Yngwie Malmsteen has always charted his own course in the world of guitar playing, and he explains that there was no reason for him to copy Eddie Van Halen when he burst onto the music scene in the late 1970s.
While both Malmsteen and Eddie Van Halen are celebrated for their groundbreaking contributions to rock guitar, it’s clear that Eddie’s revolutionary approach changed the game. In the ’70s and ’80s, S-style guitars with humbuckers were far from the norm, and while many guitarists could play fast, Eddie did it with unmatched precision and flair, blending technical skill with the classic rock ‘n’ roll attitude.
However, in a 2021 interview, Malmsteen revealed that he wasn’t interested in following the crowd or adopting the trends set by others, including Eddie. Reflecting on Eddie’s impact, Yngwie said:
“What can you say about Eddie? I mean, he changed everything. I had already been playing for a while when I heard him, and it was a complete… It was like, ‘Wow!’ The whole band when it came out — the first album.”
Malmsteen, known for his love of Fender Stratocasters, preferred the traditional version of the instrument, equipped with three single-coil pickups and some of the ’70s Fender specifications. He was never drawn to modifying his guitar to follow the tapping trend that Eddie popularized.
“Everybody I knew would hack up their Strats and put humbuckers and start tapping and stuff like this,” Malmsteen explained. “I didn’t want to do that because that’s Eddie, and let Eddie be Eddie.”
While he refrained from copying Eddie’s style, Malmsteen acknowledged that Eddie’s influence showed up in other ways:
“But he influenced me in other ways — just to be spontaneous, which I’ve always been anyway.”
Malmsteen also expressed his admiration for Eddie’s work on the first two Van Halen albums, citing their raw, live-in-the-studio feel that he loved so much.
“The way they made those first two albums, I loved everything about it. It was so live-in-the-studio kind of thing. And I really love that. It was great — the whole thing.”
“Eddie was amazing. God bless him. Amazing. There aren’t enough words, really.”
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