I've heard only good things about that Juki, but $1200 seems high to me. Other SS machines like the Brother P1500 are going for $600-$1000. Babylock, Janome, Elna, Pfaff, & Viking all have SS machines with a 9" throat. The Juki 98 has a couple versions (E? Q?-I forget) for $700 & $900 respectively. Check out reviews and discussion on patternreview.com.