beaglelady

The Babylock and the Janome are at the same dealer. He seems to know more about the Janomes though. He was really pushing the Janome 8900 and thought I would like it for quilting. The lady that demonstrates the machines in the shop said Janomes were quieter and smoother to run than the Babylocks. They only had an Ellisimo Gold Babylock and it was set up for embroidery so I didn't get to try it. I wish they had one with the laser because I would really like to see it and try it before actually ordering a Crescendo.

Geri B

For that kind of money, I would insist he get one in so it can be tried out...if he is a dealer for both, he should have these available for potential buyers......maybe he gets a better deal from janome...reason for pushing it.....don't know just saying. JMHO

bigredharley

Crescendo hands down! I LOVED mine and only traded it for the Unity which is the same machine with embroidery.

RipStitcher

It takes all of about 30 seconds to change that machine over for sewing... and the pattern in the hoop won't be affected at all. You definitely need to try it.

chiaraquilts

Traded my Janome 7700 for a Crescendo and LOVE it...like you there wasn't one available to try but the Unity was and it is really the same machine without the embroidery module. I find piecing much easier on the Crescendo and FMQ is great. After several months of heavy duty use, I have no complaints at all, just love it!

MamaHen

Don't believe the dealer when he says that the Janome is quieter than the Baby Lock. I have the 7700 and have had it for about 3 years, I purchased a Baby Lock Ellisimo Gold 2 a few months ago, and I can tell you the difference is amazing. The Baby Lock is so much smoother & quieter than the Janome, and beats it hand down. The BL also sews much straighter seams and goes over bulky seams much easier. I think the Bl's are worth every penny. I'm thinking of selling my 7700 because I don't need two big machines. Insist on trying out the Baby Locks & the Janomes at your dealers before buying, spend time sewing on them, not just a couple of minutes. If they won't do that, & sit down with you showing you the features & letting you sew, find another dealer.

beaglelady

For anyone with a Crescendo - is the instruction manual easy to understand? It sounds as though if I order the Crescendo the dealer and I will be learning together as she is not familiar with that machine. I am leaning toward ordering one as it sounds by the responses I have got that it is the better machine. (Thank you for your help) I think the laser would be good as my eyes are getting lousy as I get older. I will ask to sew on the Ellisimo Gold today so I can get a feel of what a Babylock is like. I live in a fairly small town and it is a 10 hour drive to a large city and I would like to buy from the local dealer if possible.

RipStitcher

I'm in total agreeement with MamaHen... and my experience was about the same - except I got the two machines within 6 months of each other. I had heard so many people talk about the BL being for embroidery (and notsomuch for sewing) that it tainted my opinion a bit when I was first shopping. Also, I do like making bags and weird projects.. that that dual feed on the Janome is hands down the best when it comes to muscling heavy or odd objects... to the point I was afraid I would miss it if I sold it... but so far, I'm OK.

As for someone else saying that the Janome is quieter... I don't quite get how that can be... in my case, the BL hums compared to the Janome..... but I didn't find the Janome to be a problem on that front, anyway.

RipStitcher

Beaglelady...

The BL manuals are *great* compared to Janome... unless Janome has improved that in the last year or so.

Also ask to see the "Inspiration Guide" binder for the BL... and just know that this is a common "throw in" to the package to get you to buy. The price on those guides is about $100-120 .. but it seems to be added in a package quite often. Also, (for BL again) ... ask about having the accessory zip up case that comes with about another 20-25 feet thrown in. That usually has about a $500 price - but again, it's another perk for packages.

citruscountyquilter

I don't have experience with Baby Lock but I recently purchased a Janome 9800 and I can tell you the price he is offering you is a really good price. It was very difficult for me to find pricing information on this machine when I was shopping and I asked on this board and others were helpful. In my shopping and asking around I found over $1000 spread on what people paid for their machine. I finally found on one site that the MRP on the machine is $4999 or near that but no one I found paid even close to that. The range was from the mid $2000's to the high $3,000's. Many purchased a cruise model 8900. These machines had been used on a quilting cruise and so could not be sold as new. I did learn that Janome does not allow this particular machine to be sold on-line, only through dealers. So far I'm really liking my machine. Good luck on your search and purchase.