Edward Van Halen was the guitarist and lead songwriter behind the band that bore his name: Van Halen. Eddie’s technical and melodic prowess – most famously his iconic use of the two-handed tapping technique – sparked an arms race in the 1980s rock scene, birthing the shred guitar movement.
Van Halen was also renowned for his tonal innovations and famed for relentlessly modding and, later, designing his guitars and amps – notably, the Frankenstein guitar, the Peavey 5150 amp, and the Peavey Wolfgang – before establishing the EVH brand. He passed away in 2020, but is widely regarded as the greatest electric guitar player of his generation – and, arguably, of all time.
Latest about Eddie Van Halen
Anxiety, wildfires, slap guitar… How Wolfgang Van Halen made the monster guitar album of 2025
With his third album (and a bit of his dad’s Frankenstein), Wolfgang Van Halen and Mammoth are taking the world of rock guitar by storm once again
When Eddie Van Halen crash-tested one of EVH’s most iconic guitar amps – and risked 5150 Studios in the process
Before Eddie Van Halen could sign off on the EVH 5150 III, he had to make sure it was borderline indestructible
The 16 most expensive guitars of all time
Fenders owned by Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan, Martins belonging to Kurt Cobain and David Gilmour, and one independently made axe headline the list of most profitable guitars sold at auction
Eddie Van Halen’s Kramer Ad guitar sells for $2,734,000 at auction
The eye-watering price tag makes it the sixth most expensive guitar ever sold publicly
Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstein Strat is deemed the pinnacle of guitar modding – but Wolfgang Van Halen says it has its limitations
It might be considered a Holy Grail guitar, but Wolfgang says it’s not all that easy to play
Why Eddie Van Halen had to ask Paul Gilbert to give his son a guitar lesson
He was just too virtuosic to show his son the ropes, it seems...
Dweezil Zappa has Eddie Van Halen, Brian May and Yngwie Malmsteen on his ambitious instrumental project – but wants to recruit more guitar greats
Albert Lee, Steve Morse and Steve Vai have also recorded for What The Hell Was I Thinking?, which Zappa began work on back in 1989
Justin Hawkins names the guitar virtuoso who could have been EVH’s equal in the 1980s
The Darkness guitarist believes this shredder would have been better appreciated in the ’80s
