of God — where Adler’s pure rhythm focus gives him the complete freedom to optimise every element for rhythm application, Beaulieu must balance rhythm authority with the technical demands of the lead passages he also performs. This balance is itself a specific skill: maintaining the physical commitment of heavy rhythm playing while preserving the technical precision that lead passages require, without either compromising the other. His ability to navigate this balance — to switch between full-physical-commitment rhythm downstrokes and the controlled, precise technique of fast lead passages within the same performance — is one of the most demanding technical accomplishments in modern metal guitar that is rarely explicitly acknowledged.
Tonally, Corey Beaulieu guitars gear philosophy reflects the dual rhythm/lead requirements of his role in Trivium. The EMG 81’s ceramic high-output bridge character gives maximum authority for rhythm work; the EMG 60’s Alnico warmth gives the neck-pickup lead tones their melodic quality. The Mesa/Boogie JP-2C’s smooth high-gain character serves both applications — heavy enough for rhythm, sophisticated enough for lead. The Axe-Fx’s preset-based versatility gives complete control over the tonal requirements of Trivium’s diverse setlist. Each element serves the dual role that Beaulieu’s position in Trivium requires.
The EMG 81 versus EMG 57 bridge pickup distinction between Beaulieu and Heafy in Corey Beaulieu guitars gear represents a deliberately differentiated tonal system that deserves systematic expansion. The EMG 81’s ceramic magnet structure gives a specific tonal signature: hard, analytical, with a tight bass response, a pronounced upper-midrange, and a very fast, defined pick attack transient. These characteristics make the 81 ideal for situations where maximum output consistency and attack definition are the priority — heavy downtuned rhythm work, tight palm-muted chugging, and fast alternate-picked passages where every note must arrive with equal clarity. The EMG 57’s Alnico magnet structure gives a warmer, more complex signature: softer bass roll-off, more second-harmonic content in the midrange, and a slightly slower, more rounded attack transient. These characteristics suit lead and melodic applications where harmonic warmth and dynamic expressiveness are more important than raw attack definition. When Beaulieu’s 81 and Heafy’s 57 are tracked in stereo — left and right channels of the recording panned to different positions — the EMG 81’s definition and the EMG 57’s warmth give the two guitars a complementary frequency balance rather than competing for the same tonal space. The Trivium production team exploits this differentiation: Beaulieu’s tracks typically carry the rhythmic attack and low-register authority; Heafy’s tracks carry the harmonic warmth and melodic presence. The result — more complete than two identical bridge pickups would give — reflects deliberate tonal system thinking from both guitarists and their producers.
The specific demands of performing co-lead guitar alongside a vocalist-guitarist deserve deeper examination because the dynamic between Beaulieu and Heafy is one of the more unusual in professional metal. Most lead guitarist roles are either solo (one lead guitarist in a band) or clearly differentiated (distinct rhythm and lead roles). Trivium’s model — two guitarists who both play rhythm and both play leads, with a vocalist-guitarist whose vocal responsibilities necessarily shape his guitar approach — creates a specific kind of musical interdependency that neither player could navigate without a deep understanding of both his own musical tendencies and his partner’s. Beaulieu must know, for each song, when his guitar should be rhythmically dominant (when Heafy’s vocal responsibilities require simpler guitar playing) and when his guitar should contribute melodic lead content (when Heafy’s guitar work is supporting rather than leading). This dynamic awareness — knowing not just what you’re playing but what it means relative to what your partner is simultaneously doing — is a sophisticated musical skill that twenty years of shared performance has developed to a level of naturalness that makes it appear effortless from the outside. Corey Beaulieu guitars gear is configured for the flexibility this dynamic requires: the ESP M-II’s versatility across rhythm and lead applications, the JP-2C’s multi-channel design covering the full tonal range, and the Axe-Fx’s preset-based switching giving instant transitions between different tonal contexts within a single performance.
The Floyd Rose Original on Beaulieu’s ESP M-II — and the specific maintenance demands it imposes in the context of Trivium’s multiple-tuning setlist — creates a practical challenge that his instrument management strategy must address. The Floyd Rose’s fundamental mechanical principle — the balance between string tension and spring tension that gives the bridge its floating position — is tuning-specific: change the tuning and the balance changes, requiring rebalancing the spring tension to restore the correct bridge angle. For Trivium’s multiple tunings (standard E, Drop D, Drop C, and potentially others across the full catalogue), performing with a single Floyd Rose-equipped guitar would require constant spring tension adjustments between songs — a logistically impossible task in a live performance context. Beaulieu’s solution, like most professional guitarists with multiple tuning requirements, is the dedicated instrument approach: multiple guitars, each permanently set up for a specific tuning configuration, each with the spring tension calibrated for that tuning’s string tension. When a song in a different tuning appears in the setlist, the guitar changes rather than the tuning. This approach requires maintaining multiple instruments in performance-ready condition simultaneously — setup, strings, and electronic components — and represents a significant logistical investment that professional touring requires. His documented guitar collection includes multiple ESP M-IIs and signature models each calibrated for specific tuning configurations, reflecting the systematic instrument management that Trivium’s setlist diversity demands.
Beaulieu’s British Columbia origins — and the journey from a small interior BC city to a professional career in American heavy metal — deserve acknowledgment as part of the background that shaped his specific development. The geographic isolation of small-town BC music development gave him the same quality that rural environments consistently produce in this series: the intensity of self-directed learning that limited access to other musicians and instruction requires, and the specific relationship to recorded music (as the primary available model for technique and approach) that develops when live instruction and local musical community are less accessible. The specific albums he absorbed in this context — Metallica’s technical thrash, Megadeth’s compositional ambition — gave him the foundational influences that his subsequent professional development built on. His move to Florida and the Trivium opportunity gave him the professional context in which those influences could be developed toward their professional application; the specific musical values he brought from his BC development gave his contributions to the band a specific character that distinguishes him from players who developed entirely within the Central Florida metal scene’s particular cultural framework.
The Fractal Axe-Fx III preset coordination between Beaulieu and Heafy — the two guitarists’ preset configurations designed to work together as a complete system — represents a level of production sophistication in the live performance context that is worth examining as a model for how modern metal bands manage the tonal complexity of extensive catalogues. When both guitarists’ live tones are designed to complement each other across the full frequency range — Beaulieu’s presets voiced for rhythmic attack and low-register definition, Heafy’s presets voiced for harmonic warmth and lead presence — the live mix has a completeness and clarity that would be absent if each guitarist had independently chosen their own optimal individual tone without reference to the other’s. Trivium’s production team, working with both guitarists’ Axe-Fx configurations, created a system where the guitars’ tonal relationship was as carefully considered as the individual guitar tones themselves. This systems-level thinking about guitar tone — understanding that two guitars in a band context are a single sonic entity, not two independent instruments — is itself one of the more sophisticated aspects of Corey Beaulieu guitars gear’s role in the complete Trivium sound.
How to Sound Like Corey Beaulieu
Guitar Approach
An ESP M-II or similar neck-through Super-Strat (ESP LTD MH-1001, Jackson SL2H Soloist, Ibanez RG with neck-through) with EMG 81 (bridge) and EMG 60 (neck) active humbuckers, Floyd Rose Original double-locking tremolo, and ebony fretboard is the foundation of Corey Beaulieu guitars gear tone. D’Addario NYXL strings in the same gauges as Heafy: .010–.046 for standard tuning, .011–.056 or heavier for dropped configurations. The Floyd Rose requires careful setup for Trivium’s multiple tuning configurations — consider dedicating different instruments to specific tunings to avoid the constant rebalancing of spring tension that floating-bridge instruments require when tuning changes are frequent.
For the co-lead role: develop the ability to differentiate your phrasing and tonal approach from your bandmate’s lead guitar when playing alongside them, while maintaining synchronisation in unison passages. This requires deep familiarity with both your own musical voice and your partner’s specific tendencies — a kind of musical self-awareness that solo playing doesn’t require but band co-lead guitar demands.
Amp Approach
Mesa/Boogie JP-2C (or Mark V as accessible alternative) into a Mesa/Boogie 4×12 with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. Fractal Axe-Fx III (with JP-2C profile) for live touring consistency. The same JP-2C EQ approach as documented for Heafy applies here — the five-band graphic EQ’s frequency-specific adjustments give the complete tonal balance that both rhythm and lead work require from a single amplifier.
| Control | Setting (0–10) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| JP-2C Lead Channel Gain | 7–8 | Smooth Mark IIC+ saturation — versatile for both heavy rhythm and technical leads |
| Bass | 4–5 | Controlled — EMG 81’s tight ceramic character keeps bass defined; prevent low-end mud |
| Mid | 6–7 | Forward — critical for both rhythm riff presence and lead projection in the ensemble |
| Treble | 6 | Present — note articulation for alternate-picked runs |
| Presence | 5 | Moderate — definition through V30 without brittleness |
| Master Volume | 6–7 | Natural 6L6GC output compression gives the sustained, warm quality both roles need |
| Graphic EQ 80Hz | -1 | Slight sub-bass cut — prevents low-end build-up at high gain |
| Graphic EQ 2.2kHz | +2 | Lead presence boost — distinguishes co-lead passages from the rhythm guitar backing |
| TS9 Drive (lead boost) | 3 | Low drive — midrange emphasis to differentiate lead tone from rhythm context |
| NS-2 Threshold | 3–4 | Moderate — gates EMG/high-gain background noise without cutting lead sustain |
Boss NS-2 in muting loop for noise management. TC Electronic PolyTune for rapid multi-tuning management. TS9 at minimal drive as selective lead boost. Fractal Axe-Fx III (or Line 6 Helix as accessible alternative) for comprehensive live rig management. DigiTech Whammy for specific compositionally defined pitch effects. Keep the chain straightforward — Beaulieu’s tone is primarily the guitar and amplifier combination, with effects serving specific musical functions rather than defining the overall character.
Influence & Legacy
Corey Beaulieu’s influence on modern heavy metal guitar is felt primarily through his role in establishing Trivium’s twin-guitar approach — demonstrating over twenty years that the dual lead/rhythm guitarist and vocalist/guitarist format can sustain a band through multiple musical evolutions without either player’s role becoming static or redundant. His specific technical development — particularly his alternate picking precision and the compositional maturity of his lead work across the Trivium catalogue — gave younger metal guitarists a model of what continued technical and musical development in a band context looks like across decades rather than merely across albums.
His contribution to Trivium’s dual-guitar system is specifically musical rather than commercially defined — the band’s sound is as much a product of how Beaulieu and Heafy relate to each other musically as it is of individual technical accomplishments. The dual-guitar format’s specific musical qualities — the harmonic completion of two different guitar characters, the physical impact of two rhythm guitarists locking together, the tonal variety of two lead guitarists with different approaches — are as central to Trivium’s identity as any individual player’s specific abilities.
The comparison with Matthew Heafy — his direct guitar partner and the essential context for understanding his specific contribution — illuminates how the Trivium guitar sound is constructed from two complementary rather than identical approaches. The contrast between Heafy’s EMG 57/66 warmth and Beaulieu’s EMG 81/60 aggression, between the JP-2C’s consistent role as both players’ current primary amp and their different approaches to using its channels, and between the vocalist’s compositional focus and the dedicated guitarist’s performance focus all contribute to the complete Trivium guitar picture. The parallel with Dan Spitz of Anthrax — whose similarly precise alternate picking technique and melodic lead approach in a technically demanding metal band context paralleled Beaulieu’s in an earlier generation — places his technical development in the broader tradition of technically accomplished melodic lead guitarists in American heavy metal. And the connection to Alex Skolnick — Testament’s lead guitarist whose combination of technical precision, harmonic sophistication, and musical versatility across multiple genres shares important qualities with Beaulieu’s own development — shows the lineage of technically serious, musically intelligent lead guitarists in American metal that Beaulieu continues and develops.
Frequently Asked Questions: Corey Beaulieu Guitars & Gear
What guitar does Corey Beaulieu play?
Corey Beaulieu’s primary guitars are ESP M-II models — ESP’s double-cutaway neck-through Super-Strat — configured with his preferred EMG 81 (bridge) and EMG 60 (neck) active humbucker setup, Floyd Rose Original double-locking tremolo, and ebony fretboard. ESP has produced Corey Beaulieu signature instruments including the CB-7 and CB-7H seven-string variants, which incorporate the seven-string extended range that certain Trivium material requires. The ESP M-II’s neck-through construction, ebony fretboard, and Floyd Rose configuration give the specific combination of sustain, attack clarity, and tuning stability that his dual rhythm/lead role requires.
What amplifier does Corey Beaulieu use?
Beaulieu currently uses the Mesa/Boogie JP-2C — the same amplifier as Matthew Heafy — giving Trivium a unified amplifier platform across both guitarists. Earlier amplification was primarily the Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier. The Fractal Audio Axe-Fx III loaded with JP-2C profiles provides live touring consistency. The Peavey 6505+ serves as backup amplification. All configurations use Mesa/Boogie 4×12 cabinets with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers.
How do Corey Beaulieu and Matthew Heafy share guitar duties in Trivium?
In Trivium’s dual-guitar format, both Beaulieu and Heafy contribute to rhythm and lead guitar work — unlike some dual-guitar bands that assign exclusive rhythm and lead roles to different players. The specific distribution of rhythm and lead duties varies by song and section: some passages feature both guitarists playing rhythm together; others feature one player taking a lead passage while the other maintains the rhythm; and some feature harmonised or unison lead lines from both players simultaneously. The specific arrangements are determined compositionally for each song, giving the band flexibility across the catalogue and preventing either guitarist’s role from becoming exclusively fixed.
What are the differences between Beaulieu’s and Heafy’s pickup configurations?
The most significant difference is the bridge pickup: Beaulieu uses the EMG 81 (ceramic magnets, active preamp — aggressive, tight, bright) while Heafy uses the EMG 57 (Alnico magnets, active preamp — warmer, more harmonically complex). This difference gives the two guitarists’ rhythm and lead tones subtly different characters: Beaulieu’s ceramic-active 81 is more aggressively voiced; Heafy’s Alnico-active 57 is warmer and more harmonically sophisticated. Both use the same neck pickup configuration (EMG 60) for warm melodic neck-pickup tones. The bridge pickup contrast gives the two-guitar mix a degree of tonal variety that identical configurations would not provide.
Does Corey Beaulieu use a seven-string guitar?
Yes — Beaulieu uses seven-string guitars for specific Trivium material that requires access to the low B string’s sub-bass register. His ESP Corey Beaulieu signature CB-7 and CB-7H models are seven-string instruments built to his specifications. His seven-string use is compositionally specific: certain songs’ harmonic and registral requirements are better served by the seven-string’s extended range than by detuning a six-string instrument. He does not use seven-string guitars for all Trivium material — the six-string instruments remain his primary for most of the catalogue.
How long has Corey Beaulieu been in Trivium?
Beaulieu joined Trivium in 2003 at age nineteen, making his tenure approximately twenty-one years as of 2024. He joined in time to contribute to the recording of Ascendancy (2005), and has appeared on all subsequent Trivium studio albums through In the Court of the Dragon (2021). His twenty-plus year tenure with the band represents one of the most sustained musical partnerships in modern heavy metal, and his development as a guitarist across that period — from the teenage player who joined the band to the accomplished adult musician of the current era — is itself one of the more complete records of musical development available in the modern metal genre.
What is Corey Beaulieu’s practice approach?
Beaulieu has discussed his practice approach in interviews and through social media, emphasising systematic technical development alongside musical development. His practice routine includes: alternate picking technique work with a metronome at controlled tempos; scale and mode practice for harmonic vocabulary development; song-specific preparation for Trivium’s technically demanding live setlist; and creative practice (working on new ideas and compositions). His approach reflects the same emphasis on disciplined, systematic development that Heafy has documented through streaming — consistent with the culture of technical seriousness that has allowed both players to maintain and develop their abilities across two decades of professional activity.
The ESP M-II’s neck-through construction — and the specific sustain characteristics it gives relative to bolt-on Super-Strat alternatives — affects Beaulieu’s playing in ways relevant to both his rhythm and lead work. The neck-through construction’s continuous grain path from headstock to end pin gives a specific sustain character: each note blooms over a slightly longer decay period, with the energy of the string’s vibration being reinforced by the coupled resonance of the complete neck-body unit rather than being divided between the neck and body at the bolt-on joint. For rhythm guitar, this additional sustain gives palm-muted figures more residual energy between the palm contact and the next downstroke — a quality some rhythm guitarists prefer and others find muddying, depending on their specific technique. For lead guitar, the extended sustain gives single-note lines more consistent body across the complete duration of each note — the note’s character remains fully developed until the vibration naturally decays rather than dropping off more rapidly as the string’s energy is absorbed at the joint. Beaulieu’s lead lines specifically benefit from this: his melodic passages have a quality of sustained, even tone through the complete note duration that reflects the neck-through’s sustain contribution alongside the EMG 60’s warmth and the JP-2C’s smooth saturation. The combination — neck-through sustain, EMG 60 warmth, JP-2C Mark IIC+ character — gives his lead tone a completeness and singing quality that the technical demands of alternate picking might otherwise compromise by producing notes whose attack is excessively dominant over their sustain.
One more dimension of Corey Beaulieu guitars gear worth addressing is his relationship to technique as a continuous developmental practice rather than a fixed accomplishment. Unlike guitarists whose technical development was concentrated in their youth and subsequently maintained at a plateau, Beaulieu has continued developing his technique across his professional career — the playing on recent Trivium albums demonstrating capabilities that were not fully present on earlier records, and the practice discipline he discusses in interviews reflecting an ongoing commitment to improvement rather than the maintenance of established skills. This commitment to continued development — in a player who by any measure already operates at the highest professional level — reflects the same musical seriousness that characterises the most enduring careers throughout this series. The twenty-year development arc from the teenage player who joined Trivium in 2003 to the accomplished adult musician of 2024 is itself one of the more complete demonstrations available of what consistent, systematic musical development looks like across a full professional career in modern heavy metal.
The TC Electronic PolyTune’s specific role in the Trivium live production — and the contrast with the D’Addario NS Micro headstock tuner that serves as backup — illustrates the layered redundancy approach that professional touring requires. The PolyTune serves as the primary tuning device precisely because its polyphonic mode (strumming all six strings and seeing all six tuning statuses simultaneously) allows retuning between songs in seconds rather than the thirty-plus seconds that string-by-string chromatic tuning requires. For Trivium’s setlists that include multiple tuning configurations — and which must be performed for audiences who have paid to see a complete professional performance rather than extended technical interludes — this speed advantage is not a convenience but a professional necessity. The NS Micro headstock tuner provides backup in the event of signal chain failure that would prevent the PolyTune from receiving the guitar’s audio signal — a direct mechanical vibration measurement that operates independently of the main signal chain. This redundancy planning — primary solution plus independent backup for critical performance functions — reflects the same systematic thinking that characterises every other aspect of Corey Beaulieu guitars gear: nothing critical to the performance is left without a backup, and the backup is specifically designed to work when the primary fails rather than requiring the primary to be working in order to function. Professional touring guitar management at this level is partly about musical preparation and partly about systematic risk management.
The FloydRose’s specific tuning stability characteristics — and why they matter specifically for Trivium’s touring scale — are worth noting as a final technical dimension. The Floyd Rose’s double-locking principle (strings locked at both the nut and the saddles) eliminates the two primary sources of tuning instability in conventional tremolo systems: string slippage at the nut and string slippage at the bridge saddle. In a normal non-locking system, string tuning changes when the string slips at the nut during bending, when the string stretches at the saddle under the lateral forces of aggressive picking, or when the bridge shifts position under changing overall string tension. The Floyd Rose eliminates all three mechanisms simultaneously. For Corey Beaulieu guitars gear in the demanding context of Trivium’s touring scale — thousands of shows, varying environmental conditions of temperature and humidity, aggressive alternate picking at high tempos — the Floyd Rose’s tuning stability gave a performance reliability that non-locking systems could not efficiently provide. The tradeoff (the maintenance requirements, the spring tension calibration for specific tunings, the fine-tuner-only tuning adjustment when the nut is locked) is acceptable in the professional context where instrument setup is maintained by dedicated guitar technicians between shows, making the stability advantage fully available without the maintenance burden falling entirely on the performing musician.
Related stories
Vernon Reid Guitars & Gear: The Complete Guide to Living Colour’s Guitar Genius’s Rig
Vernon Reid's guitars, amps, and effects — the complete guide. Parker MaxxFly, PRS Vela VR, Mesa Dual Rectifiers, Roland VG-99, Eventide H9, Living Colour gear guide.
Warren DeMartini Guitars & Gear: The Complete Guide to Ratt’s Torch Guitarist’s Rig
Warren DeMartini guitars & gear: Ratt's Torch guitarist. Charvel Bomber, snakeskin, Jose-modded Plexi, Fender Super Champ, RTM pickup, slapback echo — the complete rig.
Warren Haynes Guitars & Gear: The Complete Guide to Gov’t Mule’s Guitar Master’s Rig
Warren Haynes' guitars, amps, and effects — the complete guide. Gibson Les Paul Chester, Soldano SLO-100 modified, Klon Centaur, Emma Discombobulator, and how to nail that Gov't Mule blues-rock tone.