Time to take a quick break from guitars and take a look at something a little different! Last night someone on Twitter sent me a photo of their less than impressive guitar tattoo and so today I’ve decided to take a look at some god-awful tattoo designs featuring guitars. Should be good for a laugh!
Personally i’m a big fan of art and design in general and so naturally I love the idea behind getting a tattoo. Unfotunately the majority of people who get inked do it purely because it’s the ‘in’ thing to do, they don’t think it through and come out of the shop with a tattoo they will regret later on in life. With a tattoo design as intricate as a guitar the tattoo is never going to stand up to the tests of time and so if you are really set on it you will need to come up with a design that won’t degrade over the years. Personally I feel that with a ‘product’ tattoo you’d need to figure out a fairly abstract design for it to work.
I have a few tattoos myself, but unlike the people below I actually took the time to find a reputable artist before committing to the artwork. So let this article act as a warning people, do your research first!
| Guitar and Eagle Tattoo | Gibson Neck Tattoo |
No Strings Guitar Tattoo |
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| The eagle isn’t desperately bad, certainly looks like it has dropped the guitar a few times though! | I really hope that’s just pen, what a tacky idea for a tattoo. Maybe he’s renting out the space to Gibson… | Is it just me or does this look more like “Six Stung Belief”? And what’s the deal with stringless guitars? |
| Fire and Lightning | Crayon Shoulder Tattoo |
WTF Butterfly Guitar Tattoo |
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| Rather than burning the guitar the lightning has singed off the strings. Attack of the stringless guitar again | I’m hoping this one isn’t real, looks like his kid drew it on with a crayon. He seems happy though! | Lopsided butterfly telecaster freaky tattoo. Could have been nice enough if done separately. |
| Gibson on Fire Tattoo |
Kurt Cobain Tribute Tattoo |
More Broken Gibson Tatoos |
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| People certainly don’t seem to like their Gibsons, here’s another one which has been set on fire! | The best way to pay tribute to your favorite dead artist is with a poorly drawn weird-ass tattoo. | Another person who hates their Gibson guitars! This one has been snapped in half at the neck! Ouch… |
| Guitar Cover-up Tattoo |
A Tribute To Offspring | Amnesia Tattoo |
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| It’s fairly hard to tell if the guitar is trying to cover up the thing behind or vice versa. OR maybe its intentional… | This guy named his kid Gibson and decided to botch his guitar tattoo into a tribute to them. Didn’t really work did it… | For the lazy bastard guitarist too dim to learn the fretboard notes! 5th and 10th frets don’t have strings apparently… |
| Guitar Hero Tattoo |
Why God Why!? |
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| Her next step is to have electronics implanted under her skin so she can use her arm as a controller… | This one is just extraordinarily bad, so it gets a bigger image to show off its full FAIL. Hopefully it isn’t real. Could possibly be saved if it isn’t finished yet, perhaps could become a sleeve… | |
So what has been learned from perusing these monstrosities? There are some BAD tattoo artists out there! Of course, if you actually took the time to seek out a good one…

Do you have a great musical tattoo or a story to share? Leave a comment!




















Im thinking of getting a Tattoo of my recently purchased 8 string Hellraiser!! I love that Fender tattoo, Im gonna copy that!!
Incredible detail in that Fender eh Chuck? I've been checking into the artist's work, he's down in Spain so I may try and gab him next time I need some ink. I expect he's very expensive though.
You'd need a pretty big arm to fit an 8 string on, hehe.
Yeah, the artwork is fantastic. As for the 8 string tattoo, luckily for me, my left arm is freakishly big. LOL! Just kidding, no doubt I'll have to reverse the Tattoo, The head on the forearm and the neck down to my wrist.
Yup that Fender tattoo is awesome! I'd love to get a "Gibson Les Paul" headstock done in the same way xD but on my right arm though..
Lol i dont think the Fretboard is such a bad tattoo. it would have been cooler if he left it blank or did the notes a bit smaller. So whenever he is out and things of something cool he can draw on his arm and study!
The “six string belief” tattoo is hilarious! Was it “no strings attached” (or connected) on behalf of the idiot who made it? Or maybe it was made by an ignorant.
To me it’s a little freaky to have a tattoo of a hand on your arm. The Fender tattoo is a real piece of skill, but it seems like some kind of charm or relic of woodooistic origin…
The fender one is awesome, and I found this one that I’d like to share. http://media-cache-ec2.pinterest.com/upload/183240278558747142_sZ67LL3P_c.jpg