TubeNet

I saw a pt-20 in the for sale section. When I went into the archives to research it some people said it is great while others say it's a lemon. Is it a good horn, or is it not on par with the other parantucci tubas?

I would not say they aren't on par with other B&S tubas or that they are lemons! In fact I like the PT20P that uncle sam has for me to play more than anything out there. It's an all around CC, works very well in band, can hold it's own in any orchestra I'll ever be playing in, and handles smaller settings also. It is different from the PT606, not better, not worse, just different. That said, I have side-by-sided the 2 on numerous occasions, and the 20 is the tuba for me.
In my search for a band tuba in 2003, the PT20 beat out the MW2000, the 2155, the Hirs. HB21 and all other candidates exhibited at the Army Conference that year. Since then, the Miraphone 1291 and 1292 have come on the market, as well as the MW "Thor" and others, but I suppose that will always be the case. It's like cars, the builders have to innovate to keep selling...
If you can, try several PT20's at one time, as I found mine out of a group of 4 and the difference was quite noticeable with regards to intonation and response.

thanks for the info guys, that was very helpful