help needed

hi all first time on this or any forum. I am currently coming to the end of my apprenticeship but have a few problems. where i live there is no apprenticeships available at any other studio and not to piss all over the tutoring i have had which has been amazing but there are things that i have not been able to learn whilst being here. In particular the use of magnum needles. I started as a scratcher but always wanted a proper apprenticeship so when the opportunity arose i was and will forever be grateful. What ive learned could fill the grand canyon but the shop owner refuses to use magnum needles of any kind, citing that all they do is chew up the skin and do a poor job. I know this to be totally inaccurate and studying various artists work i see far superior results using mag groupings as opposed to round shader. also the shop uses a one machine for all jobs set up, now prior to getting the gig i was using 2-3 machines for a tattoo, (i will add by the way that i only practiced on myself, i wasnt scratching my way through friends and all that for a quick buck) the machine that they use is a hybrid, which really i dont see the variation in speed, throw etc when all they do is up the voltage with no tuning or a variant spring gauge, so thus leads to my second issue which is tuning a machine, for obvious reasons this information was very thin on the ground when i was scratching and as with the shop there has been obviously no training there. Now i am not looking answers to these issues but as i will be working full time in the shop very soon how does anybody think i should approach these problems because i always want to remain respectful and appreciative of the opportunity the owner has given me but i want to push myself beyond these limitations. Any help will be greatly appreciated

If I read your post correctly it sounds to me like you are going to continue to work at the same shop, is this correct? This is a touchy situation you are in, first because you seem to be genuinely grateful and sincerely care about what you have been trained to do-but lets be real. Reading your post and just going on what you told me it sounds like the shop your in is run by a scratcher anyways. When most of them start out they buy MAYBE one to two machines-thats it, and most care little about learning their machines, adjustment etc and end up using easier to set up machines eventually. Now this is NOT to say that EVERY shop who uses a simplier machine set up is this way, I personally do NOT use any coils simply because I am older and my hands like the feel of the them much better-but that DOES NOT mean I cannot take apart my older coils or understand their inner workings etc, Moving on. Mags. YES in the wrong hands mags can seriously mess up someone's skin-seen it personally. Now your typical scratcher type will start off using rounds, and eventually pick up a mag. With the mag they soon discover "Holy Mother I just f'd someone up!" get scared and NEVER and I do mean NEVER pick up a mag again, as it is the Debil (sorry I love Waterboy!) But humor aside this is going from my experiences in this field, again I am only giving you my personal view on this. Not all scratchers end up this way, some learn (as in your case as well as others) and become good if not amazing artists, yet the good ones and those who become those amazing artists find themselves with the right mentor eventually...those who don't...well you know where they end up. As much as your ethics may be telling you to stay at the shop, I would consider seriously into finding a mentor that 1. Uses mags and 2. Can guide you with machines. They are out there-believe me, and looking for someone who wants to learn and who wants to grow as well. I had a friend of mine who started out of his house, eventually hooked up with an aweful shop, left and hooked up with an amazing machine builder and artist and has been doing conventions etc...I have seen his art grow and his tattooing skills along with it-he wouldn't accept less from his mentor and it paid off. He has won awards for his art...and I am glad that I can say "I knew him when." We all at some point land a crappy shop, what we do with it afterwards is what matters...dude-move on.