After months of research of the machine with a wider throat that would fit my tight budget, I narrowed it down to the Juki 98 and the Brother 1500 s.

Because they were both wonderful machines boasing 1500 stitches per minute, with self-threaders, auto cutters and needle down. They were sooo similar, if not identical, I decided on the Brother 1500 s because of the lower pricing.

I am so pleased with it so far. It is fast, smooth, quiet and most of all the throat is 9" wide and 6.5" high. I bought it through Amazon for $599 and it was delivered 3 days after ordering.

Happy Me....Pauline

Congratulations!! Hope you have a great time with your new machine!

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Congratuations Pauline!! I have had a couple of lower priced Brothers and been very pleased with their performance and reliability.

We plum wore one out after 5 years of making quilts. But I guess the plastic parts in the cheaper ones just can't take the wear. Both me and DH sewed on that one till she just couldn't be adjusted any more, and not worth trying to fix further. :-)

Congratulations Always glad when someone gets new sewing stuff of any magnitude.

Wow, that's a great price for the 1500S. Do you mind saying who the seller was that you purchased from? Sometimes it's difficult on Amazon because there are so many sellers with multiple differing reviews.

I purchased a Brother 1500s last Sept. It also was between that the the Juki. Besides the price, the other thing that sold me was that parts replacement was much less. The Brother dealer compared the replacement of the thread cutter and it was appx. 6Xs the cost for the Juki. And the Brother dealer is close if service is needed. -- I love mine and have it on a Gracy frame at this time. I am tempted to make a table for it to do free motion with it. -- Enjoy.

I went through Amazon and it was from NMAX, Inc. The price was $599.00 plus 27.14 S & H. per FedEx.

I have also seen them for $599.00 before including the S&H.

I went into two local stores to see what they had. They did not have Brother 1500 S but both stores brought out the Juki 98 and said it and the Brother were almost identical. One store said they difference was that the Brother did not have an easy opening for the bobbin, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found out it does have bobbin access without taking the extension table off.

The Juki price scared me. One store wanted $1300 and another wanted $700 but I would have had to also pay shipping charges.

Btw, the Brother is all metal parts which makes me happy. I am keeping my 2 smaller throat machines in case I want zig-zag, but this Brother does FMQ with no problems. I just love it. Pauline

I have the Brother 1500 and it's great. Be sure and oil it a lot. I have taken it apart several times to clean it and it's so simple to clean. Not much to go wrong with it mechanical wise. One time a pin fell in the space where the reverse switch is, it was the only way it could have gotten in the machine. I took the bottom off and there was the pin, that was causing my problem. One time the bobbin winder wouldn't work, I took the top off and found the problem by sight.

Have a long, happy time together! Post pictures of your projects for us to admire!