Eddie Van Halen is remembered primarily as one of rock music’s most influential guitarists. But behind the legendary solos was something many fans never knew about: Eddie was an inventor. His famous playing style included two-handed tapping, a technique in which both hands move across the fretboard to produce rapid notes and complex patterns.

There was a practical problem, though.

When Eddie took his picking hand away from its usual position and placed it on the fretboard, he needed greater control over the instrument. Instead of simply adapting his playing, he tried to engineer the guitar itself.

In the mid-1980s, Eddie developed a small mechanical support that could be attached to the back of a guitar. The device could flip outward and rest against the player’s body, helping stabilize the instrument while the guitarist used both hands on the neck. In 1985, the invention received U.S. Patent No. 4,557,173.

The patent wasn’t just a celebrity novelty. It showed how seriously Eddie approached the physical mechanics of guitar playing.

And the guitar wasn’t his only obsession. Eddie constantly modified his instruments, experimenting with pickups, electronics, bridges, finishes, and hardware. His famous Frankenstrat became a symbol of this hands-on approach—part musical instrument, part engineering experiment.

He also received additional U.S. patents related to musical instruments.