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[TheHatTuba]

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[MackBrass]

I have the PT8, thought this was a pt9 but the pt9 is the 6 valve version of the pt8 f tuba. I can say that I have owned the PT10 and the PT15 as well and the thing I like about he 8 is that the upper register is clean, very easy to play and slots extremely well in comparison. When I owned the 10 and 15 in the past the upper register on those were difficult to focus and did not slot well for me. The low registers on all three models I found to be pretty close. The PT 8 has more of a true graduated bore through the valves than the 10 or 15 as each valve is a different size with the 5th being the smallest and 4th the largest. If my memory serves me right, which is rare, the 10 and 15 have the first 2 valves in the same bore size and the last two are the same only slightly larger than the first 2. The size of the bore in the first 3 valves on the 10 and the 15 are all larger than those of the 9.

Specs of some of the PT f tubas.

PT8
B&S F- tuba 3099/2 (Perantucci , 5 rotor valves on the right side, Ø 420mm bell, height 97cm, bore 17-21mm

PT9
B&S 3100 4+2 F-tuba (Perantucci 9), 6 rotor valves, 420mm bell, height 97cm, bore 17-21mm.

PT10, PT11, 15, and 16
B&S F- tuba 3099/2/W (Perantucci 10), 5 rotor valves on the right side, 420mm bell, height 97cm, bore 19-21mm

Overall, they are all large f tubas. As far as sound goes, I never liked the way I sounded on the 10 or the 15 but I do like the sound of the 8, it is more like an Alex but bigger and overall more open, this may be due to the PT8 mouthpiece I am using on it. By the way this is the second time I have own my current pt8, small world.

Now the PT 8 mouthpiece, this is from the old numbering systemm, I use this mouthpiece as well on the PT8 f tuba, it just worked out that way. This mouthpiece is a little shallow but very wide. It works for me because I dont play much but when I do it responds well. When I was playing on a regular basis years ago, I always used something with a deeper cup on f tuba. Since I am older now with limited playing time, I try to use something that gives me a decent sound with the least effort.