Edward Van Halen

Eddie Van Halen exploded onto the rock music scene in 1978 with a homemade guitar known as "Frankenstein." "At the time, no guitar did what I needed mine to do, so I built my own that did," he said. Thirty-five years later, he's still doing it - studying and improving everything about the instrument. It's personal for him. "A guitar is a very personal extension of the person playing it," he said. "You have to be emotionally and spiritually connected to your instrument."