Garrett or Minelab

[Mexican45]

Hi guys hoping for some advice here as a newbie. Do I just bite the bullet and go GPZ 7000, or consider Garrett ATX deepseeker? Is the technology the price difference given Minelab is about double the price? Is it worth it? Will be used mainly in Vic and WA. The sales blurb for both just confuses when trying to draw comparisons. Thanks in advance.

 

[Ded Driver]

theres probably a couple of hundred answers to this question on this forum.
The Minelab detectors are designed for Australia's heavily mineralised ground.
If you dont want to outlay for a GPZ7000, have a look at a GPX5000 or 2nd hand GPX4500

 

[JD3]

Hi guys hoping for some advice here as a newbie. Do I just bite the bullet and go GPZ 7000, or consider Garrett ATX deepseeker? Is the technology the price difference given Minelab is about double the price? Is it worth it? Will be used mainly in Vic and WA. The sales blurb for both just confuses when trying to draw comparisons. Thanks in advance.

Yep. As the above post. Id go any of those mentioned above from Minelab over the Garrett. If they were put in a row for gold here in Vic where I live the Garrett would be last on the list. Not because its total garbage but just because the others are actually better here. :Y:

 

[Goldtarget]

Minelab have the runs on the board, better service, better resale, better coil options, better operating information, and better range.

Only ever met two atx "fans", one was an agent dealer who ended up being shonky and skipped off into the sunset with a lot of other peoples money.

The orher was a bloke who had invested part of his retirement money into one who had the machine for about 5 weeks and was headed to WA to seek his fortune. I suspect hes still out there looking for the first one. layful:

 

[grubstake]

There's a big user-attitude difference between the brands:
Minelab users swear by their detectors; Garrett users swear at their detectors.

 

[Guest]

Hi guys hoping for some advice here as a newbie. Do I just bite the bullet and go GPZ 7000, or consider Garrett ATX deepseeker? Is the technology the price difference given Minelab is about double the price? Is it worth it? Will be used mainly in Vic and WA. The sales blurb for both just confuses when trying to draw comparisons. Thanks in advance.

G'day

Minelab are tried and true machines that are made here and designed specifically for our conditions, from what I have seen for myself I would rate the garrett atx as maybe equivalent in performance to one of the earlier model minelabs, its certainly not in the same performance league as the gpx and gpz minelabs, but it is more akin to the gpz in ergonomics and weight.

Doing ok on your trip gold wise will depend on consistent finds and that's not necessarily getting large nuggets but getting any sized nuggets that add up over all is the key to success, I have only run into 2 people who have used the garrett atx here in WA, one swore by his machine and told us it was the ducks guts but had only one 5 gram nugget for the week or so he had been detecting, another was a mate who believed the hype and bought the atx over a minelab, he saw the light after finding six grams of gold in three weeks and both myself and another mate using gpx minelabs both had a couple of ounces each at the end of our two weeks with him.

Needless to say the mate with the atx now runs a gpx and sdc and has never looked back, believe me when I say that if any machine I could buy could out perform my gpx4500 or sdc2300 then I would have bought one in a heartbeat, including the gpz as I am still on the fence about that detector and have not personally seen that machine out perform the gpx's either on consistent gold finds.

As far as bang for your buck I would say you would be far better with a gpx4500 or gpx5000 and even with some extra coils and bits and pieces you would would still be better off cost wise.

cheers

stayyerAU

 

[Mexican45]

Thanks everyone , helped make my mind up , Minelab it is.
Will research the models suggested by Ded driver and Stayer , appreciate the time taken to respond
Cheers

 

[RM Outback]

If you have the funds for the 7000 it's a far better machine for hot ground by a country mile. The extra expense is either the 19" inch Minelab coil or the after market Russian X coils (Nugget Finder are/have just released coil options for the Zed). If you buy a GPX there's a lot more expense to go wireless (no wire between machine and operator) and the never ending after market coil options Nugget Finder, X coils, Detech, Coiltek. The GPX are a fantastic machine no doubt about it and adding the list of extras won't see you spending the purchase price of the GPZ unless you buy the X coils. Either way you will be spending your money wisely and they will retain the best resale value if you choose to sell.

If buying second hand always check the serial number with Minelab before committing to the purchase.

 

[Mexican45]

Thanks RM , good info
Cheers

 

[Don in SoCal]

First, stick with the Minelabs. Next, there is a definite learning curve with each machine, the more $ for the machine the more options in adjustments to soil conditions etc. Buy from a reputable dealer that will give you some training time in the field. If they won't, find another dealer. As a newbie these machines can overwhelm you with the amount of information they will be sending to you. You have to learn the language and this takes some time, a companion that will be willing to train you will be your greatest asset. It's like learning a new language. Good luck and HH