I have been a seamstress all my life and at 70 I thought I knew about sewing machines. I have used a Bernina, which I felt was too fussy for me, and switched to Brother when I bought my first Serger. Besides the quality of Brother machines, I feel they are a great company that backs their products. With my Brother machines, I have made more than 40 Renaissance Court costumes, including King and Queen costumes. Now that I am a grandma (Meemo) I have started making doll clothes. I have had a computerized Brother for the last four years but because I am now planning on making covers for an outdoor lawn swing and patio chairs, I decided to get the Brother Strong and Tough to use with the heavyweight fabrics that will be necessary for those projects. Once I had this machine out of its box, it was set up in minutes. The stitches are nice and even and it is easy to adjust the tension and type of stitches. I have used it now on faile and dotted swiss while making dresses for my granddaughters' dolls and I have had my seven-year-old granddaughter using the machine as I teach her sewing. I had bought her a lightweight Brother as a birthday present but I think I am going to get one of these for her instead. It is a much better machine. I have stored my computerized machine to make room for this one on my sewing table. I find now that after all these years, I prefer the mechanical machine to the computerized ones. What a revelation! All the extra stitches on my computerized machine go to waste as any embroidery that needs to be done I do by hand. Always have. Always will.I appreciate that this machine has a rubber base to keep it from moving while I sew. I appreciate that none of the stitches skip and that it is easy to start sewing at the edge of the fabric without having to hold the threads in the back to keep the stitches from bunching. I like that the presser foot has an extra height adjustment to use on thick fabrics, something I will be needing when I make the lawn swing seats.There a couple of things I miss from my old machine but will adjust to quickly. The "down needle" button for pivoting fabric. The longer cord on the pedal foot which I could drop behind my table top instead of draping forward across the table. The quieter running motor, so I can sew at night without waking my grandkids and their parents up. These are all minor issues though in exchange for a really good machine that I expect will be the last one I get.All of the machine feet I have for my old Brother fit this machine as well, but the bobbins are a slightly different size and not interchangeable. It comes with four bobbins, and I had purchased more bobbins for my granddaughters' other machine that fit this machine just fine. AND it came with a Teflon foot which will come in handy on many of the fabrics I use for the doll clothes.I am a very satisfied customer. Thank you Brother for continuing to make such great products.