I have a brother PQ1500 and I adore it ! I use it for piecing and free motion, and I find it VERY simple to switch from one mode to another. Once I played with the tension on some practice FMQ sandwiches when I first got it I have not had to touch the tension know at all since. It stitches perfect piecing and FMQ , the only things I change when switching is the pressure foot pressure know and drop my feed dogs to the PIN feed setting , minus the pin in the feed dogs ( I find I get better control with my FMQ using the PIN feed setting rather then dropping them all the way down. I got a great deal on mine online and have never regretted it ! It says that it can be used on a frame as well should I ever move to a place with enough room to have one I plan on getting one !