I know we don't mess with our tensions much on our DSM (I know I rarely touch anything on mine!), but on the long arms, the tensions will need to be adjusted to each thread. I have started writing down what works for each thread. Glide needs the tensions dialed WAAAAAY back and an 18 needle, Permacore and Omni are pretty easy..med tensions and they like any needle I throw at them. Try a practice piece and just adjust the tensions with diff thread and take notes! When I got my Innova, the new owners class included a whole day on a sampler. We tried lots of diff quilting ideas and she made us change threads often. I wrote down on my sampler what kind on threads I used where so I could offer them as options when I quilt for others. You might look and see if there is a Yahoo group for HQ. They 'speak' your machine's language and might have other tips and encouragements.PS dont' be surprised when a thread you have been using faithfully gives you FITS. I had that problem recently with Glide. Consider it learning to troubleshoot for next time. I almost have Glide mastered again! I did have to call my tech support on the phone and he is helping me thru it on my own.