My Gold Monster 1000 "First Impressions" Post On Treasure Talk


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Hey Steve,

   Great write up on the Gold Monster 1000.  I'm still curious why Minelab announces a release date worldwide for May 8th, 2017, but the US being one of the biggest market has none on the release ......

I couldn't tell you how many emails and phone calls I have received asking why I don't have any yet! :ph34r:

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Rob

 I say don't feel too bad about not getting any GM 1000. The man downunder we all know called JP is having the same trouble. He too said he's coming up short and like you his phone is ringing off the hook.

That is a great write up Steve done on the GM 1000. Lunk also done a good one too that's posted on Steve's forum

Chuck

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You are the dealer Rob, I am just a test monkey so heck if I know :) Since you asked though there is this April 7 news release on the Minelab website http://www.minelab.com/usa/customer-care/product-notices?article=309482

where it says...

Minelab is pleased to announce that the GOLD MONSTER 1000 will be available for purchase worldwide from May 8th, 2017 onwards*

And then following the asterisk to the bottom....

*Initial availability may be limited in some regions due to the unexpected high demand. Please contact your local dealer for specific price and availability information. We will be doing our best to get detectors into the hands of our valued customers as soon as we possibly can.

That's all I've got.

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5 hours ago, Dakota Slim said:

Steve, can you give us a report on the GM1000's ability to indicate larger nuggets -- say 1/4 oz or better -- at depth? 
What kind of depth can we expect from this machine? 

You know, that is really interesting because I will have to get back to you on that. As a GPZ owner I never worried about how deep the GM1000 would find larger gold. My concern was how small was the gold I could detect - how hot is the machine - and how it would handle the ground while being that hot. From my perspective if I am going to chase big nuggets deep I am going to grab my GPZ. I suspect others already have those answers and we will be hearing from them soon. In the meantime I am going to do more on my end to get those answers myself. I can't imagine max depth at 45 kHz would be much different at all from what one would expect from a GMT running at 48 kHz as both sport similar size DD coils. Should be able to beat the Gold Bug 2 10" concentric in high mineral ground however. We will see. Thanks for asking!

Edited by Steve Herschbach
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Thanks Steve. I look forward to hearing more from you.
I had hoped to be hearing reports from GM1000 dealers and a few owners by now but you are apparently our only hope at this point. I have owned a GB2, a GP Extreme and a GPX5000 but never had the chance to use a GPZ. I also have no experience with the GMT.
If Minelab intends this to be an entry level machine that is simple to operate, the odds are that it will be most customers' first machine and many will be thinking big. I retired and sold all my detectors but may come out of retirement. If I do so, I need a detector. I know that many huge nuggets were found with Gold Bugs. I personally found a 58 gram slug at Rich Hill with my GB2 but I remember how difficult it was to detect there with a GB2 because of the hot ground.  
The price and features of the GM1000 have me interested. .  

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I am a bit different in that my goal is not to ever have anyone get a detector based on anything I say not proving to be accurate. That makes me cautious in my commentary. I want people getting the right detectors for the right reasons.

I have owned a Gold Bug 2 since day one - I literally owned the first one in Alaska. To my mind they represent the pinnacle of small gold performance attainable in low mineral ground. If you are in low mineral ground, have a Gold Bug 2, and can comfortably run it maxed out, I see no compelling reason to run out and get a GM1000. However, I know for a fact that the high frequency works against the Gold Bug 2 in low mineral ground, especially when combined with the Gold Bug 2 only being able to employ concentric coils. My Whites Goldmasters with DD coils easily punched deeper in mineralized ground than the Gold Bug 2.

Right now I have a Gold Bug 2 and a Gold Monster 1000. If I were headed to Rich Hill tomorrow and could only grab one or the other, I am going to grab the GM1000. I have been to Rich Hill and so have a passing knowledge of the mineralization there, and my guess is that the GM1000 with its 45 kHz frequency, DD coils, and Minelab ground balance system is going to get me better performance on large gold in that environment. Compared to the Gold Bug 2, not a GPX 5000!

The Gold Monster 1000 and Gold Bug 2 excel in different environments. My Gold Bug 2 shines best in low mineral ground running the 6" coil, sensitivity maxed, low mineral mode. I can hit flyspecks with mine under those conditions. Many people never take the 6" coil off their Gold Bug 2. The weak spot in the Gold Bug 2 is its performance in highly mineralized ground, and it is specifically this weakness that the GM1000 targets.

I as much as anyone am waiting to hear from Jonathan Porter and his reports on how the machine handles Australian conditions. On my last visit to Oz, I had my Gold Bug 2 along, and JP really took a liking to it, and I to a GPX 18" coil he had, so I took the coil home and left the Gold Bug 2 with him. Despite his association with Minelab you could call JP a Gold Bug 2 fan. He is in the perfect position to know best the strengths and weaknesses of both units in the worst of mineralized ground.

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Hey Steve,

   I have to agree with you that the Fisher Goldbug 2 struggles on high mineralization, at least here in Arizona.  That being said, on low to even moderate mineralization it's a "beast" on small gold and specimens with very low gold content (mine dump stuff).  I think on more mineralized soil the Gold Monster will win at 45khz. I think I would rather have the ability to work in a bit higher mineralization and get a bit more depth than chase dinks all day.  

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