I have sewn on a lot of machines, anything from a singer 111w, phaffs, consew 226r (my personal machine for 30 years) consew 206r, 206rbl, 744, marrow machines, sergers. and computer controlled embroidery machines. I'm restoring a singer 144w 30" long arm, with no reverse. I personally like consews but any machine you feel comfortable at and sews without skipping stiches or jamming is a good machine. a good retailer will let you try any of their machines. I heard one local business that will let you try a machine for a week. try as many as you can, you will find one that is rite for you.

I was courious as i was contemplating a twin needle long arm to add to my finger eater.
The 132 has served me well for 25years.

Do it. Best thing I ever did was buy a brand new machine (Juki1508) i wish i had done it years ago

Guess I spoiled myself. I've been in a few shops and most machines I see are as old as 70 years. The day I turned from hobbiest to business owner, I powered up a brand new servo driven Juki DNU-1541. So easy to use, very smooth operation and the tensioning system keeps a steady strain with no drift at all. So far, i guess I'm a juki man, looking at thier LU-1510N Top Stitcher

I have used a Consew 226R for years , best thing I did was upgrade it to a servo drive,
so much smoother operating . Worth every penny

Just a heads up, if you're considering a NC Sewing Machine, they have some awesome SEMA deals available until Nov 3 -- including huge discounts, free shipping and an unprecedented 5-year limited warranty. You don't even need to attend the SEMA Show to take advantage of them: https://goo.gl/RXhWeM

Thanks for that

I'm using a Mitsubishi LU2 4710. It's really more of a factory or production sewing machine, but man this thing is awesome. Servo motor with needle position sensor, auto back-tack, auto thread cutter, auto foot lift, adjustable walking height, etc! I bought it used for around 2K. the new ones are really expensive.

If your are looking to replace your main machine, I would definitely look into a servo computer controlled machine. Though maybe not the Mitsu. its an awesome machine but the manuals are poorly translated, parts are pricey and a bit harder to find. There are plenty of manufactures making these machines. Although you will pay for the quality of a production machine, they are made to run all day year round. In my 7 years with my machine the only part I've ever replaced is my feed dog, and it was probably a 10 year old machine when I bought it.

For an additional machine the double needle long arm would be an awesome addition. I would love to ad one of those to my arsenal as well as a double needle post bed for french stitching. Personalty I would go for the post bed first. Though the flat bed would have cut my time in half sewing a full yard of 2.5" double stitch diamonds yesterday.

I'f you have been thinking about the double for a while now I would go for it. You probibly find yourself saying the same thing as Naseem

i wish i had done it years ago — Naseem Muaddi

If your interested in computer servo stuff I made a vid for the previous forum to show some of the functions Computer, servo machine

If you find a good used machine a servo motor is a simple bolt in replacement. You might need to change the belt. They are great; worth every penny.