try on line comparisons
 

go on line & compare the Juki 98Q which is abut $900 & the Janome 6600P about $1500. I have both, great machines, Juki is straight stitch, Janome does everything. Both have needle up/down, auto threaders, auto thread cut, good sized throats, & FMQ excellent. Janome has more feet & embroidery function & soo many more options than the Juki, I've had mine 4 yrs & still learning. Love these 2 machines. Do mostly piecing & quilting on mine.

Another vote for the Brother 1500s. Mine was just under $600, straight stitch only , thread cutter, pin feed, feed dog drop, little over 9" throat length, good height, super slick extension table included, two thread holders. A real workhorse.
PS I even prefer to do most of my piecing on it now.

I have a Bernina QE. Which I have had for around 12 years and use for piecing. I just bought the Babylock Tiara for quilting. No feed dogs. You can free motion, stitch in the ditch, etc, etc Mine came with a stitch regulator Next best thing to a long arm!

I have the Juki 98Q, and love it! I love it for piecing, I love it for quilting. Other than this last quilt, I always look forward to quilting. You can see my quilts Here.....most of them are quilted on my Juki. It has made all the difference in getting quilts finished.

I got mine new a few years ago for $625. It is straight stitch only, and I am not sure about me using the 1200 stitches per minute, but I do sew faster than my Pfaff or Viking will sew. It has a thread cutter and a knee lift, and I really use both of those. The needle always ends up DOWN in the fabric, and you either have to turn the hand wheel, or hit the needle up-needle down button, or when you hit the button to cut your threads the needle comes up. I am fine with it staying down...never bothers me in the least because that is usually what I want it to do.

The thing with the 98Q is it is mechanical. I had the take-up spring break on me...I have no idea why. My husband I replaced it...I just called one of the shops and ask how to do it...and we did it easily. Yahoo has a forum for the Juki 98E but they talk about the 98Q...they are basically the same...forget the difference...no thread-cutter or no knee lift or maybe neither on the 98E.. Anyway, there are a couple guys on there that can help you with about anything.

The only thing, they no longer make this model, though you might be lucky enough to get one used. But I SO love it. They have replaced it with the 2010....

I do have the Juki Exceed F 600 that has all the bells and whistles, and I did quilt this little table topper on it. It is the only thing I have quilted on it...and it was fine. But I much prefer my Juki 98Q....maybe cause I am so used to it.

Whatever you decide to get, you can always offer less than they are asking. They were asking around $900 for my Juki when I bought it, and Joanns carried it at that time and they were asking even more. I really had a hard time paying that much for a straight stitch only machine, but I have never regretted it.

And when I was reading the Yahoo forum...so many people used it and liked it better than their Pfaffs, Berninas, Vikings, etc...and I had a Pfaff and Viking...and I preferred it for piecing. I never dreamed I would ever do regular sewing on anything other than the Pfaff.

Anyway, do research, and ask around....I have never heard anyone disappointed in the Brother 1500s either...nor their Janome.

I have a Bailey and like it. No regrets. It can be used in a sit-down situation or put on a frame. I use mine as a sit-down. It is just a plain jane--fm quilts, period. I got mine for $1,500 and has a 15" throat. I think the 17" throat is about 500 or so more. And recently they've come out with a 21" throat for about $3,000. It has a stitch regulator which doesn't regulate stitch length, but regulates speed of stitch. That's about $600 more.

I don't have the stitch regulator. I've found that, after using it a while, I can regulate length of stitch and speed of machine without it.

Also you can buy a PC Computer software that will attach to your frame. With that you can do anything that the longarm pros do. It's very expensive though.

It is pretty much a Janome machine inside. The only problems I've had is with tension. From what I've read on our Baily-specific forums, not everyone has the same problems. Mine is picky about thread/tension. Other than that I really like mine. I worried about who I would get to repair it (because it ships from a small company in NY), but I was told that any Janome repair man could fix it. Also, Chuck (the owner) will pretty much walk you through a lot of your issues on the phone with no charge.

My biggest complaint is not about the machine. It's ordering. They are a small business and have lots of business, so sometimes your online order can go astray. You're best served by calling them on the phone and then be sure to call back after a week or two, because even that can get lost. I don't think that happens a lot, but it did happen to me.

This machine is a workhorse, though. It is inexpensive and gets the FM job done well. My advice when buying one to buy the biggest one you can afford. I have a 15" and it does all sizes. However, the weight of my 120" King that I'm working on presently, is very heavy. I can quilt it, but it would be so much easier with a few more inches within the throat.

I suggest you sign up to the Yahoo group and to the FaceBook page for Bailey Home Quilter. Then just look around at the issues they are talking about and look at pics of quilts they're quilting.

I love love LOVE my Brother PQ1500 ! The Juki 2010Q is also an awesome and very similar machine but it comes with speed control ( the brother does not ) and is in the same price range. If I had known about the speed control on the Juki before getting my brother that is where I wuold have gone, but I love my brother now , it just took time to get my foot / hand speed under control !

I love my Janome 7700 - 11 inch throat - great machine.

I also recommend the Janome 6600! Smooth, lots of beautiful stitches, accu feed, it has it all. I had one and my friend had the new Pfaff Creative Sensation, which cost around 8K. We were making a quilted bag with lots of layers, zippers and batting. We had to leave the Pfaff because it kept breaking needles. We used the Janome and it sewed through those layers like a hot knife through butter! You can't go wrong with this machine!

Me, too.
Among others, I also have a Brother PQ1500, and Juki HZL-400.

My fmq is smoothest and easiest on the Juki. But it's harp is approximately 7". If it had the 11" harp like my Janome it would beat it (in my eyes) hands down. I paid under $800 for the Juki, and it came with tons of stuff.
Paid about $2400 for my Janome, and about $600 for my Brother 1500.

Like several others have said, it's nice if you have the option to try some different ones out before you buy.

I also have purchased all but one of mine online, and I've had excellent customer support.

Regards,
Kif

Ditto on the 6600p I am on my 3rd queen size on it, just SID so far as I haven't practised the FMQing on it..yet