Interesting that an earlier post said the juki same as the brother/babylock. About 15 years ago now, a dealer once told me the same thing and I left not really believing it but he is someone I trust. All of these machines, including the janome 1600p, are so similar - that price would be my guide if i were buying today. I might lean toward the 1500 for its pin-feed and because for years now I hear how wonderfully they FM. I have owned several vintage singer straight-stitchers and once sold a perfectly fine 201 so I could replace it with a 15-91. I must say, I do prefer the 15 for FM and I believe garment sewers prefer the 201 for a ss only machine for their own reasons. Now you do miss the auto thread-cutters and needle up/down and speed-control, but for a couple hundred you can get a very nice, solid machine recessed in a perfectly made all-wood cabinet that can keep up with anything we buy new today. If only the brother 1500/juki types offered just a FEW more stitches..zig-zag and blanket...and left everything else the same, it'd be wonderful. I was excited about the babylock jazz doing just that but reviews on that one have not been inspiring. I really appreciated the above post comparing the Janome 8900 to the ss models...how interesting that the housing can displace some of that extra space making it not noticeably better than the single-stitchers!