cheryl222

Does anyone have the upgrades for the Dream Machine? I know you have to have the first one before you can upgrade to the second one. I am wondering if they are worth the cost. Thanks for any input.

Cheesehead

I bought the 1st upgrade last year as soon as it became available. More stipple designs were available on that upgrade. The cost was around $500.

Rhonda K

Our local dealer just showed this upgrade last week. It has some nice features including the workbook. Plus you can watch the videos right on your machine. Will you use/need the features?

Here is a link to the brochure.

http://catalogs.brother-usa.com/holi...ref=bannerSews

I am planning on adding this one to my machine after the new year. Good luck with your decision.

Dolphyngyrl

Upgrades are separate you do not have to have 1 to buy 2. You can pick and choose what upgrade features you want

Stashelf

I have the second upgrade. It was originally $800. My Brother dealer sold it for $400. The workbook is extra at a cost of $250. I was told you could not watch them on your machine. The manual for the new upgrade is 3 pages, that should give you an idea of what you are getting. It is not worth the money esp at its original price. Its a few new designs. The first upgrade was worth it for the 9.5 in hoop.

Stashelf

The part of the upgrade that goes with the design center you have to have the first upgrade, the new designs for the stippling will not work without the first upgrade. The other designs do not need the first upgrade.

cheryl222

Thanks for the input. My dealer said in order to get 2 you had to buy 1. Also he said charge for 1 was $799. I wonder if he is gouging me. He is charging $699 for BES 4 software. Does that sound right?

Stashelf

no, the first upgrade was $500. The second has been discounted to $400. Of all the folks I know that have the dream machine only one person actually bought the second upgrade. I'm not sure about BES. i think I would call another dealer in your area for prices. It would be worth the drive to save hundreds of dollars. Brother is having lots of sales for the holiday, go to their website to see what is on sale.

patricej

$669?
seriously?

BES4 was included when i bought my dream machine 2.
didn't look interesting enough to even install on my computer.
it gathered dust for a year.

so i installed it out of curiosity after seeing this thread.

the included designs are [to me] "ho hum."
there's a decent collection of fonts but nothing that justifies any of the prices i've seen here.
as far as i can tell you are limited lettering. i didn't see anything that lets you draw your own from-scratch non-letter designs.

i might be rushing to judgement but i am not impressed.
for that price, can't one find full-blown embroidery creation/design software?
(seriously ... i don't know.)

Rhonda K

I've attended a few classes on this software. It does a little more. There are 199 different fonts, monogram layouts, and the wireless feature. It is worth playing with just not "worth" being crazy expensive. Mine was included in machine (#2) too.

The path function lets you move the letters along a specified "path" such as angles and curves. Lots of fun with applique too.

The problem with software, in my honest op, is the price of upgrading when a "new" feature/function comes along.

The all inclusive Floriani is about 2K from my understanding. If you attend a show there are usually steep discounts.

Be sure to bargain hard with dealer.

Good luck!