Retire The Garrett AT Pro? A Test Garden Review: Metal Detecting NYC

Garrett built one of the most durable and historic machines of all time in the AT Pro. But it has been out for 10 years and it still costs 500 dollars. Can the Nokta Makro Simplex beat it at half the price? I use my test garden to simulate a hunt.

Tools I Use & Important Links

Chapters:

Do you want to send me something? I will try to have a mail show once per month.
Mail me at:
P.O. Box 351
132 W Merrick Rd
Freeport, NY 11520

Hi, my name is Merrill Kazanjian. New York City is an amazing place to go metal detecting. We have lots of parks, colonial history and great beaches for beach detecting. I have gone to all five boroughs of New York City To Metal Detect and beyond. I also currently own 16 metal detectors. I want to have the best and I want to help you choose the best as well. Below I will showcase some of the playlists on this channel:

By Metal Detector:
Minelab Soveriegn: (Coming Soon)

I have a playlist of metal detecting videos to teach metal detecting. The videos in the playlist below are specifically made to teach the skills and mindset to becoming a great metal detectorist.

I am a treasure hunter. So in addition to metal detecting, I go mudlarking at sites such as Dead Horse Bay. Think of mudlarking as metal detecting without a metal detector.

Playlist By New York City Borough:

Cleaning Metal Detecting/Mudlarking Finds:

Other Playlists:

My most important series is called Becoming A Millionaire Metal Detecting. I am trying to monetize my favorite hobby in order to do it more in the future. In other words, we put the clad we find in the ground, affiliate earnings, and merchandise earnings in to the stock market and we invest it. This show started in January 2019.

[BA]

Charles Garrett first started creating Metal Detectors in his garage the year I was born. ( 1963 )
And the company was established in April 64’

I’m partial and Loyal to my AT Pro and I’ll keep putting it’s coil to the soil and digging booty with it even if there are better machines that I should be using.

[johannesschneider]

Thanks for the experimental garden. It's so strange here in Germany the Garrett AT Pro costs 710 euros or 743 dollars. And it is the year 2023. 13 years after the start of sales. I bought mine used for 320 euros... But it's crazy, no price drop. The product life cycle is always completely different from all products. The Garrett is still good, I use it often, I prefer 100 numbers on the display, like the 60 on the Nokta Makro The legend. What's also good is that it's good for tall people. The Legend is 5cm shorter, not ideal for a 1.90m body height. You actually have to take this into account in your ranking Merrill. The setting options for the detector user...🐻

[gralynmorrill]

I have a Whites XLT for over 20 years and it will hold it's own against every thing out there on land, the user makes the difference. Know your machine.

[danbrown]

The 10” test seemed a bit biased towards the Simplex. The testing with the AT pro sounds like it was conducted in STD mode (solid bell tone). Had the AT been used in pro mode, with iron audio on, it would have painted a much clearer picture of the target.

[jasontheflyingfarrierhays]

I have an AT Pro and a Whites MXT Pro. My work schedule hadn’t allowed me to detect much in the past 5 years so I held up on getting the NOX 800. I’m on the waiting list for the Manticore and I can’t wait to get started again. Especially since I live in South Carolina now!

[KB-ksjv]

I would like to say this, there is a difference at detection that 12 inches versus detection depth 6 inches with VDI, sensitivity, Ground memorization, and frequencies. All coins in the ground or not flat. And all the iron in the ground is not flat either. To truly get an idea, of a metal detectors capabilities.You’ve got to spend your 50 hours, using just that one detector. Confusing the issue, from each detectors capabilities will happen. I’ve been metal detecting since 1984. I’ve seen a lot of detectors come and go. Some are good some not so good. You’ve got to learn what the detector is telling you, plus you have to learn the sound your ear, tends not to pick up certain frequencies at times. Love the show

[wicked_digger]

I have used an AT Pro since I started and learned it so well. I got a simplex in October 2019 and it blows the Pro away! There is no need for a Pro with the simplex out. Its a deeper machine, much better features, lighter, and so much more. I love my simplex and since having it, never touched my Pro again and since sold it. Its outdated.

[ibizstudio]

I started detecting 24 years ago. My first detector was a Garrett Treasure Ace 100. I swung it till the coil fell off, but I would never buy another Garrett as long as I live. Minelab, Fisher, Tesoro, and Teknetics has always been king. XP, Nokta are new kids on the block.

[nathanestep]

John Eldredge wrote in his book, Wild at Heart, "Don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive, then go and do that, because what the world needs are people who have come alive." Keep your passion, Merrill.

[warrensidney]

Hello, Merrill! My first detector was a Tesoro Lobo Super Traq. I bought it in 1994 while living in Alabama and used it to detect for gold, coins and relics even though it was primarily a gold machine. There was no VDI, you used the discrimination settings to determine what your target was based on where your discrimination was set and the tone of the machine. I found my share of coins, but trash came along with it. If you can find a Tesoro detector in NYC, I suggest you try hunting with one. You'll be so thankful for today's technology!

I got an AT Pro about 3 years ago because my hunting partner had one and smoked me every time we hunted. He hunted in standard coin mode. As I used the Pro more, I switched to Pro Zero, iron disc at 35, and iron audio off. If I get a chattery/scratchy tone with a high tone in there, I'll dig it and it is usually a coin. I'm curious to see how the Pro does in these settings vs. the Simplex? (Maybe you could do that test on the 12" quarter and get back with me??)

Having said all that, I agree with you and many of the other comments here. The Simplex has many features the Pro doesn't. The biggest for me are hunting on a salt water beach in wet sand and price. If I were going to buy my first detector today, it would be a tossup between the Simplex or the Vanquish 540. Both of these machines are better than the AT Pro today because of their versatility and cost. The biggest advantage to Garrett is their Customer Service!! At 70 years old, I'll probably be buried with my AT Pro!!

Thanks for all your videos! I look forward to the next one.

[mikes]

Decision was made at little bit for me, an AT Pro showed up on CL for 220 which hadn’t been used much at all. Working well finding stuff on my acre of land as I experiment with it mode wise.

[peterleray]

Thanks Merrill! I too run the Apex. I put a test garden in my yard. One silver half, one merc, and one wheatie. I had a hard time finding them with any of my detectors. Ionization is what's missing by JUST burying them. That was 2 years ago now and my AT Pro and APEX SCREAM at all of them. The silver half I have buried at 1 foot.

[sherieward]

Great video Mike
really enjoyed watching the test and results. I have a ATP pro and still trying to learn it.
thanks for sharing
Keep Digging
Best Wishes

[nicholeh]

Is the simplex able to be fully submerged underwater for river detecting?

[DiggingTimesPast]

You can use the manual ground balance on the AT Pro to adjust for salt water.

[spikkyboy]

Fantastic video thank you. I'm just considering buying the AT. Will look at the simplex before I decide.

[Deadeye]

What about pre-64 silver coins? How do they react vs clad?? Another point is that coins that have been buried longer has an definite effect on the soil around it. Plus the wet ground becomes more sensitive. Overall for your timeline and the experimenting you do I can say to your review, Well done! Thumbs up to you Merrill. and Thanks!!

[texasgulfcoastmd]

Great review. Thank you for taking the time to show us.

[bens]

Merrill, to answer your question why the at pro is still on the market is that its submersible.. the apex you cannot sink the control head, it is not waterproof. At pro is great backup to my equinox for freshwater hunts.

[arcticmorning]

I tested my friends ato AT pro today and was disappointed with constant chatter.. i tried many rimes to tune and adjust it with no success, only to be haunted again with continuous chattering. Yes I ground balanced it. Adjust the sesativity at a low setting. Discrimination was adust moderately and I used it in 2 different locations