Originally Posted by IrishNY

I have a Bernina that I love but want to buy a backup machine. I want to spend under $1000, so not top of the line but good quality (remember, I am used to a Bernina ;-) ).

Here's the catch - I don't care about lots of stitches, embroidery, etc. I want a great straight stitch, automatic tension, knee lift, needle up/down, feed dogs that can be dropped. I would love to have a warning about low bobbin thread, automatic thread cutter and self-threading but can live without one or all of these if I have to. And a wide throat space would be wonderful!

I've looked at the Janome 6600 but it seems like more machine than I want. The 6500 doesn't have the dual feed and I think I would like that.

I don't want a old machine - I know they are basic and well-built. I have a FW and love it but want a backup that stands up to sewing really fast because that's the way I sew.

I kind of want to trade off having a zillion extras on the machine for high quality basics. Does such a machine exist?

As you can tell, I am really confused about what's out there and I don't have time to check out every type of machine. If I could get a few suggestions from you experts, it would help tremendously. Thanks in advance! ;) ;-)