Almost nothing's more rock and roll than an arm full of tattoos. And almost nothing's more permanent. These Gibson fans love rock and roll—and the brand it was built on—so much they've got it on 'em for life. Do you have a Gibson tattoo? Let us know and we'll throw your picture up too!
Gibson fanatic Dave Clark sauntered up to our Bonnaroo compound last summer to show off his devotion to the brand. That's no press-on!
Feast your eyes on the Gibson tattoo of Debonair Deviants guitarist Trev Goossens of Ballarat, Australia.
Tony Figueira writes in from Portugal to show us his tattoo, which he calls "Les Paul in Flight."
Neil Hadsall wrote into the Gibson editor box recently to give us a look at the beautiful tattoo on his arm, depicting his 2005 Heritage Cherry Sunburst Standard.
"I love that guitar and will never be without a LP in my life," he wrote. "I'm 42 and I'd never had a tattoo, I put it off because I didn't want just 'any' tattoo. So I laid down my two favorite guitars and took pictures and I had my tattoo design. Not until I had the 'theme' did I run with the ball."
Neil took the words "Six String Belief" from a favorite Son Volt song.
Kris, guitarist for Perth, Australia's Caboodle, rocks this Flying V on his bicep.
Also from Australia is Matthew Elder, who wrote in in February to tell us—no joke—"My wife just a baby and she let me name him Gibson. I own an Epiphone and I want to get a Les Paul. I got his name tattooed in the logo on my arm."
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All American Rejects guitarist Nick Wheeler sure does love his Gibson Firebirds. He wears the guitar's emblem right on his sleeve!
Merit Cooper, a 33–year-old banjo player from Tooks, Texas, had this banjo tattooed on her ankle early this year, taking inspiration from her favorite Gibson mandolin.
Eric Eaton, Jr. had the Slash Signature Les Paul tattooed on him by Tiffany Bridges of London Ontario Canada.
Trent Hamilton wrote in to say, "[My tattoo] displays my two favorite things in the world—my R7 (with my Alnico II Pro pickups even) and my favorite girl, Miss Jenna Jameson."
Denver, Colorado's Jay Koepp says, "This tat is of my '92 Les Paul that I've been customizing over the years. Loved it since the day one and had to get 'Cloudie' inked on my arm!"
Tommy Bianchi of Rochester, New York writes, "I own 12 Gibson guitars and four Epiphones, but I could only put my favorite on me. This ES-335 been on me for 15 years, but I have been rockin on Gibsons
for over 30 years."
Christy Chance says, "Here is my Gibson tattoo. It is my dad's ES-225 my own artwork."
Ozone Park, New York's Camilo Páez García says," I had it done 11 years ago, when that beautiful Red Wine Gibson Studio was my dream guitar. It was my first tattoo and represented two things: One, music would be in my life forever and Two, one day I'm going to have this gorgeous guitar. Well, turns out that after years and years of dreaming about it, I purchased it for my 29th birthday."
Richard Motlik wrote in to tell the story behind his ES-335 tattoo: "I had this done in Memphis at Underground Art during the Memphis in May celebration. I've had this ES-335 for seven years. It is my pride and joy. I had planned this trip for a few months, but it wasn't until two weeks before that I thought of the significance of Memphis and Gibson and the blues that I wanted to commemorate the trip in a tattoo. I had done some research on the tattoo parlors in Memphis. I selected the artist based on his previous work which was colorful and detailed. For me, it was all about color and scale. To me, for a first tattoo it is fantastic."
Jerry Stover says, "I had my favorite guitar, a Gibson Custom Shop Explorer, inked on my arm. The tattoo artist copied the guitar off a picture. It took him a little over five hours to complete and he did it all in one sitting!"
Don Sloan: "I’ve been a Gibson fan for years. I own three Les Pauls and used to own an Epiphone Model 1140 Flying V which I’ve missed for years and have searched for another one for the last 22 years. Anyway, I decided to have a guitar tattoo and so I drew this Les Paul tattoo myself and had my girlfriend’s sister ink it for me."
Other Gibson-related tattoos:
