The sound that defined a generation

U2's 1987 hit 'With Or Without You' opens with haunting, sustained guitar notes that sound like they'll never end. Those ethereal whistles became one of rock's most iconic moments.

The invention behind the magic

Michael Brook, a 74-year-old Canadian musician and engineer, invented the Infinite Guitar, a circuit that creates endless sustain by feeding a signal between pickups. Only three were ever made.

How it all started

Brook picked up guitar in the early 1960s as a compromise when his parents refused to buy him drums. The Beatles, Hendrix, and Jeff Beck shaped his early musical direction.

University taught him to hide

At Toronto's York University, Brook was ashamed to play guitar because his music school peers looked down on rock as unsophisticated. He kept his guitar playing secret for his first year.

The EBow moment

In 1983, Brook saw Bill Nelson use an EBow in Toronto and realized someone else was already doing what he'd been trying to achieve. He ordered his own but the seller never delivered.

Building it himself

With his electronics background and limited budget, Brook designed his own sustain circuit using a cheap Tokai Stratocaster as a prototype. It worked better than the EBow he'd been waiting for.

“I didn't have much money and I didn't know if it was going to work.”

The Edge's bedsit visit

In the mid-1980s, Brian Eno suggested The Edge try Brook's Infinite Guitar. Edge came to Brook's small apartment, and Brook modified his 1975 Stratocaster for him.

The magic moment

When The Edge played the modified guitar, he created the unforgettable opening to 'With Or Without You.' Brook was stunned by how he used the device in ways Brook had never imagined.

“I modified his '75 Strat, and he got this magic piece of music out of it. Even I had never thought of using it that way.”

A thriving portfolio career

While U2 became the world's biggest band, Brook worked with Robert Fripp, Brian Eno, Youssou N'Dour, and produced albums for The Pogues and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

The manufacturers came calling

Around the time of The Joshua Tree, Fender and other manufacturers approached Brook about producing the Infinite Guitar commercially. He had meetings but ultimately declined.

Why he walked away from millions

Brook realized he didn't want to be in the instrument business. He preferred using the Infinite Guitar as a creative tool for his own music rather than chasing commercial production.

“I'd rather just use it as a tool for my own music.”

His legacy lives on

Brook's 1992 solo albums Cobalt Blue and Live At The Aquarium are being reissued. The Infinite Guitar found its niche, proving that sometimes the best inventions solve personal creative problems, not mass markets.