La Santamaria by HM Machines.

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Right then guys and gals i'd like to start this review by stating that Roman of HM Machines has THE best customer service i have ever come across in this industry! I placed my order and within a few days i received a phone call from him (which in itself was very unexpected) telling me he'd done a small run of 5 "naked" La Santamarias and would i be interested in 1! You bet your ass i was interested! He then asked me what my t-shirt size was so he could send me 1. This was at 4pm, he then said he was about to send the machine and that i should expect it the next day! Not only was he very easy to deal with but he was right about the delivery too, the next day at 10am i received my parcel! From Spain to the UK in less than 18 hours! That's pretty incredible!

The machine came in a nice HM Machine box, was snuggly fitted in cut foam and came with a small tube of superlube and all the relevant info on how best to run the machine. Oh and a swanky free t-shirt. At this point i was grinning from ear to ear and hadn't even switched the machine on yet!

So how does it work? Pretty bloody well to be fair! It's virtually silent at 6v and the linear action is perfect. I love the tube vice and the polished coin screw is a nice added extra. The machine is on the weighty side probably similar to a vivace, maybe slightly lighter, but the balance reduces the weight beautifully. In fact that's not where the Vivace similarities end. It runs in a very similar fashion, the strong silent type and has a return spring so the needle always stops inside the tip. I used it for 4 hours earlier and although it did get a little warm it performed very well. I didn't use all of the available stroke, i backed the 9mg up a bit like i do with all of my machines. Very subtle dusty transistions were a joy to do and i'm looking forward to exploring this gorgeous thing more in the next few days!

Congrats Roman for your service and your machine building skills.

thats actually the la pinta if im correct, i just got mine today i red... the la pinta has the give screw on top... the la nina and la santa maria doesnt have the give screw if im wrong then apologies

100% agree with everything on the customer service from Roman - my mini Evo arrived from Spain to the Uk - from time of order to delivery in less than 24 hours.

Thats the short stroke shader isn't it?

I have the other 2 versions arriving next week - but really glad to hear that it's a good machine too.

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Originally Posted by tatu richie

thats actually the la pinta if im correct, i just got mine today i red... the la pinta has the give screw on top... the la nina and la santa maria doesnt have the give screw if im wrong then apologies

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Yes the La Pinta does have the give screw, this machine does not. It looks like it does in the pic but it's just the shadow from the foam that has the cut to accomodate the machines with the give screw. The La Pinta is the next machine on my shopping list. :)

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Originally Posted by Bishopbyname

Yes the La Pinta does have the give screw, this machine does not. It looks like it does in the pic but it's just the shadow from the foam that has the cut to accomodate the machines with the give screw. The La Pinta is the next machine on my shopping list. :)

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gotcha, i couldnt really tell... let us know how it runs for u

Thank you russel for the complimemts!!
Un Glad you enjoy your machine! The differences from the Sta. María and the pinta , besides That the pinta is ajustable , is the stroke lenght & the motor, the Sta. María has a faster motor!
Thanks everybody !! Roman
I personally recomend( and designed the Sta. María) for black&grey work!!

Kingpin finally got the HM's Roman! I've been patiently waiting for them in the U.S. ;)

Hello , yes Kingpin has them already! They have stock of all of them in black,blue,red. Both in clipcord or rca!
Except for the mini evolutions which they should have them back in stock un about 2 weeks Max!
Also the hm evolutions they have is the new versión, different excenter, stronger bearing, new shaft, new abar, and Now the frame has machined between the springshelf and the sping a housing for the -wire from the motor( no more conection problems, meaning machine posible speeding up and down)Now has the 2 wires to conectors!
Ah and have a nice and polish finish and annodize, and hardware and abar nickel plated.
Thanks! Roman
Pd i have 2 "naked" frames left!

After using this machine for the last 2 weeks i can honestly say along with my Mini Cranker this is my favourite machine! Shading is effortless at 6v, building up layers and doing the softest of greys is a pleasure. I've also used this machine for packing colour and blending and it performs equally well which was a nice surprise! I know a lot of a tattoo's success is down to the skill of the artist but machines like this do contribute to the end result. I'm going to be selling some of my other machines in order to buy more from Roman in the near future!

so what is the stroke on this machine .?

hello tugg
sorry for the late reply, the santamaria standard stroke length is 2.6mm and it has a fast motor. but we are working on being able to offer different stroke lengths for customized versions in the near future for lost all our models.
thanks. roman

call me stupid but I don't understand the need for a fast motor when the voltage determines the speed

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Originally Posted by tugg

call me stupid but I don't understand the need for a fast motor when the voltage determines the speed

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I'm guessing Tugg, but I would imagine faster speeds at lower voltages depending on what motor. Recently I've been trying to educate myself a bit when it comes to motors, Roman and Brian Cambell gave me advice (thanks guys) and then the thing to do is get a Maxon catalogue and study it.

hello tugg,its like peter is saying , we can achieve faster speeds with the same voltage , without needing to get extra torque, when you increase the voltage depending on what motor it is you are using,you get extra power along with it, the same way as when you decrease your voltage your speed gets lower but usually your power"force" torque /par also decreases to the point that your machine is running slow but useless because it will actually stop when you add some resistance to it. Playing with different motor setups gives character to a machine, example , my hm evolution, i love that even at low volts the machine is a beast, and it doesn't stop , now if you increase the voltage you get to a speed that you can line with it, but to my preference with too much power! i know people that outline with the evo, but i feel you have an over wanted power at that point. so on the santamaria you have speed with smoothness. its fast but without getting out of control. lets say , to make it easy you can achieve the same speed in santamaria and in the pinta with different voltage setups, but at the same speed both machines have different force/power.
does this clarify??? i don't know if i explained it well or not?jajajaj
if not ,please let me know so i can try again, jajaja
roman

cool thanks for explaining that . so lower torque @ high speed. another machine on my wishlist.(sighs):rolleyes:

yes tugg, that is pretty much the idea! thanks and I'm glad you like the concept!
roman

I ordered a Santa Maria today, can't wait!

i just pm'd you. but just too let other people know as well, yes kingpin has the latest version of our machines.
i hope you enjoy the machine.
thanks again, Roman
they even have the new evolutions that have many different upgrades in stock even though the pics are of the older versions.

I used it all day yesterday, and I love it! I'm very picky on what I use for black & grey rotary, and this hit the nail on the head. Perfect stroke length, torque, and slight dampening specifically for black & grey work and color blending. I also loved how it put in solid color too. Just pick up the machine and get to work, no adjustments. My only complaint is now I want to get all 3 models haha. Thanks for the help and advice Roman and Bishopbyname!

I'm very happy You guys like the santamarias!
Thanks again, roman

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Originally Posted by Tat2dPinoy

I used it all day yesterday, and I love it! I'm very picky on what I use for black & grey rotary, and this hit the nail on the head. Perfect stroke length, torque, and slight dampening specifically for black & grey work and color blending. I also loved how it put in solid color too. Just pick up the machine and get to work, no adjustments. My only complaint is now I want to get all 3 models haha. Thanks for the help and advice Roman and Bishopbyname!

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My pleasure! Glad you like it as much as me! It'll be a mini Evolution for me next i think.

How much is the santamaria?

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Originally Posted by tugg

How much is the santamaria?

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I just bought one from Roman. For forum members it's 350€ delivered and includes a t-shirt and clipcord.

Tat2dPinoy I can't believe what I'm hearing lol!! In love with a 2.6 mm stroke machine, they sound like some good machines.

I keep hearing a lot of people say that the Santa Maria from H and M is the best black and gray rotary on the market. Can anyone elaborate on that? I am currently using the original neo long and medium stroke to shade and color with. Can someone tell me the big selling point on these and why they are so amazing for B&G?

I really like mine a lot. It's smooth and plain easy to use. I feel like I can move around quickly and just kinda haphazardly throw it where I want and I look to expect it to look like crap but it's smooth and pretty, haha, it makes it hard to do a bad job. It's not the lightest rotary machine but it's solidly built and relatively vibration free and has great feedback, ie the sound and feel give you an idea what's happening. The motor has loads of speed and does great as a liner as long as you have a decent stretch. I'm keeping mine ;)

It's all down to the fast smooth action AND the slight give. Neo tats are superb machines for shading but they act like linear direct drives. There is no give at all. That suits some people, others it doesn't. It is all about preference. I think any tattooist that has a fair amount of experience can do equally good work with any of the top machines. A well balanced frame with a smooth running action is all that's needed. Hand adjustment will do the rest.

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Originally Posted by Jawbreaker

I keep hearing a lot of people say that the Santa Maria from H and M is the best black and gray rotary on the market. Can anyone elaborate on that? I am currently using the original neo long and medium stroke to shade and color with. Can someone tell me the big selling point on these and why they are so amazing for B&G?

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I was working with both my SantaMaria-Pinta Hybrid, and adjustable Bazooka on a B&G piece yesterday.I won't go into detail about the Bazooka, as I am in the middle of a Review which I will throw on later......The SantaMaria, imho is one of the best B&G Machines, I have came across, for a few reasons.

It is Perfect for B&G as it is a fast short stroke machine, all I do is tighten down the adjuster,so it has no give, and depending on needle grouping etc etc, dial in 5+ volts,med handspeed, and off I go..

The give system, if needed, is easy to operate, and offers a large range of options, from no give, where it hits like a DD, thro to a soft hit, which is ideal for blending.

Maxon motors are fitted to all HM Machines, however on my model its has more rpm with less torque, so, faster and softer.

The rest is covered here...http://www.rotarytattoo.com/showthre...t=santa+hybrid

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Originally Posted by skinmech

I was working with both my SantaMaria-Pinta Hybrid, and adjustable Bazooka on a B&G piece yesterday.I won't go into detail about the Bazooka, as I am in the middle of a Review which I will throw on later......The SantaMaria, imho is one of the best B&G Machines, I have came across, for a few reasons.

It is Perfect for B&G as it is a fast short stroke machine, all I do is tighten down the adjuster,so it has no give, and depending on needle grouping etc etc, dial in 5+ volts,med handspeed, and off I go..

The give system, if needed, is easy to operate, and offers a large range of options, from no give, where it hits like a DD, thro to a soft hit, which is ideal for blending.

Maxon motors are fitted to all HM Machines, however on my model its has more rpm with less torque, so, faster and softer.

The rest is covered here...http://www.rotarytattoo.com/showthre...t=santa+hybrid

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This could be a little confusing as the standard La Santamaria isn't adjustable.

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Originally Posted by Bishopbyname

This could be a little confusing as the standard La Santamaria isn't adjustable.

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Yeah, but you don't need the adjuster to use it for B&G, as I said, " all I do is tighten down the adjuster,so it has no give" ....

i have the "pinta" and is set up for color work but haved used it for b&g and it works very nice ...great machine and very easy to get used too...

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Originally Posted by skinmech

Yeah, but you don't need the adjuster to use it for B&G, as I said, " all I do is tighten down the adjuster,so it has no give" ....

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I meant more because of availability rather than function

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Originally Posted by Bishopbyname

I meant more because of availability rather than function

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Okay, I see, understand and agree.:) However, you will agree with me that, it is beneficial to all, if we know what variations of Machines are available from the Builder.

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Originally Posted by skinmech

Okay, I see, understand and agree.:) However, you will agree with me that, it is beneficial to all, if we know what variations of Machines are available from the Builder.

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Oh yeah definitely! To be honest i didn't know a hybrid was available til you mentioned it! :)

hello guys,
first of all , i like the way you guys describe the machines! thank you, i think i couldn't describe them better.
as for the hybrid, i don't have these regulary for sale, but ( with time) i am always happy to do things to custom order!! as well as small limited runs once in a while as additions to our usual offer.
please have in mind these are not in stock.
thanks everybody! roman