I'm looking at new machines. I would love to but the Janome horizon but that is out of my price range. I have also looked at the Janome MC6500 & 6600. Does anyone on the site have any pros & cons about any brand, make or model. Thanks for any help.

this is a great site for reviews:
http://sewing.patternreview.com/SewingMachine/

you can search by brand also. I have the 6600.i love her..

I am looking for a new machine, would love a Bernina, but a bit pricey. My friend who owns one is going away for a month, and how lucky am I?. SHE IS LETTING ME HAVE HER BERNINA FOR ALL THE TIME SHE IS AWAY. The only problem is. how am I going to resist one later?

They both look like really nice machines. The price for the 6500 looks good, but I didn't see a price for the 6600. I have never had a Janome. The owner of our LQS has a fancy Bernina, but she was impressed by the Janomes. She researched all of the companies out there and chose Janomes to carry in her store. I would take her recommendation if I were in the market for a machine. (I may be poor at the moment, but I am not machine poor.) The Janomes are made elsewhere, but their company is in the USA. They will also have some nice specials closer to Christmas.

One difference between Bernina and Janome is that the Janome come with many different feet, with Bernina you have to purchase them separately and they average around a hundred dollars. Bernina's are great machines but so are Janome. I'd rather purchase the machine and the feet at the same time.

I have three Janome's, and they have never let me down.
I have two 6600, and a 1600p.

Sadie, they run around $1,500.00
mine came with the extension table and plenty of feet to start you off. the regular feet are snap on..with the bar.
any feet you buy are not expensive.
i was blessed, that they let me do 12 months same as cash, it was my first machine..it is not the kind of machine you carry around with you ..it weighs about 25 pounds. to heavy for me. so when i paid that off i bought the Jem Platinum..a 12 pounder!

My Husband just bought me for my birthday last month a Janome 6500. I LOVE IT>>>>> Have no negative comments at all. Love the feel of it, all the decorative stitches, the thread cutter, the presser foot up and down feature, it has some amazing stitches on it that allows it to automatically back stitch ( which is something I forget.) Yes it was price but I had no choice. :) He insisted. Happy hunting.... Beth

ps it was 1500 for the table, sewing machine and the binding tool. We got a discount because it was the floor model.

I through the years have had a Brother, Singer, Viking, and now
a Berina. My friend now sells the Baby Lock. Which I have sewed
on. It just depends on how many bells and whissles you want.
If you want a basic machine, most of the name brands are good
buys. I love my machine. The Baby Lock has really neat features
too, like a button that cuts your thread, Viking has a feature of
in machine bobbin winder. I would go to all kinds of shops and
sit and try them all, you often know as soon as you sit down at
one if you think it is for you. Don't go overboard unless you really
need all the options. Will you really use them. Good luck!

I would have bought the 6600, but was able to wait a little longer and get the 7700. There is a yahoo group for the 6500/6600 that you might find useful too