Dunlop Trivium Signature Guitar Strings (.010–.052): the Heavy Core set Matt Heafy and Corey Beaulieu hand-picked, reviewed

Dunlop developed the Trivium Signature Guitar Strings with both of the band's guitarists at once, Matt Heafy and Corey Beaulieu, through its in-house String Lab process, releasing the set in September 2022 alongside a 7-string companion. Per Premier Guitar's announcement of the partnership, every gauge in the set was handpicked by the pair for a full dynamic range that stays stable when tuned down.

Trivium's own sound is part of why a single set had to work for two different players. The band takes its name from a Latin word for a three-way intersection, a deliberate nod to the three metal subgenres it blends: metalcore, melodic death metal, and thrash, per Premier Guitar's 2022 Rig Rundown. Heafy and Beaulieu describe their own gear and playing styles as vastly different from one another, yet Dunlop still built one shared signature set for the pair instead of two separate lines.

A companion 7-string set, TVMN10637 (.010 to .063), covers the lower-tuned material Trivium also plays. That is a different SKU from the 6-string set reviewed here.

Both guitarists are documented Dunlop artists, and this is their own signature product, so treat the quote as an endorsement rather than a neutral review. What makes it more than marketing copy is the Rig Rundown corroboration below: Dunlop did not just attach two names to an existing gauge, both players' actual stage guitars carry this exact set.

Signature strings do not always end up on the artist's own guitar. This one does, on both players' main 6-strings, according to Premier Guitar's 2022 Rig Rundown with PG's Chris Kies:

• Matt Heafy's white Epiphone Matt Heafy Les Paul Custom Origins, his signature model with Fishman MKH Fluence humbuckers and an EverTune bridge, "takes Dunlop TVMN1052 Heavy Core Trivium," per the Rundown.
• Corey Beaulieu's Jackson Custom Shop King KV6, finished in winter storm white and loaded with his own Seymour Duncan Blackouts, "takes the band's signature Dunlop Heavy Core Trivium strings (.010-.052)." The Rundown adds that this guitar "tunes to either drop D or C#."
• Beaulieu's 7-string Jackson King KV7 and Heafy's 7-string Epiphone "Chugasaurus Rex" both run the heavier companion set instead, TVMN10637 (.010-.014-.018-.030-.040-.052-.063). Beaulieu's "usually stays in B-flat tuning," per the same Rundown.

That is an unusually strong level of confirmation for a signature string set: not just a press-release endorsement, but two working touring guitars, on camera, strung with the exact retail SKU.

Both of Beaulieu's confirmed tunings, Drop D and C# standard, sit below standard E, and both lose string tension the further down they go. A standard .010-.046 set goes slack and loses definition once the low string drops that far; the low end starts flapping under a hard-picking rhythm attack instead of snapping back with punch.

Dunlop's .052 low string, paired with the .040 and .030 wound strings above it, is heavy enough to hold real tension at Drop D or C# without needing an unusually light top end to compensate. The plain strings (.010, .014, .018) stay light enough that lead lines and pinch harmonics up high do not feel like they are fighting a bottom-heavy setup.

The lesson in that table: a "10-52" label on a metal signature set does not guarantee the same string is in your hand. Dunlop's own two thrash- and metalcore-adjacent signature sets, Trivium's and Kerry King's, both carry that same 10-52 shorthand but ship meaningfully different gauges underneath it. Read the actual gauge breakdown, not just the headline numbers, before assuming two sets are interchangeable.

• Drop D and C#-standard rhythm players who want the exact gauge two working touring metal guitarists actually have strung on their main guitars, not a marketing approximation
• Metalcore, melodic death metal, and thrash players who want the same handpicked, tuning-stable gauge both of Trivium's touring guitarists actually play
• Players who already own the 7-string TVMN10637 and want the matching 6-string half of the same line

• Standard-tuning players. A .010-.052 set is bottom-heavy for E standard; a regular .010-.046 or .009-.042 set tracks better up there.
• Players who want a published tension chart. Dunlop does not publish one for this set; if exact tension numbers matter to your setup, budget time to measure it yourself after stringing up.
• Extended-range players below 7 strings. For 8-string or lower extended-range work, look at a purpose-built extended-range set instead of this 6- or 7-string line.

TVMN1052 is a genuine two-player signature set with the rare distinction of being verifiably on both artists' actual stage guitars, not just their names on a Dunlop press release. If you play Drop D or C# and want Trivium's own metalcore, melodic death metal, and thrash blend of tone, articulate under gain but heavy enough to hold pitch down there, this is a directly documented match. Buy the 7-string TVMN10637 instead if you are chasing the band's 7-string B-flat tone specifically; this 6-string pack will not cover that range.

Matt Heafy & Corey Beaulieu Approved

Dunlop

Trivium Signature Guitar Strings (.010–.052)

.010 – .052

Price tier: $

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