GPX 6000 - How Do Others Compete?

[Gerry in Idaho]

Steve,  Your post and comments say way more than most folks realize.  I wanted to call out a few knuckleheads and their silly comments on this forums, as they have no flippin clue what they are talking about, but as a dealer I won't do that in public.

Back in mid 90's when I started selling detectors, I was already a 20 yr veteran of the MD'ing scene and Minelab was the new overpriced stump of a log weight (bad ergonomics) foreign brand in the US trying to make a splash. I stood my ground for a year before I started selling them, as I did not drink their Kool-aide.  It was my newer customers Success and them beating the 20 yr detector veteran( me), made me realize they actually did make detectors that can do some things better than US brands/models.  

As Minelab grew, so did their R&D and so did their technologies and performance of detectors.  In all the 20+ yrs I have been selling their gold detectors, not once did they come out with a better gold detector that did not do as advertised.  Which brings me to this point.

How can someone who has never owned a GPZ-7000 trash it, but yet they call themselves a knowledgeable nugget hunter and are happy with their GPX-5000?  Come to Rye Patch and many other well known places and see how your 5000 stacks up.  I'm not saying the 7000 is best for everything, never did and never will.  Heck I'll personally take my EQ-800 over a 7000 for a variety of gold hunts (my choice).  But I have a very good understand of what each model gold detector can do as I own them and so do my Staff who are in the field more than I.  We share our detector knowledge openly to try to help us and our customers become even more Successful.  One of the main reasons we offer 3 Day Field Training.

Now to the GPX-6000.  No, I have not owned one yet, have not touched one yet, or even seen one in person, yet.  Heck I don't even know the actual price.  So I really don't know any more than the rest of the 100's of plus comments made on this fine DP forum.  But I know Minelab....

Some of the folks on here and their comments are comical of a detector we have not even touched let alone used.  There are naysayers putting down something they know nothing about and this drives me nuts.  You have much more patience than I do Steve and hats off to you.  If a nugget hunter/prospector makes a claim, that they'll never own a GPX-6000 and has not even seen or used one yet.  Just goes to show their lack of wanting to be better and or more successful or their limited budget, which I totally understand.  But don't suggest a 5000 with different coil will do just as good.

At this moment and until I can actually do many side by side comparisons on undug targets in the DIFFERENT AREAS, SOILS & GOLD FIELDS my 9 Field Staff members & I like to hunt, I really don't know what other reason (performance or lack of) why YET.  But I know MINELAB.

Here is why some of my Staff and I will be swinging a GPX-6000 as soon as we get them in our hands.  1)  Lighter weight PI gold detector than our SDC-2300 & GPZ-7000 (already proven 4.6 pounds 2) Better ergonomics than our SDC-2300 and GPZ-7000 (not proven but by looks, highly likely). 3) No wearing the stinking chest harness being tethered in, like my GPX-5000 and my GPZ-7000 (proven, we can see the pics). 4) Better at small gold than my SDC-2300, my GPX-5000 and GPZ-7000 (not proven, but Minelab new technology claims have never lied to me).  

Did I say it the GPX-6000 is deeper than the others at large gold?  No!!!  

But the point is, the majority of gold being found is small and so with the above confirms and their unproven but most likely true statements of gold sizes...it is a simple decision for my staff and I.

On a side note,  We have already updated my website www.gerrysdetectors.com to our 3 Day Field Training sessions for the 1st part of 2021 (the 2nd half is coming) and I imagine a few customers will want to take advantage of our knowledge.  Part of our class is to compare undug targets with the different detectors of the customers in that class, so we'll learn really quick, which models perform on different sizes of gold and at what depths.  If you are interested in the 3 days class, it's free to all customers who purchase a detector from me of $3000 or more.  There are some well known names on this site who have taken our class and they will vouch for my staff and I.  Heck some of you already know Lunk or at least have read his posts.  He is a wealth of information and always willing to talk detector knowledge.

Actually I want to say one more thing and this should be really easy for everyone to figure out.  Even if the GPX-6000 could not perform any better than my GPZ-7000, I'd still prefer the 6000 JUST BECAUSE OF THE ERGONOMICS & LIGHTER WEIGHT.  Any cost savings is a bonus.  Now I have to go ask the one who wears the pants in the house for permission.

Bottom line for the naysayers.  Let's allow it to get out in the field and after some time, we'll know how it stacks up.

Thanks for allowing me to get this off my chest.  If you feel my feelings are uncalled for just delete it and I am sorry Steve.

 

 

[Chase Goldman]

12 minutes ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

Even if the GPX-6000 could not perform any better than my GPZ-7000, I'd still prefer the 6000 JUST BECAUSE OF THE ERGONOMICS & LIGHTER WEIGHT.

I agree.  The margin of performance increase, if any, with the 7000 must be so incredibly thin I wonder how it could truly make up for cost delta and bodily wear and tear over time.  Time will tell once we know the cost and real world performance - but it makes sense that ML would be headed in the direction of significantly closing the performance gap between the 5000 and 7000 with the 6000 (even though it is still "only" PI technology vs. ZVT). And ML certainly has learned A LOT of things about improving ergonomics and has probably realized the true value in ergonomics vs. performance and the ability of good ergonomics COMBINED with good enough performance to sell machines.   Put another way, ML is realizing that ergonomics can no longer take a back seat to performance as we reach the performance limits of metal detecting technlogy.  Ergonomics, along with price, versatility, and performance form the total value equation for detectors and total value appears to be the thing driving detector sales these days.

[oneguy]

All I can say is that I can swing the Monster a lot longer than I can swing my SDC.  Weight and ergonomics alone, imo, make this new tector worth a serious look?  More coil time...more gold.  I try to manage my field time as best I can with what I currently use.

[jasong]

I honestly can't figure out who that big rant is against as I don't seem to see anything written like that in the threads here. 

Did something get deleted?

[jasong]

3 hours ago, afreakofnature said:

I don’t know much about the QED because it is strictly Australian but isn’t that what they kind of did jasong?  

I don't know much about it either. Which to me demonstrates one of their weak points as a company in terms of being able to take on a major detecting company.

Outside of forums, in the US, I doubt many have even heard of it. In the Middle East/Africa where the market for such a machine seems to be ripe, I wonder how many know a lot about it?

Point being, seems to me they have more hurdles than just keeping up with ML tech. But again, I know nothing about them except that I know nothing, which itself seems to be a problem they need to solve in a general sense among potential customers.

[Gold Catcher]

I think we heard enough to say that this will be another outstanding ML machine. The apparent easy of use, weight reduction and coil control options per push button (!!) makes this a value proposition. We shall see if the GEO-PI would challenge ZVT performance in situations where the GPZ really shines, but I don't think this is the intended point at all. Rather, a modern high performance detector with an interesting new Geo-PI technology that fits nicely in between SDC and GPZ. I can't wait to have one. 

[Gold Catcher]

30 minutes ago, oneguy said:

All I can say is that I can swing the Monster a lot longer than I can swing my SDC

Same for me. That being said, the SDC is like a body part of mine by now and I would never give it up!!

[afreakofnature]

Yeah i love my sdc too!  It would be hard to have to sell that for the X6

[Northeast]

2 hours ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

Now I have to go ask the one who wears the pants in the house for permission.

That process commenced yesterday for me  🤣

[Gold Catcher]

16 minutes ago, Northeast said:

That process commenced yesterday for me  🤣

I am in negotiations as well. I might have to cough up the same amount for my other half to keep the peace...