I have had no trouble at all with my 6600 but I ONLY use branded Janome bobbins and good quality branded thread - Superior, YLI or Aurifil specifically. IMO it's idiotic to spend all that money on a decent machine then penny pinch on the parts and supplies. A lot of the issues I read about on here are ppl using cheap supplies. They then criticise the machine for 'going wrong' or 'misbehaving'. This makes me mad. I've read this whole thread and ppl are being put off buying Janome by some of the comments here and that isn't fair. Properly looked after and maintained, it's an excellent machine.