The (inexpensive) Brother machines I've seen (and I have one) have pretty small throat areas, making it harder to FMQ, altho it IS possible. Janome has a alightly larger throat. At this point, I either FMQ on my Janome or on a vintage Singer 201-2...and if I was only going to keep one of those machines it would be the Singer 201-2...it has the larger throat on it, and handles the bulk easier. I don't need the zigzag type stitches, I only use straight stitches...and if I do need zigzags, I have attachments for it.