Most of my stitching is piecing quilts. For 95% of my sewing a straight stitch is all I need. I've had a Brother Novelle 1500S for more than 30 yrs. It has a pin just behind the pressure foot and between the feed dog that acts like dual feed. (The mechanical Janome doesn't have this pin.) I don't pin seams. Because it's straight stitch only, the hook mechanism is different than a zig-zag machine. The seam is truely straight no slightly slanted thread. The price is less than $1000. It has a longer and higher harp for free motion quilting. I also have a Bernina 750 for all the fancy stuff. It has a steep learning curve.