Originally Posted by
Shelbie
I have the Janome 6500 and it has been the most expensive machine that I have ever bought and the one that I have not liked! I'm sure that I got the one made at ten to five just before a long weekend. It's had a lot of problems and so have I. I definitely have had a love/hate relationship with this machine. There are some features that I really like, needle up-down, needle threader and thread cutter. I haven't liked the feed dogs (set in at an angle and have never fed fabric in correctly), bobbin case that rattles and bangs unless you oil the oil wick under it, a machine that veers off at any seam junction, dislikes thicker fabric and growls and sometimes jams or knots up for no particular reason and all of these problems were caused by "operator error" according to my dealer. I never want another Janome and am presently looking at the Juki Exceed 600 and the Juki TL2010Q. I could buy both of these machines for what I paid for my Janome 6500. I really think that there are no perfect machines out there. It's just a matter of finding (hard to do) the best one for you and a dealer that is willing and able to work with you to resolve any problems.
Shelbie, you are the first negative report on the 6500,/ or Janome in general, that I have heard of that I can remember. I had the same problem with the bobbin noise, but discovered that I was using the wrong size bobbins and thread knots and noises were generally because I had it threaded wrong or using the wrong kind of thread. I liked my 6500 so much I up-graded it to the 6600 when it came out, but didn't go to the 7700 only because I retired and didn't want to spend the extra money. I have six Janome machines and love them all, but use the 6600 for most of my sewing. Sorry you had such a bad experience with Janome machines because they really are work horses.