Next Gold Machine !

[QcGOLD]

Hello everyone,

Having been prospecting for over 15 years, I've made numerous discoveries in my region in Canada. Unfortunately, I'm a compulsive buyer and seller, having used several detectors such as the Garrett AT Gold, ATX, Gold Bug 2 and Pro, Nokta Makro, Nox, Gold Monster 1000, and I've probably forgotten a few. At present, all sold!

I'm seeking your advice for my next purchase. Some detectors I've been using are starting to age, notably the AT Gold and the Gold Bug series. Currently, the Minelab GPX 6000 seems to dominate the market. Some also mention the Axiom and the intriguing AQ Impulse from Fisher, although it never seems to officially materialize in a prospecting-dedicated version. The GoldMaster 24k also seems interesting and is reasonably priced. Note that I absolutely hated the GoldMonster 1000...

My usage mainly focuses on riverbeds that have already been extensively searched in the past, requiring today's technologies to find what others haven't discovered!

I'm reaching out to you, the prospecting community. In 2024, what would be your choice for a new machine? Have you heard of new machines that will be on the market soon?

Thank you in advance for your advice and shared experiences.

 

Joel

[lostmypassworddude]

Minelab sdc 2300...built like a tank, compact, turn on and go machine that sniffes out the smallest nuggets.

[RONS DETECTORS MINELAB]

Minelab SDC-2300 for the rivers is a great choice for it's underwater capabilities and the ability to handle medium mineralized ground, also the one with probably the least price. Only thing is it's not very ergonomic in handling, but is compactable for hike-ins. 

Minelab is quiet on any new releases, so never know. 

Dilek from Nokta says there working on one, no telling what the performance might be though, but Nokta usually have a good and very competitive price point.

[DSMITH]

I like you did not care for the GM1000 (Gold Monster) so I sold mine and purchased the Garrett GM 24K and have had no regrets in doing so, I was lucky enough to acquire all four coils that can be used on the 24K, my 24K came with the 6x10 coil and I also purchased the 6 inch round coil, the other two coils if you can find them which is not an easy task is the 14x8 and a little 4x6, I use all four of the coils I have for the 24K and the one I use is determined by where I am detecting the coil I seem to use the most on the 24K is the 6 inch round, all the coils are or seem to be very sensitive, I have had no issues with any of them being sensitive to bumping in to rocks or bushes at all

I was in the market for a good PI and considered purchasing either the GPX 6000 or the Axiom the areas I nugget detect there are no streams or bodies of water for me to detect so the SDC2300 was not on my list to consider, I ended up going with the Axiom and have no regrets, but having said that I am fairly new to the world of PIs, so it is a learning experience for me, The Axiom for me personally is a pretty versatile PI, with very simple settings in a fairly compact detector design, it collapses down to a very compact size and can be packed into the cloth case it all comes in when you purchase it which makes it nice when you decide to take a trip, there are 6 coils currently available two of which comes with the Axiom when you purchase the Axiom, but if you are like me I like having coil options so I also purchased the 7x11 DD and the 16x14 Mono just to give me a couple more options in coils, as of rite now there are no available after market coils for the Axiom, which is ok by me for now 

 

reading @Steve Herschbach reviews on the Axiom and a few other things I read is basically why I went with the Axiom, and like I said I have no regrets in my decision to go the route I took  

[Norvic]

Aye Axiom or the GPX6000, the Axiom is more versatile as Dsmith has posted and has a range of OEM coils, the 6K hits just a wee little harder has an expanding range of aftermarket coils.

[phrunt]

The GPX 6000 was a troublesome beast when it came out, very high failure rate to do with all facets of the thing, over time they've ironed them out and now I would say it's a great detector if you get a new one, sadly not waterproof so perhaps not ideal for your needs?  

The 24k is what the Gold Monster should have been, Minelab have been going through a stage of dumbing down their detectors to suit the African market where the operators don't care to learn their detectors like hobby detectorists often do, they just want to turn it on and quickly find the available gold before the next person does, and rightly so, it runs out and they depend on it for their income.    The GM was too limited in options, a bit like the GPX 6000 which was also designed for the African market, albeit badly timed as it came out right as the African market collapsed.

I would pick the 24k over the GM 1000 any day, more features, no knock sensitivity (which the GM is terrible with), both similar sensitivity the 24k also has a nice 6" round Concentric coil which is better than the 5" DD offering by the GM and it handles hotrocks better than the GM. 24k isn't waterproof, only the coils.  Whites made a waterproof version but you'd have to find that second hand but then again, you've had the Nox 800 and it's a great VLF prospecting machine and waterproof.

The PI's are obviously going to have better ground handling and depth, but the VLFs are a lot cheaper.  You've already had the most sensitive gold detector available with the GB2, no detector has beaten it yet.

Unless you were specifically wanting to buy a PI no VLF on the market is really going to excel much if anything over what you've already had in the past so buying another VLF isn't going to help you much.

[Mike Furness]

15 hours ago, QcGOLD said:

Note that I absolutely hated the GoldMonster 1000...

QcGold I haven't heard anyone say they absolutely hated the monster. Just wondering why? In your river beds did you ever rake them down incrementally say 2" at a time and detect each drop in layer down to bedrock or clay that typically would stop gold from dropping further? Or was it that it had no true threshold to listen to? I have heard that complaint a few times. Just never heard anyone adamant that they hated the Monster. As for myself the Monster has provided me with ounces of AZ gold. It is one of the few machines I did not sell when I moved out of AZ back to NH.

[Jeff McClendon]

Seeking advice for your next purchase without giving some more information about why you got rid of some good gold prospecting detectors would help. So would a detailed answer to Mike’s question about the GM1000. 
 

I can understand ditching the ATGold and the Gold Bug Pro based on transmit frequency reasons. The others…..???

[Steve Herschbach]

The prospects for something that exceeds the GPZ 7000 by as much as it exceeded everything else when it came out are extremely low. The current crop of detectors collectively is hitting a wall for performance regarding attainable depth for various sizes and types of gold. Minelab has done an excellent job of squeezing blood out of that turnip for the last twenty years, but there simply is precious little blood to squeeze now. The best I can see Minelab offering us is 7000 type performance combined with optimized coils to do better on the small gold. A GPZ 8000 that was lighter and with some plug and play X-Coil type options would go over well at the right price. But some new machine that makes the dead patches come alive again like the good old days? I'm not holding my breath at all. The only machine I am still hoping for focuses not on depth but ergonomics and affordability. Something like the Axiom, but at half the price. But that is not going to push performance any farther than we already have, whether it is from Nokta or anyone else.

Long winded way of saying it's simply a matter of looking at what is on the market now and deciding what is best for you and the kind of ground you hunt and your budget. GPZ 7000, GPX 6000 and 5000, SDC 2300, and Axiom. Everyone has their favorites for what they do, but ultimately it's you going to have to make the decision based on exactly what opportunities you have available as far as size and type of gold and the exact type of ground it resides in. One machine might be a little better for this, another a little better at that. Only you know the answers to those questions so the most anyone here can do is toss out their favorites, which for some odd reason usually seems to be whatever they are using. I'm using an Axiom as it suits me in general, but from an outright performance perspective I'd say it kind of boils down to a choice between the GPZ 7000 or GPX 6000. GPZ if you lean to large gold at depth, and GPX if you lean to smaller gold.

[dig4gold]

Not a truer word spoken Steve. The gold just isn't there of any great value like it used to be. The big attainable bits are all but gone with what technology has already given us. The fight now is for the small crumbs left but at greater depth. That equals a lot more work, effort & digging for crumbs. If looking for gold matters in dollar terms then those days are over in reality.

Minelab has well & truly squeezed the blood out of that turnip over the years. Starting with each small "progressive" step from the SD through to the GP & GPX series of detectors. The 6000 should not have been called a GPX.

Minelab squeezed the blood further by limiting the coils on the GPZ 7000 with their chip technology & thank God for X coils in that department. Despite the fall out from all that it benefitted the end consumer who just wanted what they considered their best options for advancement in their detectors ability. X coils at least gave them an option if they chose that path. A path Minelab was trying to protect to keep more dollars in their pocket.

D4G