HPepper

Before I knew to ask around, I bought an Artisan flatbed and cylinder bed. The Artisan flatbed's motor has always been very iffy. They replaced it already for me, and it still is a problem ... hesitates when I have any kind of thickness at all. My Artisan cylinder bed won't accept heavy thread, which it is supposed to. The timing reset button never worked. It jams easily and very, very badly... (I've been sewing for 30+ years, so I'm not a stranger to machines.) When you need your machine to work, and it won't, and this happens repeatedly -- exactly what have you got? neither your investment dollars nor a functioning machine. And you feel like a fool for buying their stuff and putting yourself at their mercy. I bought the Cobra Class 4 about a half-year ago, and it's been purring ever since. It'll roll through the thickest stuff I give it like it was butter. The control is superb. It tracks straight as a string. I'm able to sew really tight curves, never skips a stitch. It's everything I've ever wanted, and I'm going to purchase the EPS upgrade so that it's even better. And it's as silent as a breeze, which isn't critical but it's nice. The presser foot makes a groove that the thread sits down into, so the stitch looks handmade. Very attractive stitch. ** Speaking of which, you need to look at samples of stitches put out by each machine you're considering. There is stitch quality discrepancy among the different brand machines. good luck with your decision. P.