Zap Tattoos on Melrose

and another «as*hole» message. this guy is a class act all around.

The best EVER!!! I love Von and his staff… they are always knowledgeable and very friendly. I’ve had 3 tattoos done here and would DEFINITELY only trust them with my work. I’m definitely happy :)

I think I’ve found my new tattoo parlor in Los Angeles. I had the best experience here recently, and this was after walking in after Unilocaling tattoo shops on Melrose. I’m sure anyone here is fine, but I highly recommend Dave. He’s not always at this shop, so you should call and ask for him. You won’t be disappointed.
My friend (who also designed my tattoo) came with me to help scope out shops in the area. We walked up to Zap and asked the two guys standing outside (the owner and Dave) for a quote for my design. It was a solid black, semi-​complicated, 4.5-inch piece that I was going to put on my inner arm, starting at my wrist. They told us it would be $ 100, and I was sold!
The entire process, start to finish, was probably just over an hour. It was almost painless as far as tattoos go, and Dave was very nice, honest, and enthusiastic about the tattoo. I will definitely return to him for any future work.
I had been quoted $ 400 earlier in the day for the same tattoo. Granted, it was a high-​end, snobby tattoo shop, and I would have never paid that anyway, but I know when I’m being ripped off. I have 7 other tattoos, and I’ve never paid more than $ 200 for any of them. I was SO happy that I found Zap Tattoo. *two huge thumbs up*

Great shop. This shop has been here forever. Any tattoo shop that can make it in LA where there are tattoo shops on every other corner for 20+ years must be doing something right. Von has tattooed me six times so far. Nothing but quality. Although, you should probably plan to spend a few hours there. You get the social experience and the tattoo experience.

This is the only place Me and my boyfriend get tattoos at. The owner Von is amazing at why he does… not only tattoos but gives great advice about tattoos and caring for them. I’d recommend this place to anyone that is looking to get tatted from a pro. I tell all my friends a co workers to come to this shop.

Went in about a month ago to get a tattoo. Really cool guy working there, «Hamhock» David. Did a great job, was personable and informative, and made the experience really fun! Definitely going back for my next tattoo!

Hello Unilocal.
I went on a bit of a trip around WeHo after work today and stopped at a few places. Tattoos are as much about vibe as they are the art and the choices. I stopped at Zulu tattoo and found a waiting list till December, which didn’t fit with my somewhat whimsical mood, so that was out. I stopped at a couple places that seemed like they might be cool, but vibe and intuition came up short. I crossed over to check out Freak Chic and was overwhelmed with the style of the store, but not the tats on the walls. Vibewise, it was dead, and I have heard folk talk about being bullied by the artists there, so that was out.
Then I went upstairs to Zap, where I was immediately greeted with a smile by Von. What a pleasure to have met such a mellow, centered soul with stories and vibe aplenty. I told him about my concept and we immediately came up with a mutually exciting design. Never once did I feel rushed or pressured. It was clear he wanted to get my tattoo right, and that he viewed it as an exciting challenge.
We took a couple breaks and he showed me his instore music studio (as a musician, I was/​am sufficiently impressed… this dude has performed and DJ’d around the world).
I felt comfortable and mellow and had great conversation while getting inked, and I would recommend this parlor for anyone in need of this valuable service.

Oh man I miss Los Angeles that’s for sure. I figured I should write a review for this place although I haven’t been there in quite a while.
Shock is an awesome guy and takes no bullshit. You have to respect a guy that turns down tattooing teenagers when so many want to come in and get some silly tattoo out of a book that they’ll probably regret in a couple.
Got my first set of tattoos here. Pricing is pretty fucking good here too compared to a lot of the other places on Melrose.
But regardless of what I say in this review look around look at portfolios find someone you trust. I trust Shock and Ill let him tattoo me again any day.

David did my tattoo and it was quick and easy! Super gentle, everyone is very friendly, and prices are very reasonable. They really work with you to get you want you want. My friend and I went in together and couldn’t quite decide on placement. They made a suggestion that she really liked and she’s so happy with it. Just remember to bring cash as it is a cash only parlor. I also got a follow up call from David asking how everything felt and looked

I was referred here by a friend for a cover up and redo of a previous tattoo… and I must say I am very, very, very pleased. Love my artwork.
Von and Dave, the tattoo artists, are not only very educated in the realm of tattoos and tattooing but they are very professional and a pleasure to be around. Von is the one who did my artwork and it came out beautiful. I have gotten many compliments. He does exquisite work with much detail and is very serious about his work. I have been to a few tattoo shops and this one has been the best thus far. And that’s huge being that I am very picky on who tattoos me. If you want quality work done for a good price by great professionals, this is definitely the shop for you.

Great artists! Great tattoo shop! Shout out to Jersey girl, Rachel! She did a awesome dove on my back which I love! xoxo

I’ve gotten multiple tattoos at multiple places, but David did an incredible job on my latest artwork. Me and my friend went on a holiday weekend, and he even kept the place open for us. So friendly. So welcoming. Great person to talk to. He took his time, even when the lettering was super small. He even followed up to make sure there were no issues. I strongly recommend him and this place. I’d definitely go back!

my friend and set out on a sunday afternoon to shop a few tattoo parlors in hollywood hoping to get some new ink fairly reasonably priced. we both had pretty simple designs in mind, mostly blackline without any shading.
body electric was my first choice but the sunday crew must be a completely different group of people from the rest of the week. when we walked in there were no customers and the workers were all just lounging around. my friend wanted a star design on his forearm about 3″ wide and i wanted a couple handwritten words done in just black ink. my friend was quote $ 250 and i was quoted $ 120. we walked out real quick.
we were on our way to check out freak chic when i saw a sign for «tattoos starting at $ 50.» we figured it couldn’t hurt to stop in so we did and it was pretty full considering the small space, seemed like there were a few regulars and a few first timers there. von is the shop owner and was very friendly and said he was happy to tattoo us next.
i’ll admit i was a little wary because he tends to come off kind of over confident and almost rushed. some people might think he is just whizzing through tattoos as fast as he can just to make another buck. however, it’s clear that von loves what he does, and has been doing it for a long time. our tattoos came out great, and at a fraction of the cost of what we would’ve paid elsewhere.
the only complaint that i had was that when i got home i noticed i was pretty badly bruised around the tattoo, and that generally tends to be indicative of a heavy handed artist. i have two other tattoos and have never been bruised before. it won’t affect the way the tattoo heals, but its definitely not ready to show off yet without freaking people out.
i would probably come here if you want fairly simple, small tattoos that you don’t want to be ripped off on. cash only! i dont know why it says «accepts credit cards» on Unilocal

I had a wonderful experience here. I needed to get a tattoo covered up, due to another artists’s sloppy work. My new pierce was custom drawn, you cannot tell it’s a cover up, and it’s beautiful.

Great place to get a tattoo. Got my calf inked here a couple years back by Von Shock. Cool dude. Very friendly. Has a lounge and patio. This one time I was there some guy passed out for a couple seconds, and Von gave me money to buy some orange juice down stairs to give the guy. There cool, and did an awesome job on my tattoo. Decent fair price. Will definitely go back.

Not over price, clean and friendly… tattoo was done by Mike (burnsie) Who did the amazing piece, just look at the pictures

Zap was one of the first tattoo shops on the block and the experience shows. Shock is a great artist who takes his work seriously. Take a wander upstairs and have a look through the artist’s books to see for yourself.

So… Check it out.
When you see ZAP resting above a 7 – 11 and a Subway, You’re gonna think, «WOAH… This place is kind of a shit-​hole– It HAS to be, right?»…
IT’S WHAT’S ON THE INSIDE THAT COUNTS!!! FO’ SHO’!
Michael «Burnsie» Burns gave me the most BEAUTIFUL, concise & solid-​ass tattoo I have gotten YET! Burnsie was very gentle –Almost no blood. My other tattoos have been total GUSHERS… yeesh
Do yourself a favor… BOOK AN APPOINTMENT WITH BURNSIE– He will rock your shit in a sensitive way, and give you the best tattoo yet!
I went to «El Clasico» (in my neighborhood) to get a quote… TRIPLE DIGITS YOU GUYS… Burnsie… Double digits with cash left for a WELL DESERVED TIP…(YES you should TIP your Tattoo artists. It’s kinda just like a waitress but with more long-​term gratitude)
Burnsie
ZAP
Melrose
Super awesome!

I went here to fix another artist’s sloppy work and it was not-​so-​great.
First– he (the owner) tattooed EXACTLY what I had doodled on myself. I thought he was going to take this 6-​petal flower and redraw it all symetrical and even but he just tattooed over the crappy pen-​line drawing on my wrist. ha ha ha. it’s permanent.
Curiously though throughout the entire process he kept alternately reassuring me «I do very good work» and then boasting about his DJ career and his most favorite place Ibizia. All the reassuring/​posturing made me feel like I was being lied to. I asked him to fix one thing, add a bit more pink to the background. He sort of made me feel bad about needing «more work». Sure enough when the tattoo healed I saw that he only scribbled pink back there and it looks really choppy. I definitely felt like he didn’t have good listening skills and just wanted to do my tattoo easy and fast and collect the required minimum fee. (Which was a lot considering I only needed one square inch of work!!!

I’ve had a couple of experiences here. Got a fairly unelaborate tattoo on my shoulder blade in October 07. It turned out quite well.
A month ago, I made an appointment to have a second tattoo done (again, an easy one consisting of just text). I showed up on the appointment day (a Friday afternoon), right on time. A woman had come in *just* before me, but the artist hadn’t begun her piece (nor had she even paid yet). When I asked if I should come back another time, he said «Naw, she’s just getting a small piece done. Shouldn’t take more than half an hour.» At this point, I had canceled music lessons I was scheduled to teach that afternoon and was thus already eating income to be there, so I figured I would wait.
So, I waited.
And waited.
My girlfriend showed up while I was hanging out. She waited too.
After about 45 minutes or so, I was starting to get concerned about being on time to another commitment I had a little later in the evening, so I asked how much longer I would have to wait,. The artist said, «Maybe another 15 minutes or so. Your tattoo’s actually not gonna take that long, so you’ll make it to your other thing later.»
So, I waited. I really wanted this tattoo.
After my girlfriend and I had waited for a total of *one hour and fifteen minutes*, we finally realized that it was a lost cause and left. The artist asked if I had time later that weekend. I replied, «Maybe Sunday afternoon.» He said, «Will you be in as much of a rush that day?»
That was the exploding-​head moment for me. I had an appointment, and the whole point of making it was to *avoid* a rush that day! I went from being really excited about this tattoo to not even giving a shit whether or not I had it done at all.
Needless to say, I didn’t return. I went the next day to a five-​star-​rated place around the corner from my house, got in without an appointment, and had my tattoo done there.
The artist does good work, and I’m happy with the piece he did for me before. But I found the lack of judgment (in saying that the woman’s piece would only take «half an hour»), unprofessionalism in not honoring an appointment, and rudeness in making me wait to be very off-​putting.