Seymour Duncan Says It’s a Nice Day for a Black Winter (Extended-Range Pickup)

Maybe it’s just me, but I never thought that an 8-string guitar was ideal for black metal. A 7-string, sure, I could see that. But it’s not generally a style of music known for rib-crushing bottom end. So I was a bit surprised to see a new extended range 7/8-string version of Seymour Duncan’s Black Winter pickup.

But hell, I don’t even really care if you plan on using it in an actual black metal tune. The most ubiquitous amplifier in extreme metal is a Van Halen signature amp, after all. The important part is that, according to Seymour Duncan: it’s a pickup that will give you “more aggression without sacrificing definition and clarity.” Generally that’s a positive for most genres. Plus, it has “blood red wires.” Siiick.

Anyway, there’s a new video of the extended range version of this pickup, created by Gord Olson. It’s attached below, and he’s the other gear involved in its creation for some context:

Guitar is a BRJ Jekyll 724, Mahogany body with spalted maple top, maple neck, & ebony fretboard. All guitar and bass tracks were recorded through the Kemper Profiling Amplifier. Guitar profile is of a Peavey 6505 head through a Marshall 1960 cab loaded with V30 speakers. Mic’d with an SM57.

And to sweeten the deal, here’s an older video of the original 6-string version of the Black Winter, staring Keith Merrow and some evil corpse paint.