I believe the melody gets really good ratings. I think it is used and promoted by Mary Fons from the Fon's & Porter quilting show and she uses it as her primary machine and she is a quilter. The warranty is not much different as I have had both babylock and brother. I think babylock has a gold warranty which is an additional purchase, but there are no special additional classes with the machine, just the ones provided by the dealer, and some dealer offer extended warranties on all their machines, mine does this on all. I know they usually run over 1200 I think. I have had only brothers and 1 brother made babylock, and none have given me any problems, all were very reliable machines. i wouldn't hesitate to buy the melody. The one thing about babylock is they do spend a great deal more money on promotional advertising and education so their brother equivalents are often much cheaper and you are getting the same machine so keep that in mind to if price is an issue you might be able to swing the brother version of the melody for a little less if you have a dealer nearby. It's nice to see someone support their loved ones hobby so eagerly.