Originally Posted by marsharini (Post 8470497)

I’ve had my Jazz II for a year now and am totally satisfied with its performance, both sewing and FMQ. It’s a mechanical machine, so it obviously has a different feel than my electronic machine, but it does everything I need it to do and I love that I can now quilt my own queen or king quilts.

Originally Posted by cgsumter (Post 8470350)

I own the Jazz II but I have not had a lot of sewing time on it. It was not difficult to set up and it is capable of many more options other than straight stitch. I recently read some quilters say that they got better results free motion quilting when they left the feed dogs up. I do not remember where I read it.
I like the fact that it is not computerized. I had some problems with tension when I first started using it, but I was reading the bobbin winding diagram incorrectly.

Originally Posted by cgsumter (Post 8470350)

I own the Jazz II but I have not had a lot of sewing time on it. It was not difficult to set up and it is capable of many more options other than straight stitch. I recently read some quilters say that they got better results free motion quilting when they left the feed dogs up. I do not remember where I read it.
I like the fact that it is not computerized. I had some problems with tension when I first started using it, but I was reading the bobbin winding diagram incorrectly.

Originally Posted by ILoveToQuilt (Post 8470544)

I have the original Jazz and love it. Have had zero problems with mine.

Meadow: a mechanical machine is just that. There is no computer. You set stitch length, width, etc. by hand. Choose your stitch pattern by hand.Think of the older/vintage machines that have no computers; they are all "mechanical" machines. If you go to the Baby Lock website and put in Jazz or Jazz II, you will see a photo of the actual machine. Hope this explains it.

Originally Posted by thepolyparrot (Post 8470331)

The idea of industrial machines is kind of scary, but if all you want is a machine with lots of throat space and gives you a great straight stitch and the ability to remove the feed dogs that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, an industrial might be the way to go.

I bought mine for bag making - it's super heavy duty and I could sew saddle leather if I wanted to, but by changing the feed dogs and plate, I can sew fine fabrics, too. I make a bunch of rayon jersey blouses and stretch jeans every few months.

And in January, I set it up with a darning plate and started quilting with it - it's got almost 11" between the needle and pillar. Giant M bobbin, so I can quilt for a long time without running out. I wind the empty bobbin while I'm sewing and I don't have to remove the quilt to change when it runs out, again.

It's extremely quiet and VERY fast - I had to turn the speed way down in order to re-learn FMQ. :) Base price was $995, but it came to almost $1200 with shipping plus the extra feet, bobbins, extra bobbin case and a couple of accessories I wanted for bags.

It took me an afternoon to set it up by myself, including carrying it upstairs. It came with holes pre-drilled, and clear assembly instructions in a video that went step by step.

You are pretty much on your own when you buy an industrial machine. I had refurbed enough vintage machines that I wasn't
intimidated at doing my own maintenance. They're actually very simple mechanical machines.

Shop around and see if that option appeals to you. :)