Hand turn it and see if you hear the same noise. They do make noise if the bobbin area is full of lint. I prefer the 99 over the featherweight except when you have to lift them. I have a real old Singer 99 fitted with a hand crank. My grand daughter just loves that machine. It is so quiet and smooth. It is well worn or should I say just getting broken in... it will outlast my grand daughter IMHO. I think it is a matter of bobbin preference. If you have to take one apart the 99 wins hands down. They are much less expensive who knows why. The other couple cool beans machines 3/4 size are the Singer Spartan and the Singer 185. The Singer 66 is pretty much the same thing as the 99 but bigger than the 99. Another great machine besides the 201 is the 15 series. The older the better.