Home » Hummingbird Rotary Tattoo Machine Review [UPDATED]

Hummingbird Rotary Tattoo Machine Review [UPDATED]

In the tattoo industry, whether you’re a beginner or a professional tattooist, you’re bound to expect some important, basic characteristics from a new tattoo machine. Every artist looks for a lightweight, high-performance, and trustworthy machine that will help them ink vibrant, eye-catching tattoos on their clients. The ‘Hummingbird Rotary Tattoo Machine’ excels in all those aspects and more. To bring vividly to life the deep meaning and beautiful inspiration behind a tattoo design, we recommend the hummingbird rotary tattoo machine reviewed here.

In this review, we’ll critically analyze the ‘Hummingbird Rotary Liner & Shader Tattoo Machine RCA (Silver)’ so that you can know what it’s great at, where it lacks, and our final opinion after examining all aspects.

Hummingbird Rotary Tattoo Machine Review

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This Hummingbird rotary tattoo machine model perfectly preserves the brand’s reputation of being the developer of user-friendly machines for all types of tattoo artists. With this machine in their arsenal boxes, tattooists across the world are steps closer to achieving their unrealized talents.

This tattoo machine features a high-velocity Swiss motor, making it a long-lasting gadget that Hummingbird rotary tattoo machines are known to be.  Alongside that kind of robustness, this machine has a lightweight aluminum body that significantly reduces hand fatigue. The aluminum material also implies better heat dissipation and a reduced operating temperature. Using this machine is a real privilege as it allows you to tattoo for longer sessions without getting tired. Beginners would benefit by having more control while tattooing, while experts would benefit from having an additional, reliable utensil in their toolbox.

Specifications & Features

  • Swiss (Maxon) Motor – The powerful motor of the Hummingbird Rotary tattoo machine is quite durable. It grants you about 10,000 hours of runtime.
  • Adjustable Dampening Control – A dial positioned on the top of the machine lets you make appropriate adjustments so you can make sharp lines or shade with precision for intricate tattooing. Switching between liner to shader takes merely 5 seconds, whilst leaving the power supply unaffected.

For harder jobs (color packing or lining), simply turn the knob in a clockwise direction. For softer hits (shading) the direction to turn is counterclockwise. This rotary model’s versatile shading capability is remarkable compared to its coil tattoo machine brand counterparts.

  • Comfortable, Soundless Handling – The lightweight, sturdy aluminum alloy construction of the machine makes it incredibly efficient and easy to control. You can ink the tattoo design with ultimate precision. You get a much more flexible operating experience and higher compactness as compared with traditional electromagnetic tattoo devices.

Overall, you experience a noise-free and almost vibration-free work session that doesn’t disturb your clients or the people in the tattoo parlour.

  • Adjustable Stroke Length – This machine makes it possible to hit short, medium, or long strokes for lining and shading. The stroke length can be adjusted from 2.6 mm to 5.5 mm, as per the requirement. In effect, the adjustments aid in maximizing efficiency and minimizing the healing time. To set and hit different stroke lengths, simply change the interchangeable extenders given at the motor’s front.
  • Needle Retainer –  The featured needle retainer means you don’t need rubber bands to hold the needle firmly in place. The needle is kept stabilized so that you can tattoo perfectly and precisely with a sturdy point of attack while your loop bar is kept down.
  • Ergonomic Design –  The featured ‘tube vice locking system’ lets you rest assured you can grip the machine extremely comfortably.  
  • Recommended Voltage Range –  This Hummingbird tattoo machine runs trouble free with a recommended working voltage between 6 to 8 volts. For extended run time and to avoid heating, stick to the lower end of the range. That’s sufficient power to complete most tattoo jobs. The machine is connected to the power supply through the RCA cord.
  • Speed – The Rpm range stitches is 0 – 8 000 rpm per minute or 0 – 130 per second.
  • Package Dimensions –  The package size is 4.8 x 4.6 x 1.8 inches and weight 136g (includes packaging material).

Things We Liked

  • Works more efficiently than conventional tattooing machines
  • Ideally suited for detailed lining and shading work.
  • No haggling with plugs, as this machine runs automatically.
  • Does not require rubber bands to hold the needles in place.
  • Low-noise, smooth, and untiring operation.
  • Ergonomic grip.
  • 12-Month warranty.

Things We Didn’t Like

  • Silver is the only variant currently available.
  • You can sanitize the motor bolts after every tattoo session. Yet, spraying directly inside the motor will damage it and void the 12-month warranty.
  • A bit expensive.

Critical Analysis – Hummingbird Rotary Tattoo Machine

If you’re a newbie tattoo artist or a learner, you’ll benefit from this machine as it gets the job done well enough for most kinds of tattoo designs. Expert tattoo artists will also find it handy as it’s a great device to sharpen existing skills. One of the biggest advantages is the lightweight nature of this machine, which gives the user ultimate control to draw the most intricate tattoos with precision, without hand fatigue. The ergonomic grip further enhances the experience.  

Hummingbird tests their products under conditions requiring the product to run for 24 hours continuously. The result was this product is highly durable and worthy of being in the league of other top brands with similar features.

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Final Thoughts

The Hummingbird Rotary Tattoo Machines are the most complete machines ever crafted for the industry. What makes them so complete are the balanced feel, low vibration and low noise operation, needle stability mechanism, and ergonomic gripping. You get full control while you draw, so that you can focus on your art rather than dealing with interruptions.

The robust Swiss motor makes this particular model extremely durable to use, having a staggering life span of up to 10,000 hours. It’s also crafted with the best materials so that any tattoo artist can have a pleasurable, comfortable experience. Furthermore,  the motor bolt system can be easily detached and bagged along with the RCA cord so that there is no chance of cross contamination. According to us, going for this product makes sense all the way!

About Author

Jonathan Corby "Jonny" is a guy who is passionate about Tattooing and successfully running a Tattoo Studio in NY. Through my journey as a Tattoo Artist I have made unforgettable memories. This irrational poetry and sense of freedom of art on skin has given a blissfull experience to my life. Each Tattoo has a story behind it; Lets share one!