Rotary vs. Coil

[joakim urma]

What JoelRhys above me said is very true, about the mindset. I was getting the back of my knee tattooed and I wasn't ready for how bad it was going to be. Then it healed really shitty and I ended up having to do it all again, now I knew what the pain was going to be like and the second time it was not a problem.

About rotary vs coil. I think I've had the shading done by rotary for the past 5-6 tattoos at least. Today I experienced a lot of needles in a coil machine. Damn, that thing is loud! It's like a angry pack of bees wielding chainsaws. I am sure the sound made me feel the pain more.

[face]

I had a few hours with rotary on me. Very gentle artist healed like a dream. I credit the artist, but he said he used rotary primarily because of the sound. He still lined with a coil and did some shading, but large spaces were rotary. The sound is much more soothing. Pain? Hard to say, very light hands helps, granted it he layered the black and stacked color differently. Pneumatic is the newest, and similar sound effects. Id like to get a Tebori and Pneumatic tattoo someday.

[Johannes]

don't really care what machines the artist working on me uses....but i do prefer coils since the quiet rotarys kinda creep me out because the simple fact they don't sound alot! i need that sound to zone out.

[Mark Bee]

don't really care what machines the artist working on me uses....but i do prefer coils since the quiet rotarys kinda creep me out because the simple fact they don't sound alot! i need that sound to zone out.

Yup! Me too. I love that sound.

[Graeme]

This thread is weird.

[Taran]

I've been tattooed with both and use both to tattoo with,I thinks it's all about where you are getting the tattoo done on the body as to how much it hurts ,let's face it tattoos all hurt to one degree or another,that's part of the experience for me. Tattooers choice at the end of the day,if they are comfortable with the machine they use then you will get a better tattoo

[IAmMattLewis]

Before reading this thread, I didn't even know there were different machines haha. Apparently rotaries are quieter, and I remember the guy who did my cat tattoo using a quieter machine at one point, and it hurt like a motherfucker.

[TigerBlue77]

[Russ]

I've been tattooed with both, the tattooers that used the rotary's only used them for shading though, and anyone I've spoke to said they wouldn't use them for line work.

In my opinion rotary's hurt less but I was discussing it with one tattooer and she pointed out it could be phycological due to it been quieter! at which point it started to hurt more so that could well be true :D

I can't say I've noticed a difference in healing.

[deadsp0t]

Stopped in last night at my friends shop, he uses the rotary for shading.. Just weird IMO not to hear it..

[bongsau]

Funny, I walked into my buddies shop a few weeks ago and was like "what the...is everyone is using rotary machines now? It's too god damn quiet in here!".

This being said, rotary feels a little nicer on shading and packing colour to me on the receiving end however I really enjoy the red hot sting, weight and tractor buzz of good ol' coil machine running hot.

[NICKY]

I think tattoos hurt sometimes depending on the spot obliviously . but it shouldn't hurt like crazy crazy bad . I think the artists technique has bunch to do with it whether its coil or rotary. unless you just cant take pain to well.

[Bigboy67]

My thought is what it is regarding a lot of issues in tattooing..... It's all about the operator, not so much the machine. Of a guy had a bad day at home, didn't sleep well, got drunk the night before, or just has heavy hands, you're probably in for a bad day no matter what he uses.

[CiciStar82]

I've gotten tattooed with both coil and rotary machine. I noticed a significant difference. The tattoo I got with the coil machine was a bit more painful and louder than the one with the rotary machine. I had to ask my artist what machine he was using because I didn't hear the loud buzzing that I was expecting to hear. He said it was called the stealth rotary. I don't know but my experience with the rotary was a lot more pleasant.

[casey]

Hey all,

Just wanted to share a little something. My brother has been a tattoo artist for 25+ years. I help him out from time to time run his shop. He made the switch from Coil to Rotary about 3 years ago. A Rotary machine is a lot smoother, easier on the hand. He currently uses the Hawk and one called the Killer. Hope this helps.

Peace!!

[MadeIndelible]

I thought we agreed not to talk about the tattoo process...

Anyway, I've been tattooed by both, and the rotary hurt a little less, but I was only reminded of that when I read this thread. It really shouldn't be an issue for healing.

[Dbeatdano]

The piece on my left side was done completely with a rotary and as far as pain goes, it was pretty much the same, but the healing process was so short I was pretty surprised. I got the rest of the tattoo finished on a Wednesday and by Monday it was already done peeling and pretty much healed. The tattoo on my sternum was with a coiled machine and that scabbed up and the healing took about about 10-14 days, but it still healed great. The pain was pretty much the same as the side piece so I really can't compare that too much.

[Gloomy Inks]

I have two pieces done with rotary machines. One is tiger, with it's claws holding a doughnut. I'm silly. I know. The other is on my hand. Both didn't turn out very well. They also both hurt badly. The tiger took near 34 hours and the color is awful.

The hand, well it is a hand, so the healing process was slower. I told the guy, "Please don't use that thing on me again. Thank you."

I've only had one myself, a direct drive, and my own tastes lean toward coils, and very heavy weight.

[David Anderson]

I have alot of work done....alot. I go to the same artist because in my opinion he is the best! We always use a coil machine. This last four hour session we used a rotary, same artist. I usually sit all day seven to eight hours. The rotary hurts more. I would use prefer a coil anyday. The quality of the work is the same but I have a solid bruise on my chest and I never bruce. Coil all the way if pain is your concern.

[Mick Weder]

The rotary hurts more.

Fuckin' oath it does.

[Synesthesia]

I had my first experience with a rotary about a week ago. Tough to really compare because this was overall my most painful tattoo to date and done on sensitive skin, so it hurt like fuck no matter what. I did enjoy the quiet though, made it easier to focus on the shop noise, which is part of what distracts me from the pain.

[TattooUnityEu]

From Tattoos I've got on myself, machines I had chance to see and feel and feedback received from tattoo artists I formed my own opinion on this topic.

Rotaries and Coil machines differ in skills needed by artist. Coil machines and their variability in settings require less mastery from artist in terms of using properly set machine, but require more skill at setting one properly to make whole experience (and healing) more of a pleasure than torture. That reflects on work quality as well. Rotaries on the other hand require more skill, feel and control from artist. This by no means put artists that use any of these lower that the others. It's just that some people have more skill at controlling their hand and can get away with less precisely setup equipment while others are able to setup their equipment with jewelers precision to work more delicately on skin, placement specifics etc.

And because of that we will always see perfect and terrible tattoos done by either machine. All in all it all nails down to master to select equipment that suits him well. Just like in music- a good percussionist would probably hurt your ears badly while playing a guitar.

[BrookR70]

I had the same artist switch from a coil machine to a rotary. My experience was that the coil hurt a little more, but the rotary took a lot longer for my tattoo to heal. 1 week vs. 2 weeks for the scabs to completely fall off in my case. My skin seems to be a little more traumatized with the rotary.

[Dustingormley]

Ive seen guys use both. Most just tell me they use the rotary because it's a quiet machine. In the end, you're getting bunches on needles dug into your skin. It hurts and there's no way around that unless you use numbing cream (which is very expensive if you want the stuff that works.)

There are two things I know about tattoos for sure. Tattoos hurt and tattoos are permanent.

That's kinda why I like em

[bongsau]

The mechanics of a coil machine vs a rotary are different, the way the needle moves in/out of the skin and the feel/feedback it gives the tattooer.

To use a coil machine effectively a tattooer needs to understand how to build/tune/setup the machine for the way they tattoo. And that may be why a lot of tattooers use rotaries these days...convenience. Rotaries are more forgiving in terms of overworking the skin, lighter weight i.e. reduces strain on the tattooer, they are easy to procure, good to go out of the box and can facilitate faster tattooing (if you they know what they are doing). Coils can achieve the same things but come with a steeper learning curve to understand the mechanics, optimize the geometry of the machine build and dial in the tune for their method.

My tattooer who uses coils exclusively, he knows how to setup his machines and can spec a machine build to compliment his methods. And boy, you can feel that control when he tattoos. wow. He can really achieve the subtle details, the smoothness in his gradients because of the way he can achieve finer control with coils, that perhaps could not be achieved with the out-of-the-box characteristics of the rotary. His coil tattoos heal like butter everytime like clockwork. Because of the optimized setup, experience and skilled hand doing the tattooing.

I also have another tattooer who is on the rotary train (the first rotary I experienced) and runs it bastard hot (sounds like a coil) and can utilize the rotary to compliment his speed and methods. His rotary tattoos hurt like hell, however go in smooth, colours stay ultra-bright after long-term healing and he is FAST.

Me...I like the LOUD noise, I like the pain, I like the mechanics. So whichever side of the rotary vs coil debate my tattooer is on, doesn't matter because I gain a better understanding of the big picture of tattooing when I'm on the receiving end of either method.

I just love good ol ELECTRIC tattooin! The louder the more electric the better :cool: