do I keep the GB2

[Tank69]

I have both a Whites MXT and a Gold Bug 2, I'm learning the MXT an liking the machine allot , I've had the GB2 awhile now an other then a few shot pellets an a .22 led I haven't found anything with it . So my question is do I even bother keeping the GB2 an keep trying to learn it since the MXT can an will find gold also.
I'm just curious what others think .

Thanks Tank

 

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[Jim Hemmingway]

“Thanks guys I agree, I to feel the more machines you can learn the better off a person is , but to me there no point in keeping a machine that's only good for one field when you have a machine that will cover many fields just as well,Hell I may just decide to keep em both their both paid for.”

Everyone has an opinion Tank and mine is that it won’t hurt you to hang on to both units. Where the gold is small or the mineralization is not too steep the GB2 is just an excellent unit. Even in my fairly harsh ground it is superb on low conductives, really excels on the small stuff. Your MXT will do better on slightly and larger low conductives and will better handle tougher ground minerals. Features such as SAT and ground tracking offer you versatility when searching over tough / variable conditions.

Keep contingencies in mind too. What happens if you are out searching a remote area and for several possible reasons either unit malfunctions. It sure is nice to have a back-up unit available. These units complement one another very nicely, and you can see that I own both for that very reason. That’s aside from MXT’s versatility with other metal detecting pursuits, for example…coins and relics.

On the subject raised just above about using the GB2 for coin hunting I thought I would throw the following excerpt in just for the heck of it…by the chief designer Dave Johnson of First Texas….

“The GB2 is an excellent gold prospecting machine, designed for that one purpose only without the slightest consideration for someone who might decide to use it for some other purpose. In the end however it is a metal detector and will detect metal objects other than gold nuggets. Sort of.

When it comes to general in-the-park-coin-beeping, the GB2 really sucks. I say this not as an undercover Minelab hack, but as the guy who designed the thing in the first place. Almost any good coin beeper on the market, almost regardless of how inexpensive, is going to be better for coin beeping that a GB2. The GB2 is a gold machine, designed to find the smallest nuggets, after all these years there is almost nobody who says that something else does that particular thing better, the results speak for themselves, last year was the GB2's best sales year in history. I hope nobody is buying them for beeping in the park because almost everything we sell at any price will do a better job at park coin beeping than will the GB2.----Dave J.”

Jim.

 

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[godigit1]

One other place where your GB2 will shine is on the dry beach. For micro jewelry hunting, things such as earrings and fine gold chains that other machines have a problem with. Nasa Tom has some good info on the GB2 if you care to look at his forum it is Dankowski's metal detecting forum if your not familiar with it.
Don't get rid of the GB2, I would just keep it in your arsenal.....
HH

 

[ohlode]

For what it's worth:
I've had two MXT's, both with the small shooter coil, and currently have the 2d MXT, a GB2, and a GB Pro. No real preference except the difference in weight when swinging a detector for hours in a hot, dry desert or along one of our rivers in mid-day heat. They are all three very similiar on sub-gram gold. I've found slightly more small nuggets with the GB2... Why? Its lighter (especially with hip mount) so I use it more... Isn't very good in a park other than pinpointing a pull-tab in which it has no equal... LOL. I use the MXT as my nugget shooting back up (weight difference) but use it as my primary along a local wagon trail for relics. I wouldn't sell any of the three now. The MXT and GB Pro are easier to learn. The GB Pro hasn't perform well for me in a dense hot rock environment but does well in the parks and especially on the trail. With both the MXT and GB Pro it's nice to have a visual.
So, I don't think advocating one over the other is helpful. Backyard tests on .085 up to 20 gram nuggets are very close. Naturally they all scream on the chunks. On the small flakes at various depths they are very close with a small advantage to the GB2 in terms of the clearest signal. (All three sound off on a .085 flake at 3-4") The GB 2 signal is a bit more crisp. The ground balancing is an art on the GB2 and an almost constant thumbing is required in most areas to keep it perfectly tuned.
Each has advantages over the other in various settings. I'm least familiar with the GB Pro as it is a recent purchase. Found a couple of pickers and various other relics. Easy operation as is the MXT. The GB2 is the easiest to set aside (hip mounted) without it rolling over and that's a pain sometimes for the GB Pro and the MXT... I'm may hip mount the GB Pro when I get more into it.
The most important thing for me is probably psychological. Depending on the area I'll use a different machine. One just "seems" to be working better. If I pull one out and use it for an hour w/o a feeling that it's working well I'll switch to another. Nothing technical about me other than learning and reading about each particular machine. That's most important. Know the manual forwards and backwards.
Different people are always going to favor the machine they use the most. I can't really say that other than weight aka fatigue.
My next planned purchase is the GMT. NLT this winter. Can't have too many choices and it also gets many good reviews.

 

[Hoser John]

Jus' like women--one mans pain is yet anothers pleasure GB Pro is definately cutting a wide swath BUT numerous models and variation screwups at inception have blackened the name but buds absolutely luv'm bigtime. Places they've pounded for years with ALL others minelab through tesoro have taken a back seat go get ya' some---John

 

[nuggy]

Pretty good reason to keep the GB2 is - it's smaller and lighter, and if you were packing for a trip and wondering whether or not to take a detector - well the bug will be less bulk and weight Nuggy

 

[Lanny in AB]

Keep 'em both--they'll both do the job, but a little differently, and the GB2 has a fanatical following, for good reason.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[bruceuth]

i got 6 detector tesoro u max, lobo, vaquero, garrett scorpion, gti 1500, cx plus with the treasure hound. the scorpion give me more ring then the others. i detect in all metal with the scopion at a jr high. get less trash. more good stuff. if the snow melt going to hit roy jr high today with the gti 1500. got the 6x10 coil set around 7 on depth had it on 9 pick up lot of trash couldn't pinpoint. now i hope i can get a ring on that setting with a dd coil. the gta i think it call say there something in the gold ring area like junk. might take the scorpion to since it like to give me rings. the lobo hard to coin hunting so it be more nugget shooting. vaquero great to no rings find with it yet. but good on coin, other good find. i can turn the discrimanation to see what i got. if it quite on nickel you got a nickel or a pull tab. dang still snow on ground . what to see what the 1500 will do. then i try it with the 3.5 inch. coil