I am debating whether to buy a Sankyo 201 flute or a Pearl Elegante 795 profession flute for my daughter. Pearl Elegante has "Solid silver head, body, and B foot" and Sankyo 201 has "Hand-cut sterling head, but Silver plated body and foot".

I know very little about flute, appreciate your suggestions.

btw, is Sterling silver better than silver plated flute in terms of sound and durability?

Is Sterling silver same as solid silver when describing what material a flute is made of?

Happy New Year!

You need to try these two flutes in person before buying them. There's no way to know if you like them or not if you don't go an play test them yourself.

the flutist94 rhodium is never used as a alloy to make sterling silver the metal allmost allways used is copper. Rhodium is only ever used as a plating on other metals never as a solid or alloy metal.

The Sankyo 201 is an entry level pro flute from Japan. The 795 is an intermediate flute from Taiwan.

Our Japan factory starts at about the Sankyo 401 level. Pearl Pro flutes start at the sterling Head, body, foot and keys level. Our entry level pro 8800 Cantabile is comparable to the Sankyo 401 for similar specs.

Features wise, the 201 is comparable to our 695 Dolce. (Handmade silver head/plated body and keys. 795 is an all silver tube) The big differences are country and factory of origin. Sankyo comes from Japan, 695/795 Pearl comes from Taiwan. The other difference is construction. Sankyo is a traditional mechanism. Pearl is a pinless mechanism. Both have felt pads..

Joe B

Thank you all for the info and suggestions!

Joe, from wwbw website, it says that the Elegante 795 is made in Japan, but the fluteworld does not say that. Here is the wwbw link to 795 - .

I did some more reading. It looks like the 695 Dolce is made the same way as 795 but with less expensive material as Joe mentioned. The wwbw says that the 695 Dolce is handmade with "silver head/Silver clad body & foot and keys" Here is the link to 695 Dolce - but fluteworld says it made with "Sterling silver handcut "Forza" headjoint, silver plated body, footjoint and keys". I assume "silver plated" is the same as "silver clad"?.

Best wishes to you all for a wonderful new year!

I guess my link to websites didn't show up.

Anyway, I went to the Pearl official website, it doesn't state the manufacture origins of the flutes. But it says 695 Dolce has silver plated body.

I think I'll have my daughter try both Sankyo and Pearl 795 to find one she likes.

Joe, from wwbw website, it says that the Elegante 795 is made in Japan, but the fluteworld does not say that. Here is the wwbw link to 795 - . I did some more reading. It looks like the 695 Dolce is made the same way as 795 but with less expensive material as Joe mentioned. The wwbw says that the 695 Dolce is handmade with "silver head/Silver clad body & foot and keys" Here is the link to 695 Dolce - but fluteworld says it made with "Sterling silver handcut "Forza" headjoint, silver plated body, footjoint and keys". I assume "silver plated" is the same as "silver clad"?.

Currently 695/795, Dolce/Elegante are made in Taiwan. Dealer websites often use silver plated and silver clad to mean the same thing.

Dolce/Elegante have a sterling silver handmade Forza headjoint. The Dolce body is silver plated, the Elegante body is sterling. Keywork on both is silver plated.

Joe B

That is simple. Get the Sankyo! The Sankyo will have a better mechanism and all around be made much better than any Pearl made in Taiwan. I wouldn't narrow it down to these two brands only. There are many more brands to choose from that may suite your daughter better. I am not a fan of either brand to be honest with you. The Pearls pinless mechanism is nothing special. Other flute manufactures are offering this as well. I have found the Pearl flutes that are made in Taiwan to have very soft metal which results in too many trips to the repair tech.

The Pearls pinless mechanism is nothing special. Other flute manufactures are offering this as well.

Other manufacturers do not offer the Pearl pinless mechanism. Pearl is the only company that supplies the same pinless design on all of its flutes. It is unlike other pinless designs and other companies only supply their own pinless designs on pro flutes. Only Pearl and Yamaha offer a complete line of flutes from student through professional. Pearl is the only company that offers pinless for a complete line and has done so for 40 years. Its design has proven longevity. There are many advantages to a pinless mechanism compared to a traditional pinned mechanism. These include service and increased longevity from important bearing points relieved of issues not to mention the feel that can be more easily tailored on any pinless mechanism.

As far as keywork strength is concerned. It's the same nickel silver on both brands.

Many people do compare these Pearl intermediate Taiwan flutes to entry level pro Japan flutes in terms of overall value, construction quality, and playability. The dislikes for any matters of them are always of personal taste, i.e. I like the way this one feels or I like this headjoint cut better, etc. That is certainly to be expected.

The story is always the same when choosing a flute. Pick a reputable manufacturer(of which both Pearl and Sankyo are among many others) and then play them and see which ones you like and sound best on. When you find the one that feels good and sounds good and is in your budget, then get that one.

It's quite simple really.

Joe B

Your daughter would have to try them both out first but personally I would go for the Sankyo

Joe B, you work for Pearl? That would certainly explain your loyalty and posts every time a Pearl flute is brought up in a forum. Yes, I suppose there are indeed other designs of a pinless mechanism. I was speaking of them in general. Still, other manufactures are incorporating it into their designs, so Pearl is not the only one. I still don't see them as anything special. Just my opinion. I still say between the two, that I would go for a Sankyo. Just more sturdy and better made to me. To each his own.
I do not work for any one company, so you can guarantee that my opinion will not be made in order to make sales.

Joe B, you work for Pearl? That would certainly explain your loyalty and posts every time a Pearl flute is brought up in a forum.

Binx. Yes I work for Pearl. And I give credit to any flute when credit is due. I also did some work for Sankyo at one time and others as well. I am VP of NAPBIRT, run my own custom repair shop servicing all brands, have done historical restorations, and repair things that nobody else will touch. I've designed some specialty flute repair tooling available in the trade am often asked to beta test prototypes of all sorts of flute related things. I used to sell and service many of these different brands also. I teach flute repair and am a regular clinician nationally. I go to the factories, know the people there, help with design aspects and act as a consultant for various aspects of the flute community in design, repair, and manufacture. The list can go on if you wish.

If you want to cast aspersions that I only stand up for Pearl, then you would be quite in error as most of my posts demonstrate.

Yes, I suppose there are indeed other designs of a pinless mechanism. I was speaking of them in general.

There are many ways to accomplish a pinless design. Many are quite different, Pearl's is by far the easiest and simplest engineered design. It is the easiest to work with as a result and most closely resembles a traditional pinned mechanism without the pins. It's not a nightmare like some others' pinless mechanisms are to deal with.

I don't trash talk any flute brand just because I work for Pearl. My loyalty is to good flutes manufactured well and serviced well. It has never been any more or less.

Joe B

That is impressive Joe. I never meant to imply that you were trashing any other flute brands. Pearl seems a very lucky company to have you.

Like others have suggested, you really need to have your daughter be the judge of which flute will best work for her. There are many brands on the market that she may like. Good luck!