Which is the better machine Brother PQ1500S or Juki TL2010Q?
 

I need a machine specifically for free motion quilting. I would like to use it with a grace quilting frame. I know the Brother is cheaper. Is the Juki a better machine or just cost more? Please let me know your thoughts on this.

I'm in the pondering stage as well. There have been many threads about these models if you do a search using the advanced search feature. I'm really coveting the auto thread cutter that's on the foot control of the Juki. For that feature alone, it may be worth the extra money since I would use that a lot.

I asked the same question to the guy that works on my older Singer machines. He told me that the Juki was a better machine. He said the inside parts are all metal, not plastic. He also said that he has rarely seen a Juki for repairs and that he has had issues getting parts for Brother when they do need service. Between his recommendation and the great reviews, I went with the Juki. I love mine!!! There are people who have the Brother and are very happy with it though. I waited for my tax refund to buy the Juki...but if I didn't have that money coming, I may have taken a chance on the Brother. There is a Yahoo group for the Juki...I wouldn't be surprised if there is one for Brother. It might be worth a shot to go there and read what they say about it.

There are 96 reviews of the Brother on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Brother-PQ1500...dp/B003C29EL4/
There are 13 reviews of the Juki on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/TL-2010Q-Locks...dp/B00AAZU1KE/
I believe the Juki is a much newer machine.

Also check out reviews at http://www.patternreview.com . You need to create a free login to access all of the reviews. Select "sergers/sm" and put in the brand name, then scan the reviews for the models.

In general, I give more weight to people who have used a machine for more than a week or two, as they are more likely to have a balanced view.

In the past I have seen a few comments about tension issues with the Brother, more so than with the Juki.

Funny you should ask, I took a machine quilting class with Cindy Needham and used her Juki machine for the first two days. During the class I bought a used Brother machine and used it for the last two days. I was sitting next to a woman who had just purchased a used Juki so we were helping each other. Both machines worked well, and looked almost exactly alike. Threaded the same, bobbin the same. We thought maybe they were made by the same manufacturer. Frankly I didn't see much difference between the two. The foot pedal on the Juki does have the thread cutter and a separate plug for it. I haven't had too many tension problems with my Brother. I've used Mettler polyester and cotton, Superior So Fine, King Tut, and something sparkly from Superior, and YSL. I did have a bit of trouble with aurifil but I didn't spend a lot of time fooling around with it. I bought my machine from the wife of a sewing machine repair guy so it was in top notch shape and he and his wife were there to help me the first few days so that probably helped. You can't go wrong with either. If you think you need the thread cutter on the foot I would go with the Juki. I'm fine with the thread cutter on the machine. Good luck. I've had my machine for a year or so now. Made several bed quilts and wallhangings. I love it. It goes like a bat out of hell though. I've had to really work on foot control. Juki does too, if I remember correctly.

I have heard juki makes the brother so they are probably built to jukis standard just less features. They are both popular machines and I am sure you would be happy with either since they function the same

The Juki2010Q has speed control, so you can rabbit or tortoise your speed. I love the foot control cutter--I was making string blocks the other day and could turn the square without pulling it out to cut threads--a real time-saver. I have a small Brother for stitching decorative stitches and making buttonholes, but I haven't tried the model you mentioned. It's a personal choice, but I love my Juki! :)

I have the Brother PQ1500S and I love it! I've had it a couple years and have pieced 5 quilts and quilted 3 on it. It has excellent speed control, so you can go slow enough to do one stitch at a time or really fast. It's mechanical, not computerized. Just a machine-machine, so if something is off, you can figure out what it is.

I can't compare to the Juki, which I've never used or seen.