DACO48

I also have the 6600. I love it more than any other machine I have had over the years including a Bernina. I have never had to have anything done to it, but regular cleaning. I love the accufeed and I just bought the FM bobbin holder so I don't have to mess with the tension on my regular one.

spokanequilter

I have the Horizon and I love it - thread cutter, 1/4" seam foot, lighting, everything!! I have a crib sized Grace quilt frame and the Horizon works really well on it. I'm not familiar with the 6600, so can't compare.

cat-on-a-mac

I have the Horizon and am (now) very happy with it. I did, however, have a rocky start. My original machine was just a lemon, I guess. I had several major breakdowns in the first 6 months that I had it. Finally, I wrote the Janome and they arranged for me to get a replacement unit. No problems since!

I love the large throat and the extra lighting. I just recently did a quilt with a lot of metallic thread and different stitches (FMQ and built-in patterns), and it worked great. I do wish it was easier to change the accufeed feet.

QuiltE

Along with the blue dot bobbin case, I hope you also got the FMQ Foot Set. It has a foot holder with three interchangeable feet. The two together makes FMQ and the set up much easier!


For anyone considering a new machine ... I highly suggest you compare the specs from one machine to the other and get to know the differences between them. You'll find some machines virtually the same with slight differences. Not always the upper level machine is what you want or need as sometimes the lower machine might have a feature your "really" want.

The 6600 and 7700 are very similar ... slight differences, with pros and cons for each. In general, if you like one you will like the other, though it's important to know why one is for you more so than the other ... and too, other brands!

Have FUN shopping DebQ2 ... and I'll look forward to hearing the final verdict and outcome!

Hebburn

Can I ask you ladies how you manage to do FMQ on the Janome 6600 ?
I bought this machine, used, no instruction book, so I can't check.

Can someone take time to give me a step by step (idiot's guide) to doing FMQ on 6600 ?
Do I alter tension ?
Which foot ?
Lower feed feet ?
Do I use number 1 on the press button selection ?
etc etc etc..

Help !

*H*

GailG

I've had a Janome MC4000 for many years and love it, but it's not great for machine quilting because of the small harp. I'd love a Horizon, but I'm sure that it really out of the question. The JMC works great for quilting small quilts, though.

QuiltE

The manual is downloadable on the Janome website.

justflyingin

I only have the Horizon and I really like the features others have mentioned. I upgraded from a cheap Pfaff with almost no bells and whistles (but sewed fine) with a small harp/throat space. Having all that room makes a WORLD of difference. I also like the lights. I like the even feed, thread cutter, needle threader, the easy way to put the feed dogs down and just how easy it is to actually quilt on it. I have only actually FMQed about 4 quilts, but I think that I am going to learn to love it using this machine. I've been using it to sew for almost 2 years now and have some some stitch in the ditch--but the FMQ seems so much easier.

So, while it seems expensive to jump up to such a machine (from a $200 Pfaff), I'm so glad that I did. The Horizon is a quality machine--you can feel it--it is sturdy, runs steadily and seems to be a workhorse. I'm very grateful for mine.

And I'll have to admit before I bought this one, I'd never heard of Janome. (Blush, blush). Pfaff, Bernina, Singer, Kenmore, New Home, etc...but not Janome. But when I wanted to buy a 'higher end' machine here in Poland, my choices were very limited. For me it was good as it cut down on the shopping time. I compared by using reviews on the internet and ordered...

But as far as I know, people are very happy with their 6600s. I paid 5000 zl in 2010, which was about $1900. I think compared to what most of you are having to pay, that was a good deal. I read that just now some are paying that for the Horizon. I don't know what a new 6600 would cost here.

sewbeadit

I chose the 6600 over the 7700 horizon because of several things. We had a budget of so much and stuck to it. Also there are several different great things on the 7700 I didn't need. The 6600 filled my needs. I love it. I have also heard great reviews about the 7700.

This is important if you are looking at the 7700 Horizon, my dealer told me that they are coming out with a new 7700 Horizon that will have an easier throat plate to replace and some other things that sounded good but can't remember them all. She said she thought they may put the current one to where you can buy it online instead of just through the dealers. Don't know what the new one would be priced at or if they will lower the price on the one from right now.

Janome also makes the 12000 Horizon (top of the line) and I think someone might have confused that with the embroidery with the 7700. It may pay to wait and talk to your dealer and buy when you can see the newone.

Hebburn

Thank you